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STORY: UN / PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS
TRT: 02:31
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 25 MAY 2017, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters
25 MAY 2017, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Various shots, delegates
4. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Despite our efforts, civilians continue to bear the brunt of conflict around the world. In Syria, the Commission of Inquiry has documented relentless attacks and sieges that show no signs of abating. In South Sudan, horrendous abuses continue as parties to the conflict target civilians including aid workers. In Yemen, civilians are trapped and targeted by all sides. Attacks against humanitarian personnel and supplies continue, putting national staff at particular risk. The deliberate denial of access to aid and the abuse of bureaucratic restrictions are becoming more prevalent in conflict zones. Suffering is pushed to unbearable limits when civilians are deprived of food and healthcare in sieges that can last months, or in some cases, years.”
5. Med shot, delegates
6. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Attacks against medical workers and medical facilities continue. No one is spared. According to the World Health Organization, attacks on medical care including hospitals, doctors, ambulances, and on the wounded and the sick took place in at least 20 countries affected by conflict in 2016. In most of these places, fragile medical systems were already at the breaking point as staff struggled to treat huge numbers of people. In most cases, no one was held accountable.”
7. Med shot, delegates
8. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“I urge parties to conflict to take concrete steps to limit harm to civilians in their military operations, as they are obliged to do under international law. And I call on all Member States to use their influence to promote respect for international law and ensure accountability for violations. I urge those engaged in arm transfers to show greater responsibility and consider the potential consequences of those sales, for human lives and for our common security. And I call on all to support the international accountability mechanisms that complement national efforts, including the International Criminal Court.”
9. Med shot, delegates
10. Wide shot, Council
Secretary-General António Guterres today (25 May) told the Security Council that “civilians continue to bear the brunt of conflict around the world” and that “suffering is pushed to unbearable limits when civilians are deprived of food and healthcare in sieges that can last months, or in some cases, years.”
Addressing an open debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, Guterres said that in Syria, “relentless attacks and sieges that show no signs of abating” have been documented. In South Sudan, he said, “horrendous abuses continue as parties to the conflict target civilians including aid workers,” and in Yemen, “civilians are trapped and targeted by all sides.”
The Secretary-General said “attacks on medical care including hospitals, doctors, ambulances, and on the wounded and the sick took place in at least 20 countries affected by conflict in 2016.”
In most of these places, he noted “fragile medical systems were already at the breaking point as staff struggled to treat huge numbers of people. In most cases, no one was held accountable.”
Guterres urged parties “to take concrete steps to limit harm to civilians in their military operations, as they are obliged to do under international law.”
He called on member states “to use their influence to promote respect for international law and ensure accountability for violations” and urged “those engaged in arm transfers to show greater responsibility and consider the potential consequences of those sales, for human lives and for our common security.”
Finally, he called on all “to support the international accountability mechanisms that complement national efforts, including the International Criminal Court.”
The Secretary-General said there are three clear ways to improve the protection of civilians in armed conflict. First, we must ensure greater respect for international humanitarian and human rights law. Second, we must step up the protection of humanitarian and medical missions by implementing his predecessor’s recommendations on resolution 2286, which was adopted by the Council last year. And third, we must do more to prevent forced displacement and find durable solutions for refugees and internally displaced people.
