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STORY: UN / PRINCE ZEID RA’AD ZEID AL-HUSSEIN
TRT: 1.45
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 30 APRIL 2013, NEW YORK
FILE – 2012, UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations Headquarters
30 APRIL 2013, NEW YORK
2. Wide shot, Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein, Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations approaches microphone
3. Cutaway, journalists taking notes
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein, Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations:
“Its not just a question of what we have faced thus far but we are receiving such a high rate of refugees at the moment that to project into the future given the insufficient amount of support we’ve received from the international community –we have received some and we are very grateful- but given that we still expect some more and that its still hasn’t materialized it leaves us very worried that we may not be able to cope if these numbers continue to increase almost exponentially in the next few months of course.”
5. Cutaway, journalist taking notes
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein, Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations:
“His majesty the King and the government have made it clear that the borders will remain open it’s just that we would be on the crushing weight I would say, we will be committed to helping our Syrian brothers and sisters, on the other hand if we don’t have the means and economically we are already into an arrangement with the IMF in terms of deficit reduction we’ll be placed in an impossible situation lest we have some assistance or greater assistance from the international community and so from the perspective of the Jordanian government unless the support is forthcoming then we can consider this to be a threat to our stability and security.”
7. Cutaway, journalist taking notes
8. Wide shot, Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein leaves microphone behind
Following a closed door meeting with the members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, Jordan told journalists today (30 April) that the increasing number of Syrian refugees entering their country was turning into a “threat to its stability and security of the country.”
Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein, Jordan’s Permanent Ambassador to the United Nations said that presently Jordan was receiving such a high rate of refugees that it was difficult to project into the future, adding that although Jordan did receive assistance from the international community, part of it had not materialized yet, and he added that “it leaves us very worried that we may not be able to cope if these numbers continue to increase almost exponentially in the next few months of course.”
Noting that the refugee exodus from Syria now needed to be considered by the Security Council as a separate crisis from the civil war, and that international support had so far been "insufficient", he said that the King was committed to not closing the country’s borders, but the weight was “crushing.”
He ended by warning that “unless the support is forthcoming then we can consider this to be a threat to our stability and security.”
According to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) the current unrest in Syria has so far forced over one million people to abandon their homes and seek safety in the neighboring countries of Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.
With increased violence and no end in sight, up to 8,000 more arrive every day, 76 percent of whom are women and children.
Many newly-arriving Syrian refugees are entirely dependent on humanitarian aid, with some coming with only the clothes on their backs and few or no financial resources.
