17 Jul 2012

UN / YEMEN

The UN’s Special Representative for Yemen, Jamal Benomar, today (17 July) said food insecurity and malnutrition levels in Yemen “are among the highest now in the world.” UNTV

Posted at: July 17, 2012 4:43 pm

Duration: 02:18

Available in: SD

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Full script

STORY: UN / YEMEN
TRT: 2.18
SOURCE: UNTV 
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 17 JULY 2012, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

SHOTLIST:

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

17 JULY 2012, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Yemen Jamal Benomar walks up to the stakeout position

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

3. Close up, camera

17 JULY 2012, NEW YORK CITY

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Jamal Benomar, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Yemen:
"Food insecurity and malnutrition levels are among the highest now in the world. 10 million people, more than half the population are food insecure. There are nearly a million malnourished children. This is one thing that I highlighted in my briefing to the Council and to date less than half of the humanitarian appeal for Yemen has been funded. An additional 340 millions urgently required to meet increased humanitarian needs."

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

5. Close up, reporter's notepad

17 JULY 2012, NEW YORK CITY

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Jamal Benomar, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Yemen:
"Those who undermine the Government of National Unity and the political transition should be prepared to be held to account. Obstruction continues at various levels. Attacks to oil and gas electricity infrastructure are costing the treasury an estimated loss of 250 million per month."

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

7. Close up, reporter's notepad

17 JULY 2012, NEW YORK CITY

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Jamal Benomar, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Yemen:
"Military action alone cannot solve the radicalization and terrorism threat. The only way to achieve lasting stability is to address also some of the underlying grievances in particular in the south. When seen against this background, it is hard to overestimate the relevance of the national dialogue process for the success of this transition. So, to put it bluntly, if the national dialogue fails many expect that the entire transition and peace process will collapse. So it is clear the stakes are very high."

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

9. Close up, reporter's notepad

17 JULY 2012, NEW YORK CITY

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Jamal Benomar, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Yemen:
"All Yemeni constituencies are competing to participate, you know, in the national dialogue. This is very healthy. So, something has changed. Only a few months ago the country was on the verge of civil war. There was war and confrontation, violence, the main language was violence. Now the dominant language is national dialogue."

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

11. Close up, reporter's notepad

17 JULY 2012, NEW YORK CITY

12. Wide shot, Benomar walks away from the stakeout position

STORYLINE:

The UN's Special Representative for Yemen, Jamal Benomar, today (17 July) said food insecurity and malnutrition levels in Yemen "are among the highest now in the world."

Benomar said 10 million people, or more than half the country's population, "are food insecure." That figure includes "nearly a million malnourished children."

Benomar said to date less than half of the humanitarian appeal for Yemen has been funded and an additional 340 million dollars are "urgently required to meet increased humanitarian needs."

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the Middle East. Some 35 percent of people in the country live below the poverty line.

On the political front, Benomar, who briefed the Security Council this morning, warned about spoilers to the peace process. He pointed out that according to Security Council resolutions, "those who undermine the Government of National Unity and the political transition should be prepared to be held to account."

Attacks on oil and gas electricity infrastructure, he said, "are costing the treasury an estimated loss of 250 million per month."

He said, "military action alone cannot solve the radicalization and terrorism threat" adding that "the only way to achieve lasting stability is to address also some of the underlying grievances."

He warned that "if the national dialogue fails many expect that the entire transition and peace process will collapse."

Benomar noted a "very healthy" urge from all Yemeni constituencies to participate in the national dialogue, pointing out that "only a few months ago the country was on the verge of civil war."

He said that back then "the main language was violence" and "now the dominant language is national dialogue."

Yemen has been undergoing a democratic transition, under President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi Mansour, who came to power in an election in February. This followed an agreement signed by warring factions in November 2011 on a transitional settlement in the wake of widespread protests similar to those seen across the Middle East and North Africa, and the resignation of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Filed under YEMEN .