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STORY: UN / SYRIA O’BRIEN
TRT: 2:51
SOURCE: UNIFEED-UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 23 JUNE 2016, NEW YORK CITY
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Close up, United Nations flag
23 JUNE 2016, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council chamber
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Stephen O’Brien, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations:
“There is something fundamentally wrong in a world where attacks on hospitals and schools, on mosques and public markets, on ethnic, religious and confessional groups, have become so commonplace that they cease to incite any reaction.”
4. Med shot, delegates
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Stephen O’Brien, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations:
“Their use in this manner constitutes indiscriminate attacks. Their sole purpose is to terrorize and punish the civilian population. All attacks against civilians and civilian objects, as well as the indiscriminate use of weapons in populated areas, including shelling and aerial bombardment, must end. They must end now. And Mr. President, before anyone tries to suggest that this is not the truth, these barrel bombs are documented facts, indisputable facts, for which, however long it takes, the decision-makers and perpetrators will be held to account one day.”
6. Zoom out, delegates
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Stephen O’Brien, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations:
“The limitations by the Syrian authorities placed upon access in terms of where, who and how much aid can be delivered continues to render assistance to some communities quite simply a non-starter, and is compounded by those same authorities then making every effort to delay, distract and dismantle convoys as we are attempting to undertake our work. Organizing the delivery of aid must remain the responsibility of the UN and its partners based upon need, and not subject to political or other considerations.”
8. Med shot, delegates
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Stephen O’Brien, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations:
“Mr. President, since January this year, some 844,325 people have been reached by the United Nations and its partners through inter-agency cross-line convoys. This includes 334,150 of the some 590,200 people living in besieged areas as designated by the United Nations, some more than once. While this certainly represents progress and is welcomed, it is but a trickle compared to the level of protection concerns, needs and suffering in besieged and hard-to-reach areas.”
10. Med shot, delegates
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Stephen O’Brien, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations:
“The real measure will be when the sieges, these medieval sieges, are no more, when boys don’t risk sniper fire when bringing medicine to their mothers, when doctors can administer lifesaving treatments without the fear of imminent attacks, when Yazidi girls don’t have to scratch their faces out of fear of being bought and sexually enslaved. That is the disgusting reality in Syria today.”
12. Zoom out, Security Council chambers
United Nations (UN) humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien said that over five million people are now estimated to live in hard-to-reach areas in Syria representing an increase of over 900,000 from the previous estimate. He said there was something fundamentally wrong in a world “where attacks on hospitals and schools, on mosques and public markets, on ethnic, religious and confessional groups, have become so commonplace that they cease to incite any reaction.”
Briefing the Security Council today (23 Jun) in New York, O’Brien said the UN and its partners had reached nearly 850,000 people since January, including some 330,000 of the nearly 600,000 people living in besieged areas. He said despite this progress it was “but a trickle compared to the level of protection concerns, needs and suffering in besieged and hard-to-reach areas.”
O’Brien said dozens of barrel bombs had reportedly been dropped on Darayya in the last few weeks alone. He said the repeated use of such weapons had the “sole purpose” of terrorizing and punishing the civilian population. He said progress could not be measured by “ad hoc deliveries” to besieged communities. He said, ““The real measure will be when the sieges, these medieval sieges, are no more, when boys don’t risk sniper fire when bringing medicine to their mothers, when doctors can administer lifesaving treatments without the fear of imminent attacks, when Yazidi girls don’t have to scratch their faces out of fear of being bought and sexually enslaved. That is the disgusting reality in Syria today.”
