12 Jan 2012

UN / ZUMA

President Jacob Zuma of South Africa told the Security Council today that despite the fact that about 70 percent of Security Council agenda items concern Africa, “not a single African Country” is a permanent Council member. UNTV

Posted at: January 12, 2012 4:14 pm

Duration: 02:45

Available in: SD

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STORY: UN / ZUMA
TRT: 2.45
SOURCE: UNTV 
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/ NATS

DATELINE: 11 JANUARY 2012, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

SHOTLIST:

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

1.	Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

11 JANUARY 2012, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Med shot, delegates
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Jacob Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa:
"The absence of African countries at the time of the formation of the United Nations is reflected in the fact that not a single African country is permanent member of the UN Security Council. This is despite the fact on average about 70 percent of agenda items of the United Nations Security Council concern Africa."
5. Med shot, delegates
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Jacob Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa:
"Regional bodies are closer to the situation, are familiar to the issues and often understand the dynamics of the conflict. Neighbouring countries also often bear the burden and the consequences of conflict in their neighbourhood."
7. Med shot, delegates
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Jacob Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa:
"Critical to building a stronger relationship will be to avoid the situation such as that which transpired during the conflict in Libya last year. As everybody is aware the AU developed a political roadmap that would have assisted in resolving the political conflict in that country. The AU's plan was completely ignored in favour of bombing Libya by NATO forces."
9. Med shot, delegates
10. Wide shot, Security Council
11. Wide shot, Zuma walks to the stakeout position

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

12.	Close up, reporter's laptop computer

11 JANUARY 2012, NEW YORK CITY

13.	SOUNDBITE (English) Jacob Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa:
"There is a need for greater strategic political coherence between the Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council in the prevention and management of conflicts. It is essential that the relationship between the two Councils is institutionalized."

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

14.	Close up, reporter's notepad

11 JANUARY 2012, NEW YORK CITY

15.	Wide shot, Zuma walks away from the stakeout position

STORYLINE:

President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, which holds the Security Council's rotating presidency for this month, chaired a meeting today (12 Jan) on the collective efforts by the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU)in peace and security matters.

Zuma noted that "the absence of African countries at the time of the formation of the United Nations is reflected in the fact that not a single African country is permanent member of the UN Security Council."

He said that this was "despite the fact on average about 70 percent of agenda items of the United Nations Security Council concern Africa" and called for urgent Security Council reform.

The South African President stressed the importance of regional bodies as they "are closer to the situation, are familiar to the issues and often understand the dynamics of the conflict". He added that neighbouring countries "also often bear the burden and the consequences of conflict in their neighbourhood."

Zuma pointed out that "critical to building a stronger relationship will be to avoid the situation such as that which transpired during the conflict in Libya last year" where the AU had developed a political roadmap "that would have assisted in resolving the political conflict in that country."

He lamented that the AU's plan "was completely ignored in favour of bombing Libya by NATO forces."

Some examples of cooperation between the UN and the AU include the joint peacekeeping operation in Darfur (UNAMID), combined efforts to combat the threat posed by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and UN support to the AU peacekeeping force in Somalia (AMISOM).

Outside the Council, Zuma told reporters that "there is a need for greater strategic political coherence between the Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council in the prevention and management of conflicts" and it is "essential that the relationship between the two Councils is institutionalized."

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, whose recent report on the subject focuses on building on successes, improving coherence, and harmonizing decision-making from a firm foundation of shared values and principles, told the Council that the UN has strengthened the partnership with the AU in several concrete ways over the past few years.

The meeting heard from numerous delegations, as well as Ramtane Lamamra, AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, who noted that a more strategic relationship between the UN and the AU is made more compelling by the fact that Africa, despite the significant progress made in recent years, still accounts for the highest number of conflicts worldwide.