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STORY: UN / SOUTH SUDAN
TRT: 2.34
SOURCE: UNIFEED-UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH /NATS
DATELINE: 6 AUGUST 2014, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters
6 AUGUST 2014, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Edmond Mulet, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations at the United Nations:
“After three years of independence, South Sudan is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe and a protracted internal conflict. This is a man-made crisis, and those responsible for it have been slow in resolving it. Both sides continue to believe that they can achieve more through the pursuit of a military option.”
4. Med shot, delegates
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Edmond Mulet, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations at the United Nations:
“UNMISS today is hosting more than 95,000 IDPs at its sites, comprising some 40,000 in Bentiu, 31,000 in Juba, and 17,000 in Malakal. With the prolonged presence of this considerable number of people at the facilities which were not built for such a purpose, conditions have become extremely challenging.”
6. Med shot, delegates
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Edmond Mulet, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations at the United Nations:
“The scale of humanitarian operations in South Sudan has reached the point that it now constitutes the biggest aid operation inside any single country. However, the capacity and funding of the humanitarian operation falls far short in the face of overwhelming needs. Some 3.9 million people are facing alarming levels of food insecurity, amidst growing concerns of a famine. 1.1 million people have been internally displaced by violence and fear, and 434,000 have fled across borders.”
8. Med shot, delegates
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Joseph Moum Malok. Deputy Permanent Representative of South Sudan:
“It is in the best interest of the Government of South Sudan that with this new round of discussions in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Parties find renewed vigour to truly lean to peace and alleviate the suffering of our people. We call on the Council and the International community to remind the rebels of the importance of adhering to the Cessations of Hostilities Agreements signed on 23rd, January and 9th, May and the recommitment on the 10th, of June 2014 which they have violated many times.”
10. Zoom out, Security Council
A top United Nations peacekeeping official today (6 August) said that three years after independence, South Sudan is now “on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe and a protracted internal conflict.”
Addressing the Security Council, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Edmond Mulet said that the current crisis is “man-made,” and both sides “continue to believe that they can achieve more through the pursuit of a military option.”
Mulet told the Council that UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is currently hosting more than 95,000 internally displayed persons (IDPs), including 40,000 in Bentiu, 31,000 in Juba, and 17,000 in Malakal.
He said that “with the prolonged presence of this considerable number of people at the facilities which were not built for such a purpose, conditions have become extremely challenging.”
The UN official noted that heavy rains have severely flooded IDP sites in Bentiu and Malakal, and serious crimes compromising the safety of UN personnel have been committed at the camps.
The scale of humanitarian operations in South Sudan, Mulet said, “has reached the point that it now constitutes the biggest aid operation inside any single country.”
However, he added, “the capacity and funding of the humanitarian operation falls far short in the face of overwhelming needs. Some 3.9 million people are facing alarming levels of food insecurity, amidst growing concerns of a famine. 1.1 million people have been internally displaced by violence and fear, and 434,000 have fled across borders.”
Also addressing the Council, Ambassador Joseph Moum Malok of South Sudan, said it was “in the best interest of the Government of South Sudan that with this new round of discussions in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Parties find renewed vigour to truly lean to peace and alleviate the suffering of our people.”
He called on the Council and the International community “to remind the rebels of the importance of adhering to the Cessations of Hostilities Agreements signed on 23rd, January and 9th, May and the recommitment on the 10th, of June 2014 which they have violated many times.”
Representatives of the two feuding sides and their supporters have now reportedly resumed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) which is overseeing the talks, has set a 10 August deadline to agree on a transitional government.
An estimated 1.5 million people have been uprooted in fighting that started with a political impasse in mid-December 2013 between President Salva Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar.
On Tuesday, at least five South Sudanese humanitarian workers were killed by a community-based self-defence militia calling itself the Mabanese Defence Forces.
