24 Oct 2012

UN / NAVI PILLAY

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay told the General Assembly today that the international community needed to “take urgent and effective measures to protect the Syrian people" as the Syrian state was "manifestly" failing to carry out its obligation under international law to do so. UNTV

Posted at: October 24, 2012 5:15 pm

Duration: 02:02

Available in: SD

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Full script

STORY: UN / NAVI PILLAY
TRT: 2.02
SOURCE: UNTV 
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS

DATELINE: 24 OCTOBER 2012, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

SHOTLIST:

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

1.	Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

24 OCTOBER 2012, NEW YORK CITY

2.	Wide shot, conference room
3.	SOUNDBITE (English) Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Right:
"There is no doubt that every Security Council member wishes to see an end to the ever developing conflict in Syria and the violence affecting civilians. While taking into account important political concerns, it is urgent to find ways to avert the massive loss of civilians and human rights violations. International law obliges States to protect their people, and where a State manifestly fails to carry out this obligation, then the international community needs to take urgent and effective measures to protect the Syrian people."
4.	Med shot, Syrian ambassador
5.	SOUNDBITE (English) Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Right:
"Like all other United Nations entities, we too are labouring under financial constraints. Last year I alerted you to the widening gap between the increasing load and expectations of OHCHR and the financial support it receives. That anomaly persists. Human rights are widely recognised as one of the three pillars of the United Nations, yet the resources required to support important mandate activities are not forthcoming."
6.	Med shot, Algerian ambassador
7.	SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Bashar Ja'afari, Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations:
"We have listened to Her Excellency calling for foreign intervention, and she called for intervention by the international community. This is a deviation from her mandate and this does not help the human rights situation in Syria but rather leads to further bloodshed in my country."
8.	Med shot, Surinam delegation
9.	Wide shot, end of meeting

STORYLINE:

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay told the General Assembly today (24 October) that the international community needed to "take urgent and effective measures to protect the Syrian people" as the Syrian state was "manifestly" failing to carry out its obligation under international law to do so.

Pillay was addressing the General Assembly's Third Committee during her annual report on the work of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

Third Committee agenda items relate to a range of social, humanitarian affairs and human rights issues.

The High Commissioner warned that financial constraints are limiting the resources required to support her office's mandated activities and called on the General Assembly to renew its commitment to support OHCHR and maintain its momentum to promote and protect human rights all over the world.

She said there was a "widening gap between the increasing load and expectations of OHCHR and the financial support it receives," adding that "the resources required to support important mandate activities are not forthcoming."

Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari, in his address to the Third Committee chastised the High Commissioner for "calling for foreign intervention" in Syria.

He said this was "a deviation from her mandate" and "does not help the human rights situation in Syria but rather leads to further bloodshed."

More than 20,000 people, mostly civilians, have died in Syria since the uprising against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad began some 20 months ago. A further 2.5 million people urgently need humanitarian aid, and more than 340,000 have crossed the border to neighbouring countries, according to UN estimates.