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UN / SYRIA PEDERSEN
STORY: UN / SYRIA PEDERSEN
TRT: 02:17
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 22 NOVEMBER 2019, NEW YORK CITY / RECENT
RECENT - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior UN Headquarters
22 NOVEMBER 2019, NEW YORK CITY
2. Zoom in, Geir Pedersen sits down at Security Council dais
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Geir Pedersen, Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria:
“Undoubtedly, the work of the committee can build trust and confidence. But if confidence is to develop among the Syrian people in the political process, the dynamics on the ground need to begin to change — and that must start with fully respecting international humanitarian and human rights law and the protection of civilians.”
4. Med shot, Security Council President
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Geir Pedersen, Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria:
“This was a potentially historic moment. It brought Syrians together in one room within the form a political process mandated by this Council — for the first face-to-face talks in five years for the first time ever following a political agreement between the government and opposition and for the first time ever with civil society present.”
6. Med shot, Russian Ambassador
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Geir Pedersen, Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria:
“It is my firm hope that, with the Constitutional Committee as a door opener, the government and the opposition will be able in time to establish a relationship; violence will abate and conditions on the ground will change; and a comprehensive and decisive solution will finally emerge for the benefit of all Syrians.”
8. Med shot, Syrian Ambassador
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Geir Pedersen, Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria:
“The Syrian parties, who are leading and owning this process, must seize the opportunity that the launch of the committee offers. And they, and all of us, must build around it a mutually reinforcing dynamic for the sake of the Syrian people.”
10. Wide shot, Council
11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Bashar Ja’afari, Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations:
“The greatest risk that the Committee is confronted with today is external interference with its work. Any attempt to hamper the work of the Constitutional Committee that might work against the interest of the Syrians must be avoided. All Syrians hope that propitious conditions will be set out to enable the Committee to work in a positive atmosphere."
12. Wide shot, Council
The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, today (22 Nov) expressed support for the work of Syria’s Constitutional Committee but said that “if confidence is to develop among the Syrian people in the political process, the dynamics on the ground need to begin to change.”
Pedersen said this change “must start with fully respecting international humanitarian and human rights law and the protection of civilians.”
The Constitutional Committee met in Geneva on 30 October to launch a Syrian-led, Syrian-owned, credible, balanced and inclusive facilitated by the United Nations. There were 50 members nominated by the Government, 50 members nominated by the opposition, and 50 civil society activists and experts and other independents.
Pedersen said, “this was a potentially historic moment” as it “brought Syrians together in one room within the form a political process mandated by this Council — for the first face-to-face talks in five years for the first time ever following a political agreement between the government and opposition and for the first time ever with civil society present.”
The Special Envoy expressed hope that, “with the Constitutional Committee as a door opener, the government and the opposition will be able in time to establish a relationship; violence will abate and conditions on the ground will change; and a comprehensive and decisive solution will finally emerge for the benefit of all Syrians.”
He said the Syrian parties “must seize the opportunity that the launch of the committee offers. And they, and all of us, must build around it a mutually reinforcing dynamic for the sake of the Syrian people.”
For his part, Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari told the Council that “the greatest risk that the Committee is confronted with today is external interference with its work.”
He said, “any attempt to hamper the work of the Constitutional Committee that might work against the interest of the Syrians must be avoided."
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