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UN / SAUDI ARABIA YEMEN
STORY: UN / SAUDI ARABIA YEMEN
TRT: 02:16
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 21 AUGUST 2017, NEW YORK CITY
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, UNHQ exterior
21 AUGUST 2017, NEW YORK CITY
2. Pan right, Saudi officials approaching stakeout
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Supervisor General, King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre:
“We have agreed that the need to improve the access on the ports is of utmost importance, whether it is Hodeidah or other ports; and we are in full support of the Ismail Ould Cheikh initiative that will reopen the full capacity of Al Hodeidah and we hope that is agreed upon and we will see the cranes back in order.”
4. Wide shot, Saudi officials at stakeout
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Abdallah Y. Al-Mouallimi, Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations:
“We have seen recently that there is only one side who has been refusing to engage with Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmad, who has been refusing to accept the initiative on Hodeidah, who has been refusing to acknowledge the United Nations Security Council resolutions and to implement them, and that is the root cause of the problem.”
6. Med shot, reporter asking question
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Supervisor General, King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre:
“Our humanitarian work is impartial, done totally impartial[ly], and I’m sure our partners will contest to that. Our partners are the UN and international NGOs, so if we are impartial they are impartial. So we have been working to all regions in Yemen, including Houthi controlled regions, and we have the numbers to prove that.”
8. Wide shot, Saudi officials at stakeout
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Supervisor General, King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre:
“The mortality index has decreased from 1.2 to 0.4 percent, which is significant improvement. WHO’s goal is one; it is now way below that, which is good. The recovery rate has increased to 99 percent, which is also something good. But our aim is not that. Our aim is not to see cholera in Yemen."
10. Wide shot, Saudi officials at stakeout
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Abdallah Y. Al-Mouallimi, Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations:
“We will not react to a report that has not yet been published officially. We have full consultation with the United Nations agencies involved. We have a full and open exchange of information, and we hope that positive conclusions can come out of that.”
12. Pan left, Saudi officials leaving stakeout
The Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre said Saudi Arabia is in “full support” of the UN initiative to reopen the Yemeni port of Hodeidah to humanitarian and commercial imports.
Speaking to reporters follow an Arria-formula meeting of the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Yemen, Dr Abdullah Al Rabeeah said the Saudi Government has spent some 8.27 billion USD over the past two years in Yemen on aid and development and implemented 153 projects. Al Rabeeah said participants in the meeting agreed on the need for a political solution to the conflict in Yemen as well as improving access to all the country’s ports, “whether it is Hodeidah or other ports.”
Al Rabeeah said the humanitarian work being carried out by the centre he heads is “impartial”. He added that the centre has been aiding all regions in Yemen, “including Houthi controlled regions, and we have the numbers to prove that.”
Turning to the cholera epidemic, Al Rabeeah said the mortality index has decreased from 1.2 to 0.4 percent and the recovery rate has increased to 99 percent. He said his centre’s aim however is “not to see cholera in Yemen."
Saudi ambassador Abdallah Al-Mouallimi said his country was committed to the implementation of international law in the Yemeni conflict. Al-Mouallimi agreed with a UN report which said the number of casualties in Yemen was unacceptable, and stressed that the Saudi-led coalition was constantly working to improve its conduct in the conflict. He noted however that the Saudi involvement in the war did not contradict that the country is working to find a political solution, adding that there is “only one side who has been refusing to engage with Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmad, who has been refusing to accept the initiative on Hodeidah, who has been refusing to acknowledge the United Nations Security Council resolutions and to implement them, and that is the root cause of the problem.”
Asked about reports that the Saudi-led coalition will be placed on the list of children’s rights abusers this year, Al-Mouallimi said his delegation would “not react to a report that has not yet been published officially.” He said his government has “full consultation with the United Nations agencies involved” and hoped that “positive conclusions can come out of that.”
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