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UN / GUTERRES PRESSER
STORY: UN / GUTERRES PRESSER
TRT: 04:00
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 19 DECEMBER 2022, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, United Nations headquarters
19 DECEMBER 2022, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Secretary-General António Guterres at the dais
3. Wide shot, journalists
4. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“I end this year with one overriding conviction: This is not a time to sit on the side-lines, it is a time for resolve, determination, and – yes – even hope. Because despite the limitations and long odds, we are working to push back against despair, to fight back against disillusion and to find real solutions.”
5. Wide shot, journalists
6. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Delegates at the COP15 UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal agreed on a new Global Biodiversity Framework. We are finally starting to forge a peace pact with nature. This Framework is an important step for determined diplomacy and I urge all countries to deliver.”
7. Med shot, journalists
8. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“In Ethiopia, efforts by the African Union to broker peace are a reason for hope. A cessation of hostilities and implementation agreements are in place. A pathway to assistance in the northern part of the country is emerging. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, diplomatic efforts led by Angola and the East African Community have created a framework for political dialogue to resolve the crisis in the eastern region of the country. And the truce in Yemen has delivered real dividends for people.”
9. Med shot, Guterres at the dais
10. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“And even in the brutal war in Ukraine, we have seen the power of determined, discreet diplomacy to help people and tackle unprecedented levels of global food insecurity. Despite ongoing challenges, the Black Sea Grain initiative to facilitate exports of food and fertilizers from Ukraine – and a Memorandum of Understanding for unimpeded exports of Russian food and fertilizers to global markets – are making a difference.”
11. Med shot, journalists
12. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Climate change is another area where good news can be hard to find. We are still moving in the wrong direction. The global emissions gap is growing. The 1.5-degree goal is gasping for breath. National climate plans are falling woefully short. And yet, we are not retreating. We are fighting back. And we are fighting back to help emerging economies shift away from coal and accelerate the renewable energy revolution.”
13. Med shot, journalist asking question
14. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“I am not optimistic about the possibility of effective peace talks in the immediate future. I do believe that the military confrontation will go on. And I think we will have still to wait a moment in which serious negotiations for peace, it will be possible.”
15. Wide shot, Secretary-General António Guterres and interviewer
16. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“My recommendation to whoever owns any platform is to make sure that the freedom of expression, specialty of journalists, is respected and that hate speech, Neo-Nazism, white supremacy and the other forms of extremism, do not find their way through those social platforms.”
17. Wide shot, journalists
18. Wide shot, end of presser
Secretary-General António Guterres, during his final press encounter this year said, “this is not a time to sit on the side-lines, it is a time for resolve, determination, and – yes – even hope.”
Speaking to journalists today (19 Dec) in New York, Guterres said, “despite the limitations and long odds, we are working to push back against despair, to fight back against disillusion and to find real solutions.”
One positive development, he pointed out, was that last night at 3:00 AM, “delegates at the COP15 UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal agreed on a new Global Biodiversity Framework.” He said, “we are finally starting to forge a peace pact with nature. This Framework is an important step for determined diplomacy and I urge all countries to deliver.”
The Secretary-General noted other instances of successful diplomacy this year. He said, “in Ethiopia, efforts by the African Union to broker peace are a reason for hope. A cessation of hostilities and implementation agreements are in place. A pathway to assistance in the northern part of the country is emerging. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, diplomatic efforts led by Angola and the East African Community have created a framework for political dialogue to resolve the crisis in the eastern region of the country. And the truce in Yemen has delivered real dividends for people.”
“And even in the brutal war in Ukraine,” he said, “we have seen the power of determined, discreet diplomacy to help people and tackle unprecedented levels of global food insecurity.”
Despite ongoing challenges, he added, “the Black Sea Grain initiative to facilitate exports of food and fertilizers from Ukraine – and a Memorandum of Understanding for unimpeded exports of Russian food and fertilizers to global markets – are making a difference.”
On Climate change, Guterres said, is an area “where good news can be hard to find.” He said, “the 1.5-degree goal is gasping for breath. National climate plans are falling woefully short. And yet, we are not retreating. We are fighting back. And we are fighting back to help emerging economies shift away from coal and accelerate the renewable energy revolution.”
The Secretary-General said he was “not optimistic about the possibility of effective peace talks in the immediate future” and added, I do believe that the military confrontation will go on. And I think we will have still to wait a moment in which serious negotiations for peace, it will be possible.”
Asked about freedom of expression and the role of Elon Musk at Twitter, Guterres said, “my recommendation to whoever owns any platform is to make sure that the freedom of expression, specialty of journalists, is respected and that hate speech, Neo-Nazism, white supremacy and the other forms of extremism, do not find their way through those social platforms.”
Nothing less than tangible and credible climate action would do, but dispensing with diplomatic niceties, he made it clear that the price of entry for every nation, was “non-negotiable credible, serious and new climate action and nature-based solutions that will move the needle forward and respond to the urgency of the climate crisis.”
Guterres announced a ‘no nonsense’ climate action summit; calling for practical solutions. The UN chief said it would be convened alongside a General Assembly opening-week summit already in the calendar, designed to accelerate action at the halfway point towards the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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