19 Jul 2012

UN / ELIASSON

UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson announced today (19 July) that the UN’s military adviser, Lt. Gen. Babacar Gaye of Senegal will be sent to Syria to ensure “strong leadership” of the UN mission there. UNTV

Posted at: July 19, 2012 3:52 pm

Duration: 01:48

Available in: SD

DOWNLOAD

Full script

STORY: UN / ELIASSON
TRT: 1.48
SOURCE: UNTV 
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 19 JULY 2012, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

SHOTLIST:

FILE – 2011, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

19 JULY 2012, NEW YORK

2. Wide shot, press conference
3. Med shot, journalists
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Jan Eliasson, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General:
"As you know, General [Robert] Mood is leaving and we need to have a leadership which both sends the message of the continued military aspects of this situation, but also, of course, the need to play a meaningful role in the context of the new situation. It is a fluid situation, but we find it important now to make sure that we have a strong leadership in place. We will then be guided by what the Security Council will decide, of course, and then also by the situation on the ground."
5. Med shot, journalists
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Jan Eliasson, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General:
"It's a very serious situation there. And this has also has a relationship to the Sahel crisis.  Here is one of the greatest humanitarian crises in the world - eighteen million people are at risk. One million children are at risk; at fatal risk.  We need to have a comprehensive view of both the political challenges and the humanitarian challenges."
7. Med shot, journalists
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Jan Eliasson, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General:
"I think it is part of a pattern of violations of human rights, also, which we have seen many indications of in the last few days from the north, and this unfortunately adds to this image of very extremist groups being in charge."
9. Med shot, journalists
10. Wide shot, end of press conference

STORYLINE:

UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson announced today (19 July) that the UN's military adviser, Lt. Gen. Babacar Gaye of Senegal will be sent to Syria to ensure "strong leadership" of the UN mission there.

Eliasson, speaking at a press conference at UN headquarters shortly after the Security Council failed to adopt a resolution extending the mandate of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS), which expires Friday(20 July), said  the mission's current chief, General Robert Mood left Syria today.

The decision to dispatch Gaye to Syria aimed to send a "message of the continued military aspects of this situation," he said.  Gaye previously served as the force commander of the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, MONUC from 2005 to 2010.

The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous will also travel to Syria in the next few days, Eliasson said.

Eliasson, a Swede, who was appointed as Deputy Secretary-General earlier this month, said at his first news conference as Deputy Secretary-General, that he would concentrate on development and political affairs.

On Mali and the humanitarian crisis in the Sahel region, he said there was a "very serious" situation in Mali with regional and international implications. A "comprehensive view" of the security challenges and the humanitarian situation was needed.

He said the Secretary-General was deeply concerned about the destruction of shrines and mausoleums taking place in northern Mali. This was part of "a pattern of violations of human rights" that appeared to show "very extremist groups being in charge".

Filed under SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC .