14 Jul 2011

UN / HQ PREPS SOUTH SUDAN

While the political engine of the UN moved forward in accepting its newest member state South Sudan, the organization and its staff were busy setting up for the country’s admission. UNTV

Posted at: July 14, 2011 12:52 pm

Duration: 03:29

Available in: SD

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STORY: UN / HQ SOUTH SUDAN PREPS
TRT: 3:29
SOURCE: UNTV / UNMIS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 8-14 JULY 2011, UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK / 9 JULY 2011, JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN / RECENT

SHOTLIST:

RECENT – UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK

1. Wide shot, exterior UN headquarters

14 JULY 2011, UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK

2. Various shots, South Sudan delegation taking their seat in the General Assembly

11 JULY 2011, UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations:
"To the people and leaders, our message is clear. You now sit with the United Nations and the United Nations stands with you."

9 JULY 2011, JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN

4. Various shots, Independence Day celebrations and unveiling of John Garang statute

13 JULY 2011, UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK

5. Various shots, Secretary-General Ban's photo-op with South Sudan Vice President Riek Machar
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Riek Machar, Vice President, South Sudan:
"You know the feeling is free at last, Martin Luther said so. The feeling is of excitement. The feeling is I'm lucky to be alive to see the day. And I believe this is not me alone, it's also the rest. The feeling is we now have a bright future."

7. Various shots, technical maintenance staff keying in South Sudan's name for the General Assembly voting display

8 JULY 2011, UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK

8. Wide shot, Sign Shop sign
9. Various shots, Sign Shop staff preparing South Sudan nameplates

13 JULY 2011, UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK

10. Med shot, Meeting Services staff placing new nameplate in the General Assembly
12. Wide shot, General Assembly
13. Zoom in, voting display showing South Sudan

8 JULY 2011, UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK

14. Med shot, South Sudan delegation handing over flag to UN Protocol office
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Desmond Parker, Chief, Protocol, United Nations:
"It is exciting and particularly in the case of Southern Sudan given the deep involvement of the United Nations and the process towards statehood. I believe that it's very gratifying for the Secretary-General although I cannot necessarily speak on his behalf but it is gratifying for us to see South Sudan some into full statehood."

13 JULY 2011, UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK

16. Wide shot, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon meeting South Sudan Vice President Riek Machar during Security Council meeting
17. Wide shot, Security Council meeting
18. Med shot, United Kingdom delegation
19. Med shot, French delegation
20. Med shot, United States Ambassador Susan Rice
21. Med shot, UN Flag
22. Pan right, UN Member State flags

STORYLINE:

South Sudan became the 193rd Member of the United Nations (UN) today (14 July).

The UN General Assembly voted to accept the youngest country in the world as the newest Member of the world body. The vote was followed by a flag-raising ceremony at  UN headquarters in New York.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the vote with a message to South Sudan saying "you now sit with the United Nations and the United Nations stands with you."

After decades of civil war and unrest in the region, South Sudan became an independent state on 9 July. Its independence is the result of the January 2011 referendum held under the terms of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the civil war between the North and the South.

In an interview yesterday (13 July) following his meeting with Ban, South Sudan Vice President Riek Machar said "I'm lucky to be alive to see the day" adding that "the feeling is we now have a bright future."

While the political engine of the UN moved forward in accepting a new Member State, the organization and its staff were busy setting up for the country's admission.

New nameplates were made, a flag-pole was erected and the name of the new nation was officially keyed into the UN General Assembly voting display just days before the admission.

At the UN Sign Shop, South Sudan was imprinted into brand new nameplates. Every year the shop makes approximately 40,000 signs to be used in UN meetings in around the world.

The nameplates were then delivered to the General Assembly and placed on the table where South Sudan's new delegation will sit through the 65th Session of the General Assembly ending in mid September.

Each year, before a new General Assembly session starts, a lottery is drawn to determine which country will sit in the front of the hall. An alphabetical order will then be established from that particular country. Currently, Guinea starts the order ending with Guatemala seated all the way in the back.

In the General Assembly, where every Member has an equal vote, South Sudan's name can now be seen displayed on the voting board.

Last week, a new South Sudan delegation based in Washington DC visited the UN Chief of Protocol to handover their new flag. The flag was previously used as a symbol of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SPLM) to which the country's President Salva Kiir belonged.

The colours for the new flag represent the South Sudanese people (black), peace (white), the blood shed for freedom (red), the land (green) and the waters of the Nile (blue). The gold star represents unity of the states of South Sudan.

The head of Protocol Desmond Parker said "it is gratifying for us to see South Sudan some into full statehood."

South Sudan's inauguration into the UN also marks the every first time a country joins the UN under the tenure of the current Secretary-General.

About five years ago, in June 2006, Montenegro joined the UN as its 192nd Member after it declared itself independent from Serbia through a referendum process. The UN started off with just 51 Members when it was established in 1945.

Any recommendations for admission must receive the affirmative votes of nine of the Council's 15 members, provided that none of its five permanent members, China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and United States vote against the application.

If the Council recommends admission, the recommendation is presented to the 192-member Assembly, where a two-thirds majority of members present and voting is necessary for admission of a new State.

According to the UN Rules of Procedure, to be considered for admission the applicant must be "a peace-loving State and is able and willing to carry out the obligations contained in the Charter."