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UN / NICARAGUA
STORY: UN / NICARAGUA
TRT: 02:54
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / SPANISH / NATS
DATELINE: 05 SEPTEMBER 2018, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters
05 SEPTEMBER 2018, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Med shot, Nicaraguan Ambassador
4. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Gonzalo Koncke, Chief of Staff to the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS):
“I regret to note that the situation in the country has not improved in terms of democracy, respect for human rights as well as political and social coexistence. The 322 deaths I mentioned at the beginning are the result of repression, violence, pro-government irregular armed groups activities, and human rights abuses.”
5. Med shot, delegates
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Nikki Haley, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations:
“With each passing day, Nicaragua travels further down a familiar path. It is a path that Syria has taken. It is a path that Venezuela has taken. The security Council should not and cannot be a passive observer as Nicaragua continues to decline into a failed, corrupt, and dictatorial state.”
7. Med shot, delegates
8. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Sacha Sergio Llorenti Soliz, Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Ambassador of Bolivia to the United Nations:
“If the international community truly wants to help Nicaragua resolve its problems, it must be done within the framework of the UN Charter, suspecting its sovereignty, respecting its independence, and respecting its territorial integrity. But also condemning any form of interference, any form of intervention, and any form of regime change policy. The response to Nicaragua’s problems must come from Nicaragua’s within the framework of the rule of law.”
9. Med shot, delegates
10. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Denis Moncada Colindres, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nicaragua:
“There is consensus in this Security Council that Nicaragua does not represent a threat to international peace and security. Therefore, its inclusion in this meeting is a clear interference in Nicaragua’s internal affairs and a violation of the UN Charter and international law.”
11. Wide shot, Council
12. Wide shot, Gonzalo Koncke at the podium
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Chief of Staff to the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS):
“It would be good to have elections as soon as possible, elections that don’t wait until 2021 which is the original moment in which they are scheduled, but to have elections before that, in 2019. Because when tensions like these are so high and violence takes place in such a way in a society that leaves more than 300 people dead, you need to give the power back to the people to decide.”
14. Pan right, delegates walk away
A top official from the Organization of American States (OAS) told the Security Council today (05 Sep)
that despite the Organization’s efforts the situation in Nicaragua "has not improved in terms of democracy, respect for human rights as well as political and social coexistence,” and called for early elections.
Gonzalo Koncke, who is the Chief of Staff to the Secretary-General of the OAS said the 322 deaths reported by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights “are the result of repression, violence, pro-government irregular armed groups activities, and human rights abuses.”
United States Ambassador Nikki Haley, who presided over today’s meeting, said “with each passing day, Nicaragua travels further down a familiar path. It is a path that Syria has taken. It is a path that Venezuela has taken. The security Council should not and cannot be a passive observer as Nicaragua continues to decline into a failed, corrupt, and dictatorial state.”
Bolivian Ambassador Sacha Sergio Llorenti Soliz, questioned the legality of today’s meeting. He said, “if the international community truly wants to help Nicaragua resolve its problems, it must be done within the framework of the UN Charter, suspecting its sovereignty, respecting its independence, and respecting its territorial integrity. But also condemning any form of interference, any form of intervention, and any form of regime change policy. The response to Nicaragua’s problems must come from Nicaragua’s within the framework of the rule of law.”
Nicaragua’s Foreign Minister told the Council that “Nicaragua does not represent a threat to international peace and security” and therefore, “its inclusion in this meeting is a clear interference in Nicaragua’s internal affairs and a violation of the UN Charter and international law.”
Outside the Council, Koncke told reporters that “it would be good to have elections as soon as possible, elections that don’t wait until 2021 which is the original moment in which they are scheduled, but to have elections before that, in 2019.”
He said that “when tensions like these are so high and violence takes place in such a way in a society that leaves more than 300 people dead, you need to give the power back to the people to decide.”
The violence and insecurity in Nicaragua has already pushed tens of thousands into Costa Rica, Honduras and other neighbouring states.
Last week, the authorities expelled a UN human rights team from the country just one day after it published a report detailing alleged abuses.
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