2 Aug 2012

UN / SYRIA

Members of the Security Council today (2 August) showcased their disagreement over the future of the United Nations observer mission in Syria as the chief of UN peacekeeping warned that on the ground, the "spiral of violence is still increasing". UNTV

Posted at: August 2, 2012 6:45 pm

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STORY: UN / SYRIA
TRT: 2.09
SOURCE: UNTV 
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 2 AUGUST 2012, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

SHOTLIST:

FILE – 2011, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

2 AUGUST 2012, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, Under-Secretary-General Hervé Ladsous walking up to the microphone

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

3. Cutaway, hands taking notes

2 AUGUST 2012, NEW YORK CITY

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Hervé Ladsous, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations:
"The spiral of violence is still increasing. The focus two weeks ago was on Damascus, the focus is now on Aleppo, where there has been a considerable build-up of military means, and where we have reason to believe that the main battle is about to start."

2 AUGUST 2012, NEW YORK CITY

5. Wide shot, Ambassador Vitaly Churkin walking up to the microphone

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

6. Cutaway, hands taking notes

2 AUGUST 2012, NEW YORK CITY

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Vitaly Churkin, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations:
"Some countries, some members of the Council over the months were expressing in words their support for Kofi Annan's activities, whereas their actions were completely different. And they were expressing in words their support for his plans, and the direction of his activities, but in fact the strategy which they were actually pursuing, was obscure. And that obscurity was manifested today in their inability to answer the questions about the strategy behind their intention to terminate UNSMIS."

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

8. Cutaway, hands taking notes

2 AUGUST 2012, NEW YORK CITY

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Vitaly Churkin, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations:
"Some who insist that UNSMIS should be terminated, they do not want this objective information, and they have some other things in mind rather than stopping the violence and political accomodation."

2 AUGUST 2012, NEW YORK CITY

10. Wide shot, Ambassador Gérard Araud walking up to the microphone

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

11. Cutaway, hands taking notes

2 AUGUST 2012, NEW YORK CITY

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Gérard Araud, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations:
"If by any chance the government of Syria, and it can do it this way [snaps his fingers], stops the shelling of civilian neighbourhoods, it's not difficult, it can do it in five minutes, and if as a result, there is a decrease in violence, there is a decrease in the number of civilians killed by the regime, we can keep UNSMIS. So you know it's really, I think… you know, the fact that some people are saying, 'oh, we have to keep it at any cost' is simply ignoring the resolution they have themselves voted."

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

13. Cutaway, cameras

STORYLINE:

Upon his return from Syria, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous today briefed the Security Council behind closed doors on the activities of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS), which remain limited due to the ongoing violence.

After the meeting Ladsous updated the press on the security situation on the ground. He said the main security concerns had shifted from Damascus to Aleppo. UN observers in Syria were reporting that there was reason to believe that "the main battle" there "is about to start".

Also speaking to reporters after the Security Council meeting, Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin refuted "some member states'" claims that Russia's vetoes of stronger Security Council action on Syria was to blame for today's resignation of the UN-Arab League Joint Special Envoy for Syria, Kofi Annan. Instead he said that "some countries" had supported Annan "in words" but "not in actions", pointing to France's recent re-call to Paris of Annan's deputy, French diplomat Jean-Marie Guehenno.

Churkin said Russia was strongly in favour of extending UNSMIS with a "more than symbolic" role when its current mandate ends on 19 August. He underlined the importance of the "objective information" gathered by UN observers and charged that those against a further extension of UNSMIS are not interested in objective information and "have some other things in mind rather than stopping the violence".

Ambassador Gérard Araud of France, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council for the month of August and commented earlier today that he expected the UN observer mission in Syria to "just disappear on the 19th of August", said he believed "all the member states" were ready to consider "any proposals" to be submitted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on a future UN role in Syria.

He went on to point out that the last Security Council resolution extending UNSMIS for a "final" 30-days included a provision to renew the mission if there was a decrease in violence, and called on the Syrian government to stop shelling civilians, which he said could be done easily "in five minutes".