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UN / DARFUR
STORY: UN / DARFUR
TRT: 2.10
SOURCE: UNTV / UNAMID
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 30 JULY 2009, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
RECENT 2009, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters
30 JULY 2009, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, Security Council
2. Various shots, vote
3. Wide shot, Ambassador John Sawers approaches microphone
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Ambassador John Sawers, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom, United Nations:
“The resolution sets out some priorities within its existing mandate for the UNAMID force, in particular the protection of civilians and support for the humanitarian efforts. There is still serious concern that we set out in the resolution about the security situation on the ground and about the rather slow progress in the political track, on the political process.”
5. Cutaway, journalists
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Ambassador John Sawers, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom, United Nations:
“There has been some discussion on this, but there is no consensus on the Council about article 16, at one stage the African Union and Arab League were going to come and present some views to the Council on this, they haven’t yet done so, but the Council will remain ready to discuss the issue. But there is no consensus at the moment.”
7. Wide shot, John Sawers leaves microphone behind
FILE – UNAMID - 09 JUL 2008, DAR ER SALAM, NORTH DARFUR
8. Med shot, peace keepers putting on gloves
9. Various shots, body of dead peacekeeper placed on body bag
10. Close up, peacekeeper looking on
11. Med shot, UNAMID peacekeepers carrying the dead soldier
FILE- UNAMID - 11 SEPTEMBER 2008; ELFASHER, NORTH DARFUR, SUDAN
12. Med shot, UNAMID police advisors at a food distribution
13. Wide shot, women receiving food ration
14. Med shot, UNAMID police advisors looking on
15. Wide shot, UNAMID police advisors on foot patrols in the camp
16. Wide shot, UNAMID police advisors at camps water points
The Security Council approved a twelve-month extension today for the United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and also asked the Secretary-General to submit a strategic work plan containing benchmarks to measure and track progress by that mission in implementing its mandate.
Following the vote, United Kingdom’s Ambassador John Sawers told reporters outside the Council that there was still “serious concern” about the security situation on the ground and the “rather slow progress” in the political track.
Asked about the African Union (AU) and Arab League’s request to the Security Council to suspend the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) indictment against Sudan’s President Omar Al Bashir, he said there was no consensus on the Council about Article 16, adding that they hadn’t presented their views to the Council yet.
UNAMID has been plagued with security issues since the mission began since 2008, trying to maintain peace in an area where conflict has raged since 2003, pitting rebels against government forces and allied Arab militiamen known as the Janjaweed.
Last year, a joint police and military patrol was ambushed by unidentified militia in North Darfur. Seven peacekeepers were killed and twenty two wounded, seven of them critically. Also in West Darfur that year, four UNAMID peacekeepers had been ambushed by a group of 60 armed men.
And in one of the deadliest attacks before the deployment of the hybrid force (UNAMID) was put into place, in 2007, twelve peacekeepers were killed serving with the African Mission in Sudan (AMIS) and eight other wounded when their camp was ambushed by an estimated 1,000 rebels in South Darfur.
An estimated 300,000 people are dead either through direct combat or as a result of disease, malnutrition or reduced life expectancy since the conflict began six years ago. More than 2.7 million others have been displaced from their homes.
The United Nations and African Union mission in Darfur was the first cooperation of its kind.
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