GA / 68TH GA OPENING WRAP
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STORY: GA / 68TH GA OPENING WRAP
TRT: 2.28
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 17 SEPTEMBER 2013, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters
17 SEPTEMBER 2013, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, General Assembly dais
3. Wide shot, delegates
4. SOUNDBITE (English) John W. Ashe, President of the United Nations General Assembly:
“The upcoming year will prove to be pivotal for this Assembly as we seek to identify parameters for the post-2015 development agenda. The magnitude of the task before us will require decisive action and the highest levels of collaboration, and we must prove ourselves on our efforts to be equal to the enormity of our tasks.”
5. Med shot, delegates
6. SOUNDBITE (English) John W. Ashe, President of the United Nations General Assembly:
“I intend to dedicate significant time and resources to the issues of reforming and revitalizing the main bodies of this, our institution, the General Assembly and the Security Council. We are all in agreement that reform of these bodies is needed, and it’s simply unacceptable to do nothing, since this causes a major hindrance to this organization realizing its full potential and it’s an immense disservice to the peoples of the world who rely on us, and look to us with a sense of hope and possibility.”
7. Various shots, delegates
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General:
“As we focus on stopping the threat of further use of chemical weapons, we should not lose sight of the broader situation and in particular the victims of this atrocious and ongoing conflict. The terrible attack on 21 August was one of many that have collectively well over 100,000 people in Syria during the past two-and-a-half years. Most of those deaths can be attributed to conventional weapons such as guns and mortars, with children making up a large proportion of the casualties. While the use of chemical weapons is unacceptable, the mass loss of civilian life, whether due to conventional or non-conventional weapons is also intolerable.”
9. Wide shot, audience applause
The 68th session of the General Assembly got underway today (17 September) under the theme the ‘Post-2015 Development Agenda: Setting the Stage.’
The body’s new President, John W. Ashe, a national of Antigua and Barbuda, said “the upcoming year will prove to be pivotal for this Assembly as we seek to identify parameters for the post-2015 development agenda.”
Ashe said “the magnitude of the task before us will require decisive action and the highest levels of collaboration, and we must prove ourselves on our efforts to be equal to the enormity of our tasks.”
The UN is currently in the 1,000 days of action to spur progress towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.
Those eight anti-poverty targets, which were agreed by world leaders at a UN summit in 2000, set specific goals on poverty alleviation, education, gender equality, child and maternal health, environmental stability, HIV/AIDS reduction, and a global partnership for development.
Ashe also spoke about “reforming and revitalizing the main bodies of this, our institution, the General Assembly and the Security Council.”
He said that all are in agreement that “reform of these bodies is needed, and it’s simply unacceptable to do nothing, since this causes a major hindrance to this organization realizing its full potential and it’s an immense disservice to the peoples of the world who rely on us, and look to us with a sense of hope and possibility.”
As the first agenda item, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon briefed the Assembly on the findings of Dr. Åke Sellström’s chemical weapons investigation team in Syria.
The Secretary-General said that “as we focus on stopping the threat of further use of chemical weapons, we should not lose sight of the broader situation and in particular the victims of this atrocious and ongoing conflict.”
Ban said that noted that “the terrible attack on 21 August was one of many that have collectively well over 100,000 people in Syria during the past two-and-a-half years.”
He pointed out that “most of those deaths can be attributed to conventional weapons such as guns and mortars, with children making up a large proportion of the casualties.”
The Secretary-General remarked that “while the use of chemical weapons is unacceptable, the mass loss of civilian life, whether due to conventional or non-conventional weapons is also intolerable.”
A United Nations team probing the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria has found “clear and convincing evidence” that Sarin gas was used in an incident that occurred on 21 August in the Ghouta area on the outskirts of Damascus in which hundreds of people were reportedly killed.
Over 100,000 Syrians have been killed since the conflict begun, more than 2 million have fled to neighbouring countries and a further 4 million have been internally displaced since fighting began in March 2011 between the Government and opposition groups seeking to oust President Bashar Al-Assad.