UN / ISIL COUNTER TERRORISM

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The head of the UN Counter Terrorism Office Vladimir Voronkov told the Security Council that ISIL continues to present a serious challenge to international peace despite suffering significant losses. UNIFEED
Description

STORY: UN / ISIL COUNTER TERRORISM
TRT: 2:52
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 23 AUGUST 2018, NEW YORK CITY

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Shotlist

FILE - NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, UNHQ exterior

23 AUGUST 2018, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Vladimir Voronkov, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism:
“Some ISIL fighters are fully engaged militarily and others concealed in sympathetic communities and urban areas. ISIL has also decentralized its leadership structure to mitigate further losses. Therefore, an ISIL core is likely to survive in Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic in the medium term, due to the ongoing conflict and complex stabilization challenges.”
4. Wide shot, Voronkov addressing Security Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Michele Coninsx, Executive Director, Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED):
“We can be in no doubt that the threat from ISIL continues to evolve and to pose significant challenges to all actors involved in countering it. These challenges derive in particular from the ongoing transformation of ISIL into a covert network, the activities of its regional affiliates throughout the world, and the potential threat posed by returning and relocating FTFs (foreign terrorist fighters).”
6. Wide shot, Security Council
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Hunt, Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Commonwealth Affairs, United Kingdom:
“Societies that are confident about their beliefs and values, and hold governments to account, are societies that are resistant to the virus of terrorism. The key to success is partnership between many nations, and we mustn’t lose sight of the importance of those partnerships even as Da’esh loses its grip on Syria and Iraq.”
8. Wide shot, British Foreign Minister addressing Security Council
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Nikki Haley, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations:
“The future of our fight against terrorism will look different from the challenges that came before. Our enemies no longer control large pieces of territory spanning multiple countries. They are hiding in the shadows, or in places where governments hide them or look the other way. These terrorists never stop looking for new opportunities, so we cannot let our guard down.”
10. Med shot, Voronkov
11. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Vassily Alekseevich Nebenzia, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations:
“Amid the military and territorial loses, erosion of economic infrastructure, the weakening of propagandistic hubs, and the demoralization of fighters, the group’s leadership is seeking any opportunity to maintain its influence. The global terrorist tower of Babel has fallen to pieces; however ISIL cells continue to speak in one tongue and they are successfully coordinating among themselves.”
12. Wide shot, British Foreign Minister and UN Secretary-General at Security Council
13. Wide shot, Members of Security Council standing for moment of silence

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Storyline

The head of the UN Counter Terrorism Office Vladimir Voronkov told the Security Council that ISIL continues to present a serious challenge to international peace despite suffering significant losses.

Briefing the Council today (23 Aug) on the Secretary-General’s seventh report on the threat of ISIL, Voronkov said the group was transforming into a covert network and posed a threat through its regional affiliates, as well as foreign terrorist fighters returning to their countries of origin or relocating to other countries.

He estimated that more than 20,000 ISIL fighters remain in Iraq and Syria with some “fully engaged militarily and others concealed in sympathetic communities and urban areas.” He said the group decentralized its leadership structure to mitigate further losses, and therefore, “an ISIL core is likely to survive in Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic in the medium term, due to the ongoing conflict and complex stabilization challenges.”

Michele Coninsx, Executive Director of Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED), said the international community could be in “no doubt that the threat from ISIL continues to evolve and to pose significant challenges to all actors involved in countering it.” She said even though the number of returning and relocating foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) has not been as high as some had feared, their unique situation nonetheless poses a range of challenges to countries having experienced difficulties in conducting comprehensive risk assessments for returnees and their accompanying families.

Coninsx noted that the prosecution of returning and relocating FTFs also faced various evidentiary and jurisdictional challenges adding that a revision of the existing legal framework was required in some cases. She added that a significant number of FTFs have already entered the criminal justice system in some countries which raised increasing concerns about the potential for in-prison radicalization.

British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt said, over the past three years, ISIL inspired or directed attacks claimed over 30,000 lives including through 181 attacks outside Iraq and Syria. In his first address to the Council, Hunt said the Global Coalition against ISIL drove the group out of almost all of its domain but ISIL has not been vanquished and the root causes for its emergence have not yet been resolved.

The Foreign Minister said military operations against ISIL must continue while also renewing the focus on prevention, including through supporting peace and reconciliation in Iraq and a lasting political settlement in Syria. He said the United Kingdom’s approach to counter terrorism has focused on the prevention of radicalization rather than prosecution after a crime was committed, and as a result more than 500 people had turned away from terrorism in the country.

SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Hunt, Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Commonwealth Affairs, United Kingdom:
“Societies that are confident about their beliefs and values, and hold governments to account, are societies that are resistant to the virus of terrorism. The key to success is partnership between many nations, and we mustn’t lose sight of the importance of those partnerships even as Da’esh loses its grip on Syria and Iraq.”

United States ambassador Nikki Haley said her country stepped up to meet the challenge of ISIL three years ago when the group was on a rampage in northern Iraq by forming an international coalition which now includes 77 members. She said despite the significant progress made by the coalition, the fight against ISIL was not over. She said ISIL is a resilient enemy and stressed the need not to give the organization room to re-group.

SOUNDBITE (English) Nikki Haley, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations:
“The future of our fight against terrorism will look different from the challenges that came before. Our enemies no longer control large pieces of territory spanning multiple countries. They are hiding in the shadows, or in places where governments hide them or look the other way. These terrorists never stop looking for new opportunities, so we cannot let our guard down.”

Haley noted that her country would deepen its partnership with countries to fight terrorism and would never hesitate to act to protect the American people from its threat.

Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said amid “the military and territorial loses, erosion of economic infrastructure, the weakening of propagandistic hubs, and the demoralization of fighters, the group’s leadership is seeking any opportunity to maintain its influence.” He stressed that the “global terrorist tower of Babel has fallen to pieces”, however ISIL cells continue to “speak in one tongue and they are successfully coordinating among themselves.”

Nebenzia said ISIL members and affiliates were turning to new ways of financing including through legal means such as investing in the hospitality and agricultural industries, among others. He noted with satisfaction that the Secretary-General’s report acknowledged the success of the Syrian Army in its fight against terrorism, but added that the success went beyond the suburbs of Damascus.

The Russian ambassador said over 1,400 towns and cities in Syria were now liberated from terrorism with Russian support and 96 percent of the Syrian territory was now under the control of the government and its allies. However, he said it was still possible that the frequency of terrorist attacks in the country could rise especially in Idlib.

Nebenzia stressed the need to hold terrorist to account but that this must be done in full respect for the sovereignty of nations. He added that the only way to stamp out the threat of terrorist groups was through strengthening counter terrorism cooperation among nations.

Earlier in the meeting, Council members were joined by UN chief António Guterres for a moment of silence in commemoration of the late UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The Ghanaian diplomat, who served as UN chief for two consecutive five-year terms beginning in January 1997, passed away on Saturday.

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