Unifeed

UN / SOMALIA WRAP

UN Special Representative for Somalia Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah tells the Security Council that despite suggestions that the upcoming Istanbul Conference on Somalia "is either too early or too late", the time to act is now. Head of Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe says that the Secretary-General does not believe that, "a country and a people should be abandoned." UNTV / FILE
U100512a
Video Length
00:02:08
Production Date
Asset Language
Geographic Subject
MAMS Id
U100512a
Description

STORY: UN / SOMALIA WRAP
SOURCE: UNTV
TRT: 2.08
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/ NATS

DATELINE: 12 MAY 2009, NEW YORK CITY/ FILE

View moreView less
Shotlist

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior UN building

12 MAY 2009, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia:
“Despite some suggestions that it is either too early or too late for such a high level gathering, we should all recognize that after years of anarchy, there will never be a right time in Somalia. We have to act, and to act now.”
4. Wide shot, Security Council
5. Med shot, reporters at press conference
6. Wide shot, press conference dais
7. SOUNDBITE (English) B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs:
“With this group I have spoken several times about the importance that the Secretary-General attaches to Somalia. He does not accept as a fact that a country and its people can be abandoned or ignored by the international community just because of their difficulties. He’s been determined from the beginning of his term to change the discussion on Somalia and to engage with the Somalis and the international community in a serious effort to turn things in that country around.”
8. Med shot, reporter
9. SOUNDBITE (English) B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs:
“You have a country that’s been in turmoil; you have an effort to put the country together on a fairly steady basis; you have other people that are out there running, saying, we’ve got to bring this whole operation down, only we can run it and what we stand for is a very serious – if you look at what it is a very serious change in the life of the average Somali; certainly one-half of the population. Anyway, it is very serious, some of the treatment and some of their methods of carrying out retribution for people have been incredibly barbaric.”
10. Wide shot, dais and audience

FILE - WFP - 30 JUNE 2009, JABI VILLAGE, BUALE DISTRICT, SOUTHERN SOMALIA

11. Various shots, WFP food distribution

FILE - WFP - 30 JUNE 2009, WAREGTA VILLAGE, BUALE DISTRICT, SOMALIA

12. Various shots, food distribution of WFP monthly rations

FILE- WFP - 8 DECEMBER 2008, OFF THE SOMALI COAST

13. Various shots, EU naval escort military personnel scrutinizing the horizon

View moreView less
Storyline

On the eve of a major global conference on Somalia, the top United Nations envoy in the war-torn nation urged the world community today (12 May) to provide the needed resources on the military, political and humanitarian fronts now to prevent an even worse scenario from arising.

The Istanbul Conference on Somalia being convened by the Turkish Government and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will take place on 22 May.

The Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, told the Security Council that despite suggestions that the Istambul Conference “is either too early or too late”, it should be recognized that “after years of anarchy, there will never be a right time in Somalia”.

Speaking on the same day that the UN refugee agency called for stepped-up funding to help the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the fighting, Ould-Abdallah added that “we have to act, and to act now.”

At a later press conference, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe said that in preparatory meetings before the Istanbul Conference he has emphasized “the importance that the Secretary-General attaches to Somalia” and that “he does not accept as a fact that a country and its people can be abandoned or ignored by the international community just because of their difficulties”

He defended the international community’s efforts to turn the country around saying that groups like Islamist insurgents al-Shabaab are trying to “bring this whole operation down” and noted that “some of their methods of carrying out retribution for people have been incredibly barbaric.”

Somalia has had no central government and has been torn by factional conflict for nearly two decades while it has faced severe food shortages and has experienced a rising problem of piracy off its coasts.

View moreView less

Download

There is no media available to download.

Request footage