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UN / IRAQ
STORY: UN / IRAQ
TRT: 04:05
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 06 FEBRUARY 2024, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters
06 FEBRUARY 2024, NEW YORK CITY
2. Med shot, UNAMA’s head sitting
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Special Representative of the Secretary-General / Head, United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI):
“For Iraq to further continue on its path of stability and progress, an enabling environment will prove essential. And such an environment requires restraint from all sides. Yes, indeed, from Iraq’s armed actors. And, as might be expected, restraint from Iraq’s neighbours and other countries is just as crucial.”
4. Wide shot, Security Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Special Representative of the Secretary-General / Head, United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI):
“Messaging by strikes only serves to recklessly heighten tensions, to kill or injure people and to destroy property. A case in point was the attack on 28 January, which killed and injured US service members. This was seen again, with the retaliatory strikes on 2 February, which also resulted in casualties. Rather than shows of force, all efforts should centre on safeguarding Iraq from being drawn in any way into a wider conflict.”
6. Wide shot, Security Council
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Special Representative of the Secretary-General / Head, United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI):
“With Iraq cloaked in an already complex tapestry of challenges, it is of greatest importance that all attacks cease. While we are of course aware that many authorities and actors seek to limit further escalation, it is clear that the situation remains volatile. Iraq and, indeed, the wider region remain on a knife-edge, with the tiniest miscalculation threatening a major conflagration.”
8. Wide shot, Security Council
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Special Representative of the Secretary-General / Head, United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI):
“Next month Iraq will become the first country in the region to join the International Labour Organization’s Convention on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work. Coupled with the new national social security law I mentioned back in October, this sets a regional precedent for employee protection which should benefit Iraqi workers, especially women.”
10. Wide shot, Security Council
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Special Representative of the Secretary-General / Head, United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI):
“Turning to the issue of missing Kuwaiti and third-country nationals, and missing Kuwaiti property, including the national archives. The Government of Iraq remains undoubtedly committed to this file. But with 308 missing persons still unaccounted for, swifter progress is needed. This must involve the dismantling of bureaucratic hurdles and immediate follow-up on outstanding issues. There is also a clear need to redouble efforts to locate and return missing Kuwaiti property, including the national archives. What we are essentially saying is that it is in everybody’s interest to show a sense of urgency so as to bring this important file to a close.”
12. Med shot, UNAMA’s head sitting
13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abbas Kadhom Obaid Al-Fatlawi, Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Iraq:
“We reject and flatly we condemn, flatly rejected the American, Turkish and Iranian aggressions against Iraqi territory which have led to the martyrdom of civilians, and which have wounded many others and damage private and public property under weak excuses.”
14. Wide shot, Security Council
15. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Tareq M.A.M Al Banai, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Kuwait:
“We must register a word of gratitude to the brothers in the Republic of Iraq, for lending a helping hand, and for their understanding of the importance, sensitivity and privacy of this file for the entire Kuwaiti people during the past years, we urge the brothers in Iraq and call upon them to continue this cooperation and accelerate its pace.”
16. Wide shot, Security Council
The head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said that with the country “cloaked in an already complex tapestry of challenges, it is of greatest importance that all attacks cease.”
Addressing the Security Council today (6 Feb), Hennis-Plasschaert, sais that for Iraq to “further continue on its path of stability and progress, an enabling environment will prove essential. And such an environment requires restraint from all sides. Yes, indeed, from Iraq’s armed actors. And, as might be expected, restraint from Iraq’s neighbours and other countries is just as crucial.”
She stressed, “Messaging by strikes only serves to recklessly heighten tensions, to kill or injure people and to destroy property. A case in point was the attack on 28 January, which killed and injured US service members. This was seen again, with the retaliatory strikes on 2 February, which also resulted in casualties. Rather than shows of force, all efforts should centre on safeguarding Iraq from being drawn in any way into a wider conflict.”
She also said, “While we are of course aware that many authorities and actors seek to limit further escalation, it is clear that the situation remains volatile. Iraq and, indeed, the wider region remain on a knife-edge, with the tiniest miscalculation threatening a major conflagration.”
On a positive note, Hennis-Plasschaert, noted, “Next month Iraq will become the first country in the region to join the International Labour Organization’s Convention on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work. Coupled with the new national social security law I mentioned back in October, this sets a regional precedent for employee protection which should benefit Iraqi workers, especially women.”
Turning to the issue of missing Kuwaiti and third-country nationals, and missing Kuwaiti property, including the national archives, UNAMI’s head said, “The Government of Iraq remains undoubtedly committed to this file. But with 308 missing persons still unaccounted for, swifter progress is needed. This must involve the dismantling of bureaucratic hurdles and immediate follow-up on outstanding issues. There is also a clear need to redouble efforts to locate and return missing Kuwaiti property, including the national archives. What we are essentially saying is that it is in everybody’s interest to show a sense of urgency so as to bring this important file to a close.”
Also addressing today’s Security Council, Abbas Kadhom Obaid Al-Fatlawi, Deputy Permanent Representative of Iraq to the United Nations said, “We reject and flatly we condemn, flatly rejected the American, Turkish and Iranian aggressions against Iraqi territory which have led to the martyrdom of civilians, and which have wounded many others and damage private and public property under weak excuses.”
Tareq M.A.M Al Banai, Permanent Representative of Kuwait to the United Nations, said, “We must register a word of gratitude to the brothers in the Republic of Iraq, for lending a helping hand, and for their understanding of the importance, sensitivity and privacy of this file for the entire Kuwaiti people during the past years, we urge the brothers in Iraq and call upon them to continue this cooperation and accelerate its pace.”
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