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UN / SYRIA CEASEFIRE UPDATE
STORY: UN / SYRIA CEASEFIRE UPDATE
TRT: 04:21
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ARABIC / ENGLISH / RUSSIAN / NATS
DATELINE: 28 FEBRUARY 2018, NEW YORK CITY
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, UNHQ exterior
28 FEBRUARY 2018, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Andrew Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations:
“So, if there has been no humanitarian access since the resolution on Saturday, what has happened in the last few days? More bombing, more fighting, more death, more destruction, more maiming of women and children, more hunger, more misery, more in other words of the same.”
4. Wide shot, Security Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Andrew Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations:
“Assistance across conflict lines to millions of people in hard-to-reach and besieged areas has in recent months totally collapsed. Unless this changes, we will soon see even more people dying from starvation and disease than from the bombing and the shelling.”
6. Wide shot, Security Council
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Andrew Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations:
“Mr. President, I started today by answering questions we’ve received on your resolution. I would like to end with a question for you; when will your resolution be implemented?”
8. Wide shot, Security Council
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeffrey Feltman, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, United Nations:
“The scale of the government's indiscriminate military attacks against Eastern Ghouta, an area with a civilian population of 400,000, cannot be justified on the basis of targeting Jabhat al Nusra fighters. Efforts to combat terrorism do not supersede obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law.”
10. Wide shot, ambassadors
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeffrey Feltman, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, United Nations:
“The UN has no independent verified reports that these three non-state armed opposition groups in Eastern Ghouta created a coordination centre with Jabhat al Nusra. Nor has the UN seen any public announcement by these groups of such a centre. Jaish al Islam has denied this claim. What the UN can verify is that non-state armed opposition groups in Eastern Ghouta, over the past 24 hours, have expressed their readiness in writing to evacuate Jabhat al Nusra fighters.”
12. Wide shot, ambassadors
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Kelley A. Eckels-Currie, United States Representative to the UN Economic and Social Council:
“Since we adopted Resolution 2401, Russia has announced a daily, 5-hour, “humanitarian pause” in the aerial bombing of civilians in eastern Ghouta. This is cynical, callous, and in flagrant defiance of the demands of 2401. The cessation of hostilities is for at least 30 days – every day, all day. Russia does not get to unilaterally re-write the terms of the resolution they negotiated and they sat here and voted for.”
14. Wide shot, Security Council
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Kelley A. Eckels-Currie, United States Representative to the UN Economic and Social Council:
“The Assad regime should not get to bomb and starve its own people into submission under the guise of counterterrorism. This Russian argument makes a mockery of this Council and international law.”
16. Wide shot, Russian ambassador addressing Security Council
17. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Vassily A. Nebenzia, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations:
“New reporters are being received about 24 civilian casualties as a result of Coalition airstrikes in Deir ezZor Province. Are these second-class citizens or is the death of innocent civilians from democratic bombs something trivial or perhaps even honourable?”
18. Med shot, Syrian ambassador
19. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Vassily A. Nebenzia, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations:
“Can I ask you, what have you done for the implementation of Resolution 2401? At least one of your countries. Have you lifted a finger to do something? Have you had influence to bear upon those who you view as the moderate opposition? Have you compelled them to lay down their weapons and cease to take hostages?”
20. Wide shot, Syrian ambassador addressing Security Council
21. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Bashar Ja’afari, Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations:
“The information available to the Syrian Government indicates that the terrorists are preparing for a terrorist attack in which they use chlorine gas in a large scale to accuse the Syrian Arab Army of carrying it out. These terrorists have strict guidance from Western and Turkish intelligence to fabricate the chemical attack before the 13th of March, before 13th of March.”
22. Wide shot, Security Council
UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock told the Security Council today (28 Feb) that since the adoption of a resolution 2401 demanding a ceasefire, Syria has witnessed “more bombing, more fighting, more death, more destruction, more maiming of women and children, more hunger, more misery, more in other words of the same.”
Speaking at the Council today, Lowcock said airstrikes and shelling on and from Eastern Ghouta continued in the past few days. He said 580 people were killed in Eastern Ghouta since 18 February while rockets from the enclave killed 15 others.
He said the UN has continued to reach millions of people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance in areas under Government control, however “assistance across conflict lines to millions of people in hard-to-reach and besieged areas has in recent months totally collapsed.” He stressed, “Unless this changes, we will soon see even more people dying from starvation and disease than from the bombing and the shelling.”
The humanitarian chief began his statement by answering a series of question his office had received on the situation on the ground since the adoption of the resolution demanding the ceasefire and ask the Council “when will your resolution be implemented?”
UN political chief Jeffery Feltman said what was needed was the implementation of Resolution 2401, but this was not happening. He reminded the parties to the conflict that the resolution called for sustained delivery of humanitarian aid for a minimum of 30 consecutive days.
Feltman condemned all violations of international law by all parties, including shelling from Eastern Ghouta that has injured or killed civilians in Damascus city. However, he noted that the scale of the government's “indiscriminate military attacks against Eastern Ghouta, an area with a civilian population of 400,000, cannot be justified on the basis of targeting Jabhat al Nusra fighters; efforts to combat terrorism do not supersede obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law.”
The UN political chief said the organization has no independent verified reports that the Jaish al Islam, Failaq al Rahman, and Ahrar al Sham armed opposition groups in Eastern Ghouta created a coordination centre with Jabhat al Nusra. He said, “What the UN can verify is that non-state armed opposition groups in Eastern Ghouta, over the past 24 hours, have expressed their readiness in writing to evacuate Jabhat al Nusra fighters.”
US ambassador Kelley Currie said since the Council adopted Resolution 2401, Russia has announced a daily, 5-hour, humanitarian pause “in the aerial bombing of civilians in eastern Ghouta” describing this as “cynical, callous, and in flagrant defiance of the demands of 2401.” She said the cessation of hostilities as set by the resolution was “for at least 30 days – every day, all day; Russia does not get to unilaterally re-write the terms of the resolution they negotiated and they sat here and voted for.”
Currie added, “The Assad regime should not get to bomb and starve its own people into submission under the guise of counterterrorism; this Russian argument makes a mockery of this Council and international law.”
Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said many selectively quote the resolution while disregarding that which is inconvenient. He said the resolution stated the need for the parties to agree on humanitarian pauses, days of tranquillity, localized ceasefires, and truces to allow safe and unhindered access to humanitarians to all the affected areas in Syria. He said any enduring pause must be preceded by an agreement by the warring parties.
Nebenzia criticised the outcry by western powers over Eastern Ghouta while disregarding civilian deaths caused by the US-led Coalition in Syria. He said, “New reporters are being received about 24 civilian casualties as a result of Coalition airstrikes in Deir ezZor Province. Are these second-class citizens or is the death of innocent civilians from democratic bombs something trivial or perhaps even honourable?”
The Russian ambassador asked western countries what they have done for the implementation of the resolution.
Syrian ambassador Bashar Ja’afari said his Government was doing everything it could to protect civilians in the country while emphasising its obligation to combat terrorism. He said Eastern Ghouta was under siege from within by terrorist armed groups who are using civilians as human shields.
Ja’afari said three Turkish trucks carrying chlorine gas entered Idlib on 20 February, two of which were currently in a school in the presence of terrorist fighters. He said information available to the Syrian Government indicated that “the terrorists are preparing for a terrorist attack in which they use chlorine gas in a large scale to accuse the Syrian Arab Army of carrying it out.” He added, “These terrorists have strict guidance from Western and Turkish intelligence to fabricate the chemical attack before the 13th of March” ahead of the 87th session of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ (OPCW) Executive Council.
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