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STORY: UN / SOMALIA ERITREA
TRT: 03:02
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 13 APRIL 2017, NEW YORK CITY
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, UNHQ exterior
13 APRIL 2017, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Kairat Umarov, Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the United Nations:
“Al Shabab remains the most significant threat to peace and security in Somalia. Despite the successful eviction of ISIL/ Da’esh factions from Qandala by the Puntland Security Forces in December 2016, the group reported that this terrorist organization continues to maintain its presence in the surrounding mountainside.”
4. Med shot, delegates
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Kairat Umarov, Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the United Nations:
“The group reported on an ongoing investigation into support for armed groups as well as into potential breaches of the arms embargo. Additionally, the group continues to seek clarification on combatants missing in action since the Djibouti-Eritrean border clashes.”
6. Med shot, delegates
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Mohamed Siad Doualeh, Permanent Representative of Djibouti to the United Nations:
“Eritrea cynically seeks to be rewarded for its defiance of Security Council's resolutions. Just stonewall, refuse to cooperate, prevent the missions from finding the facts and hold on until the Council is sufficiently frustrated by the failure of its actions and sufficiently troubled by the impact of its sanctions to throw up its hand in surrender. In support of that strategy, it has formulated a victimhood narrative which may sound appealing to those who do not know the facts.”
8. Med shot, Eritrean ambassador
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Mohamed Siad Doualeh, Permanent Representative of Djibouti to the United Nations:
“Eritrea continues to harbour, train, equip and provide logistical support to armed groups seeking to overthrow and destabilize the Government of Djibouti. It continues to do so, without an ounce of remorse, in violation of its obligations under Article 2 of the UN Charter, customary international law, as well as its obligations under Security Council Resolutions. Djibouti urges Eritrea to permanently cease and desist from such activities.”
10. Wide shot Security Council
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Amanuel Giorgio, Deputy Permanent Representative of Eritrea to the United Nations:
“To the regret of many who worked hard to realize peace, Ethiopia to this date continues to occupy sovereign Eritrean territory, including the town of Badme, in violation of its treaty obligation and international law. The hope of achieving peace and security for the people of the region has been dashed and the opportunity of building a common front for common challenges has been postponed indefinitely.”
12. Wide shot Security Council
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Amanuel Giorgio, Deputy Permanent Representative of Eritrea to the United Nations:
“The sanction on Eritrea has never been justified nor motivated by a genuine desire to promote regional peace and security. If its imposition was unjustified its continuation can only be viewed as a desire to spread crises in a region that is already suffering from conflicts. We need less conflicts, not more.”
14. Wide shot Security Council
Kazakhstani ambassador Kairat Umarov told the Security Council today (13 Apr) Al Shabab remained “the most significant threat to peace and security in Somalia.”
Reporting to the Council as the chair of the sanctions committee for Somalia and Eritrea, Umarov added that despite Da’esh factions being pushed out from Qandala by the Puntland Security Forces in December 2016, sanctions monitoring group reported that “this terrorist organization continues to maintain its presence in the surrounding mountainside.” However, Umarov said according to representatives of IGAD, there was no evidence of an ideological rapprochement between Al Shabab and Da’esh. With regards to the arms embargo, Umarov said the interim Jubaland administration and AMISOM discovered approximately 25,000 blank firing pistols on vessels docked in the port of Kismayo and that investigations continued to establish the origins and intended destination of the cargo.
The Kazakhstani ambassador said the monitoring group did not find any conclusive evidence of Eritrean support for Al Shabab, however he added that the group was conducting an ongoing investigation into Eritrean “support for armed groups as well as into potential breaches of the arms embargo.” He said the group continued to seek clarification on combatants “missing in action since the Djibouti-Eritrean border clashes.”
Djibouti’s ambassador Mohamed Siad Doualeh maintained that Eritrea was supporting Al Shabab and had chosen to deliberately obstruct the work of the monitoring group by denying them access to the country. He said Eritrea “cynically seeks to be rewarded for its defiance” of the Security Council's resolutions. He stressed that the intention was to “hold on until the Council is sufficiently frustrated by the failure of its actions and sufficiently troubled by the impact of its sanctions to throw up its hand in surrender.”
Doualeh said Eritrea should be urged to clarify the situation of the 13 Djibouti prisoners of war who he said are unaccounted for, adding that Eritrea continued “to harbour, train, equip and provide logistical support to armed groups seeking to overthrow and destabilize” the Government of Djibouti “without an ounce of remorse.” He called on Eritrea to “permanently cease and desist from such activities.”
Eritrean ambassador Amanuel Giorgio said 15 years after the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission gave its final and binding ruling, “Ethiopia to this date continues to occupy sovereign Eritrean territory, including the town of Badme, in violation of its treaty obligation and international law.” He stressed “the hope of achieving peace and security for the people of the region has been dashed and the opportunity of building a common front for common challenges has been postponed indefinitely” and called on the Council to ensure the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Ethiopia from the territory.
Giorgio said sanctions on his country had a negative impact on Eritrea and the Horn of Africa region which could not be minimized. He said it was long overdue for the Council to lift the sanctions which had “never been justified nor motivated by a genuine desire to promote regional peace and security.” He stressed that the monitoring group had not found any evidence of Eritrean support of Al Shabab and his country remained committed to the mediation of Qatar in resolving its dispute with Djibouti which he said had resulted in the release of all Djiboutian prisoners of war. Giorgio said if the sanctions’ imposition “was unjustified its continuation can only be viewed as a desire to spread crises in a region that is already suffering from conflicts” adding, “we need less conflicts, not more.”
