UN / RICE

In advance of the Security Council meeting on Syria, US Ambassador Susan Rice told the press "Syria would be better off without [President Bashar Al-] Assad" adding "we think it is past time for all Council members to put the interest of the Syrian people first rather than particular bilateral issues or interests at the forefront of their action." UNTV

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:20
• Production Date: 10 August 2011
• Asset Language: Original
• Subject Topical: POLITICAL AFFAIRS; LAW; INTERNATIONAL LAW; POLITICAL CONDITIONS; POLITICAL CONDITIONS; POLITICAL MOVEMENTS; INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS; PEACE AND SECURITY; DISARMAMENT
• Geographic Subject: UNITED STATES
• MAMS Id: U110810e

Description

STORY: UN / RICE
TRT: 2:20
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 10 AUGUST 2011, UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK CITY / RECENT

Shotlist

RECENT - UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior UN headquarters

10 AUGUST 2011, UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK CITY

2. Med shot, US Ambassador Susan Rice walking to media stakeout

RECENT - UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK CITY

3. Close-up, journalist

10 AUGUST 2011, UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK CITY

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Susan Rice, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations:
“We are working across the board to underscore the behaviour of Assad is absolutely unacceptable. He has lost any legitimacy to lead. It would be much, much better for the people of Syria and Syria would be better off without Assad. And we are looking to the future and looking to lend support to the people of Syria who have the same aspiration for freedom and democracy as we have seen in so many other parts of the world.”

RECENT - UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK CITY

5. Close-up, journalist

10 AUGUST 2011, UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK CITY

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Susan Rice, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations:
“We have also been frustrated quite candidly that it has taken the Council as long as it has to be able to speak with one voice and we think it is past time for all Council members to put the interest of the Syrian people first rather than particular bilateral issues or interests at the forefront of their action.”

RECENT - UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK CITY

7. Close-up, journalist

10 AUGUST 2011, UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK CITY

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Susan Rice, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations:
“We believe there is a famine in Eritrea and we are deeply concerned that none of us know because they have bared UN agencies, bared NGOs, it has become a black hole in terms of governance and humanitarian ground truth. And the people of Eritrea who are most likely suffering the very same food shortages that we are seeing throughout the region are being left to starve.”

RECENT - UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK CITY

9. Close-up, journalist

10 AUGUST 2011, UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK CITY

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Susan Rice, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations:
“We think it’s important for the United Nations whether through it dwindling presence on the ground or through its human rights agencies and authorities to give us, the Member States, a clearer picture as they can of the unfolding humanitarian circumstances in Southern Kordofan and to provide insight and investigate the many allegations of abuses.”

RECENT - UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK CITY

11. Close-up, journalist

10 AUGUST 2011, UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK CITY

12. Med shot, Rice walking away from stakeout

Storyline

In advance of the Security Council meeting on Syria, United States (US) Ambassador Susan Rice said “Syria would be better off without [President Bashar Al-] Assad” adding “we think it is past time for all Council members to put the interest of the Syrian people first rather than particular bilateral issues or interests at the forefront of their action.”

Addressing the press earlier today (10 Aug), Rice said that the US administration is “working across the board to underscore the behaviour of Assad is absolutely unacceptable” adding that the Syrian President “has lost any legitimacy to lead.”

Around 2,000 people are reported to have been killed in clashes in Syria since protesters took to the streets in mid-March demanding greater civil liberties. The violent crackdown by the authorities has received widespread condemnation from the United Nations (UN), including the Security Council and top officials, as well as world leaders.

Rice, however, expressed frustration “that it has taken the Council as long as it has to be able to speak with one voice.”

Later today, UN Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs Oscar Fernandez Taranco updated Council members on the situation in Syria. A week ago, the Council had issued a Presidential statement calling for an end to the violence in Syria.

Turning to Eritrea, she said “we believe there is a famine in Eritrea and we are deeply concerned that none of us know because they have bared UN agencies, bared NGOs, it has become a black hole in terms of governance and humanitarian ground truth.”

She added that her administration remains troubled by the Eritrean government’s support for the Somali insurgent group al-Shabab.

When asked about southern Kordofan, Rice called on the UN to provide the Security Council with a report presenting “a clearer picture as they can of the unfolding humanitarian circumstances in Southern Kordofan and to provide insight and investigate the many allegations of abuses.”

Over the past two months, indiscriminate aerial bombardments by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in southern Kordofan have reportedly left many civilians dead and forced thousands to flee to the Nuba Mountains to seek safety in the caves.