GENEVA / SYRIA

UN and Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan is travelling to Moscow and Beijing over the weekend for talks on the crisis in Syria. Meanwhile the UNHCR and several other partners have appealed for US$ 84 million to help Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iraq. CH UNTV / UNHCR

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:03
• Production Date: 23 March 2012
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES - UNHCR
• Subject Topical: REFUGEES; DISPLACED PERSONS; HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
• Geographic Subject: SYRIA
• MAMS Id: U120323c

Description

STORY: GENEVA / SYRIA
TRT: 2.03
SOURCE: CH UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 23 MARCH 2012, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

Shotlist

1. Wide shot, exterior Palais des Nations
2. Wide shot, Press Briefing room
3. Cutaway, photographer
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Ahmed Fawzi, Spokesperson for the Joint Special Envoy of the United Nations and the League of Arab States for the crisis in Syria, Kofi Annan:
"The three headings that we always refer to in these talks are: to put an urgent end to the killing and the violence and the human rights abuses, to get humanitarian aid to those who need it and to launch a political process.”
5. Cutaway, journalists
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Ahmed Fawzi, spokesperson for the Joint Special Envoy of the United Nations and the League of Arab States for the crisis in Syria, Kofi Annan:
“I would like to stress that the crisis on the ground is severe, as we all know, that we have to make progress soon, sooner rather than later, that every minute counts.”
7. Cutaway, meeting
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Marixie Mercado, Spokesperson, UNICEF:
“A large proportion of all the refugees crossing borders are children, in Syria
46 percent of the population is under the age of 18.”
9. Cutaway, journalists
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Marixie Mercado, Spokesperson, UNICEF:
“It is clear from the children coming across the borders that they have not
been spared from the violence and a few are showing signs of deep traumas.”
11. Wide shot, meeting
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Adrian Edwards, Spokesman, UNHCR:
“The plan is based on three objectives. The first is to ensure that Syrians and other refugees have access to neighbouring countries and international protection. The second is to provide for the basic needs of the refugees, with special attention to the most vulnerable. The third is to ensure that contingency measures are undertaken in the event of a larger-scale outflow.”
13. Cutaway, journalists
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Adrian Edwards, Spokesman, UNHCR:
“In Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, a year after unrest began in Syria, refugee numbers have been increasing and signs of strain are showing among the communities that are hosting them. There is a clear need for international support to be stepped up.”
15. Close up, UNHCR journal
16. Wide shot, press conference

Storyline

United Nations and Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan is travelling to Moscow and Beijing over the weekend for talks on the crisis in Syria. The visit comes just days after Russia and China joined other members of the Security Council to approve Mr Annan’s plan for ending the violence.

A mission sent to Damascus by the special envoy returned on Thursday following negotiations with Syrian authorities. Mr Annan’s spokesperson, Ahmed Fawzi, said that every minute counts in trying to bring the crisis to an end.

Talks are concentrating on stopping the killings and human rights abuses, allowing humanitarian agencies access to the country and the launching of a political process.

The UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, is mobilizing its resources in the region to focus on education, child protection, and water and sanitation.

UNICEF says that at least 500 Syrian children have been killed in the violence so far, while hundreds more have been injured, put in detention or abused. They said that the vast majority of Syria’s children will be scarred by the crisis – either physically or
psychologically.

Meanwhile the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and several other partners have appealed for US$ 84 million to help Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iraq. The funding is needed to help around 100,000 people, mainly Syrian refugees, over the next six months.

UNHCR Spokesman, Adrian Edwards the plan was based on three objectives, to ensure that Syrians and other refugees had access to neighbouring countries and international protection; to provide for the basic needs of the refugees, with special attention to the most vulnerable, and to ensure that contingency measures were undertaken in the event of a larger-scale outflow.