UN / SYRIA

The United Nations (UN) top humanitarian official told the Security Council he was "extremely worried" about the food situation in eastern Ghouta, where only 100,000 out of an estimated 400,000 people have received food assistance this year. UNIFEED

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:39
• Production Date: 29 November 2017
• Asset Language: English
• Personal Subject: MARK LOWCOCK
• Corporate Name: OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS - OCHA
• Subject Topical: ARMED CONFLICTS; CHILDREN IN ARMED CONFLICTS; HUMANITARIAN CRISIS; JUSTICE; MALNUTRITION
• Geographic Subject: SYRIA
• MAMS Id: 2048653
• Parent Id: 2048653
• Alternate Title: unifeed171129d

Description

STORY: UN / SYRIA
TRT: 02:39
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 29 NOVEMBER 2017, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

Shotlist

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

1. Tilt up, exterior United Nations headquarters

29 NOVEMBER 2017, NEW YORK CITY

2. Various shots, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Andrew Lowcock, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs:
“I am extremely worried about the food crisis in eastern Ghouta. Despite efforts made to reach them, only 100,000 people out of an estimated population of 400,000 in the enclave have received food assistance this year, and those people are only getting occasional one-off deliveries. The closure of the only crossing point into the area on 3 October, together with the increase in air and ground strikes, has resulted in a rapid deterioration of the situation.”
4. Med shot, delegates
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Andrew Lowcock, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs:
“The available evidence suggests severe acute malnutrition rates among children in eastern Ghouta have increased five-fold in the past ten months. UN staff have seen this first-hand through assessments made during convoys to Kafr Batna and Duma over the last two months. Children dying from malnutrition is preventable if we get more and more regular aid convoys in, and I had constructive discussions on this in Moscow and Teheran last week, and I hope that they will result in meaningful progress.”
6. Med shot, delegates
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Andrew Lowcock, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs:
“As needs remain high, it’s important to preserve all means of access. Civilians in areas not under the control of the government are reached in much larger number, with much greater consistency, and with much more comprehensive support, through cross-border operations than they are through cross-line operations. And it is for that reason the Secretary-General has called for a renewal of resolution 2165. As I told you before, the renewal of the resolution is essential to save lives.”
8. Wide shot, Syrian representative walks up to his seat in the Council
9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mounzer Mounzer, Minister Counsellor Deputy Permanent Representative of Syria to the United Nations:
“The Syrian Arab Republic rejects the calls by the Secretary-General to refer the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic to the ICC, and we confirm that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the situation in Syria, and that this court has lost all credibility in the first place after it was rendered a mere political tool in order to impose the law of force and we would like to reject the call of the Secretary-General to cooperate with what is called the Independent International Investigation Mechanism. And we call upon the member states to read well the document A/71/799.”
10. Zoom out, Council

Storyline

The United Nations (UN) top humanitarian official today (29 Nov) told the Security Council he was "extremely worried" about the food situation in eastern Ghouta, where only 100,000 out of an estimated 400,000 people have received food assistance this year.

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mark Lowcock, also told Council members that “the closure of the only crossing point into the area on 3 October, together with the increase in air and ground strikes, has resulted in a rapid deterioration of the situation.”

Lowcock said the available evidence suggests that severe acute malnutrition among children in that area “has increased five-fold in the past ten months.”

He added that “as needs remain high, it’s important to preserve all means of humanitarian access,” including cross-border and cross-line operations.

He told the Council that he plans to visit Syria in early January to assess the situation and discuss how we can improve assistance to all those in need.

Syrian representative Mounzer Mounzer, told the Council that “the Syrian Arab Republic rejects the calls by the Secretary-General to refer the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic to the ICC.” He said “the ICC has no jurisdiction over the situation in Syria, and that this court has lost all credibility in the first place after it was rendered a mere political tool in order to impose the law of force.”

He called upon member states “to read well” a letter sent in February from the Syrian Permanent Mission to the Secretary-General.

According to the Under-Secretary-General, some 13.1 million people need humanitarian aid and protection, with 5.6 million people in acute need. In terms of displacement, more than 6,500 people have been displaced on average every day of the first nine months of this year, while 2,500 people have been returning daily.

Meanwhile in Geneva, talks are continuing today with Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, having a series of meetings this morning, including with the delegation of the Government of Syria.