12 Sep 2012

UN / LIBYA

At a Security Council meeting on Libya, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman condemned yesterday's attack on the US Embassy in Benghazi. He stressed that the UN rejects the defamation of religion in all forms, but said there was "no justification" for such violence. UNTV

Posted at: September 12, 2012 3:28 pm

Duration: 03:29

Available in: SD

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STORY: UN / LIBYA
TRT: 3.29
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 12 SEPTEMBER 2012, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

SHOTLIST:

FILE 2011, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

12 SEPTEMBER 2012, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, Security Council meeting opening
3. Cutaway, delegates
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeffrey Feltman, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs:
"The United Nations rejects defamation of religion in all forms, but there is no justification for violence such as occurred in Benghazi yesterday.  We condemn in the strongest terms this attack on a diplomatic facility, and we extend our condolences to the families, Libyan and American, of those killed and our wishes for a speedy and full recovery to those injured."
5. Cutaway, delegates
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeffrey Feltman, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs:
"The Secretary-General reminds the Libyan authorities of their obligations to protect diplomatic facilities and personnel. We welcome statements by Libyan authorities that they will bring those who killed the diplomatic personnel to justice."
7. Cutaway, delegates
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeffrey Feltman, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs:
"These challenges are manifested by the presence of arms outside state control, lack of clarity and competition over security responsibilities between and within relevant ministries and institutions and the continued prevalence of armed brigades. In addition to these concerns, border security remains a top national priority to combat the smuggling of arms, drugs, human trafficking and illegal migration, as well as the spread of transnational organized crime."   
9. Wide shot, Security Council ends meeting
10. Wide shot, Libyan Deputy Ambassador Ibrahim O. A. Dabbashi approaches microphone
11. Cutaway, journalist talking notes
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Ambassador Ibrahim O. A. Dabbashi, Deputy Permanent Representative of Libya to the United Nations:
"The authority of the government is still not covering the whole territory of Libya and there are some groups and persons who are outlaws and the government could not until this moment contain all of them. I think in the near future the government will take the necessary measures to be able to contain those people and also to take the necessary measures to bring them to justice."
 13. Cutaway, journalists taking notes
14. Wide shot, Ambassador Peter Wittig, President of the Security Council approaches the microphone
15. Cutaway, journalist taking notes
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Ambassador Peter Wittig, President of the Security Council for the month of September and Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations:
"The members of the Security Council underlined the need to bring perpetrators of these acts to justice. The members of the Security Council reaffirmed that such acts are unjustifiable regardless of their motivations, whenever and by whomsoever committed. The members of the Security Council recalled the fundamental principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises, and the obligations on host Governments, including under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, to take all appropriate steps to protect diplomatic and consular premises against any intrusion or damage, and to prevent any disturbance of the peace of these missions or impairment of their dignity."
17. Cutaway, journalist taking notes
18. Zoom out, Ambassador Wittig leaves microphone behind

STORYLINE:

The top UN political official, Jefferey Feltman today (12 September) stressed that the United Nations rejects the defamation of religion in all forms, but said there was "no justification" for violence like yesterday's attack on the United States embassy in Libya.

During a briefing the Security Council on the situation in Libya, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs condemned in the strongest terms the attack on the US diplomatic presence in Benghazi and extended the UN's condolences to the families – Libyan and American – of those killed.

Noting that the UN was committed to doing its best to support Libya's ongoing transition and help the Libyan people achieve their aspirations for a secure, democratic, united, and prosperous Libya, Feltman reminded the Libyan authorities of their obligations to protect diplomatic facilities and personnel. He added that "we welcome statements by Libyan authorities that they will bring those who killed the diplomatic personnel to justice."

Stressing that security was the main challenge facing the Libyan people and authorities, and noting that Congress Chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil had acknowledged shortcomings in addressing those issues, Feltman said "the presence of arms outside state control" was a big issue. He said that "border security remained a top national priority to combat the smuggling of arms, drugs, human trafficking and illegal migration, as well as the spread of transnational organized crime."

He also signaled Ban Ki-moon's appointment of a new Special Representative to Libya, Tarik Mitri, replacing Ian Martin, who helped establish the Mission last year.

Following the meeting Libya's Deputy Ambassador Ibrahim O. A. Dabbashi told reporters that the authority of the Libyan government was still not covering the whole Libyan territory, and there were some outlaw groups and persons whom the government could not yet contain. He said "in the near future the government will take the necessary measures to be able to contain those people and also to take the necessary measures to bring them to justice".

Meanwhile the Security Council issued a press statement, read to the reporters by the Security Council President, German Ambassador Wittig. In it the Security Council condemned the attack in Benghazi, as well as the attack on the United States Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, both on 11 September.

The President of the Security Council stressed the need to bring the perpetrators to justice and recalled "the fundamental principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises, and the obligations on host Governments to take all appropriate steps to protect diplomatic and consular premises against any intrusion or damage".

According to media reports, the US ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other diplomats were killed when suspected Libyan religious extremists stormed the US Consulate in Benghazi late Tuesday. The extremists reportedly attacked the location in protest against an anti-Islamic video produced by an American-Israeli real-estate developer.