15 Nov 2012

UN / SRI LANKA PRESSER

Commenting on the internal review that found the United Nations had failed to meet its responsibilities during the final months of the civil war in Sri Lankain 2009, The Secretary-General's Chef de Cabinet, Susana Malcorra said "these are the moments when you have to do a strong introspection". UNTV

Posted at: November 15, 2012 4:54 pm

Duration: 02:50

Available in: SD

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STORY: UN / SRI LANKA PRESSER 
TRT: 2.50
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 15 NOVEMBER 2012, NEW YORK CITY

SHOTLIST:

FILE – 2011, UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

15 NOVEMBER 2012, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, press conference
3. Cutaway, journalists
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Susana Malcorra, Chef de Cabinet of the Secretary-General, United Nations:
"These are the moments when you have to do a strong introspection and look into the ways and means of the United Nations at large and try to find ways to improve."
5. Cutaway, press conference
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Susana Malcorra, Chef de Cabinet of the Secretary-General, United Nations:
"I think this report is a clear proof of the commitment of the Secretary-General to the principles of accountability and transparency. Not only he commissioned this report after the external panel review made this one of their recommendations, he commissioned this internal review, but he also decided that it was going to be made public and that's the case."
7. Cutaway, press conference
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Susana Malcorra, Chef de Cabinet of the Secretary-General, United Nations:
"Clearly what the review shows is that we were short of delivering as in the way we should have. You also indicate the example of Syria and I would argue some other examples also, the Sahel could be one, where we are coming together much better, much stronger. So the positive side to that will be that we have already learned and are stepping up in a swifter manner. So that would be the glass half full, still we remain with the sadness of not having been able to deliver as we should have in the occasion of Sri Lanka."
9. Cutaway, journalists
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Susana Malcorra, Chef de Cabinet of the Secretary-General, United Nations:
"The notion that this is a self serving process that is never ending I just don't accept. We started from the bigger picture with the external panel's report, then we went and zoomed into our own shortcomings. Now we have a picture of that and we will see what needs to be done better and what needs to be changed."
11. Cutaway, journalist
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Susana Malcorra, Chef de Cabinet of the Secretary-General, United Nations:
"It is a struggle because often we face contradictions on the ground –and that's exactly what happened in the case of Sri Lanka- 	contradictions that are hard to grapple with in operational terms, particularly if there is not a strong backing by member states on the matter and if there is not a solid perspective, a monolithic perspective from member states on the matter and that's our reality. But that's what the UN has to handle."
13. Cutaway, journalist
14. Malcorra and Charles Petrie, the head of the Internal Review Panel on United Nations Action in Sri Lanka leave the press conference behind

STORYLINE:

Susana Malcorra, the United Nations Secretary-General's chef de Cabinet said "these are the moments when you have to do a strong introspection and look into the ways and means of the United Nations at large and try to find ways to improve".

Malcorra was addressing a news conference today (15 November) at the United Nations in New York on the report handed to the Secretary-General yesterday by the so-called Internal Review Panel which concluded that the UN had failed to meet its responsibilities during the final months of the civil war in Sri Lanka in 2009.

Malcorra added that the report is "clear proof" of Ban's commitment to the principles of accountability and transparency, and that while it is "painful" to realize one's shortcomings, the UN owes it to itself, and more importantly to those it serves, to find ways to improve and work better in the future.

She stressed that "clearly what the review showed was that the UN was short of delivering "as in the way we should have", and citing as examples the UN's strong reactions to the crisis in Syria and the food crisis in the Sahel, Malcorra said that the positive side would be that "we have already learned and are stepping up in a swifter manner".

Malcorra strongly rejected the notion, as a journalist suggested, that the UN was being self-serving. Explaining the process she said  "we started from the bigger picture with the external panel's report. Then we went and zoomed into our own shortcomings. Now we have a picture of that and we will see what needs to be done better and what needs to be changed".

She also said it was "a struggle" because often the organization faces contradictions on the ground, "and that's exactly what happened in the case of Sri Lanka, contradictions that are hard to grapple with in operational terms, particularly if there is not a strong backing by member states on the matter."

The report by the Panel concluded that "events in Sri Lanka marked a grave failure of the UN to adequately respond to early warnings and to the evolving situation during the final stages of the conflict and its aftermath, to the detriment of hundreds of thousands of civilians and in contradiction with the principles and responsibilities of the UN."

Government forces declared victory over the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009 after a conflict that had raged on and off for nearly three decades and killed thousands of people.

The Panel, set up by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, highlighted in particular the roles played by the Secretariat, the agencies and programs of the UN Country Team, and the members of the Security Council and Human Rights Council in the final months of that conflict.

Upon making the report public yesterday, Ban voiced his resolve for the UN to learn from its findings in order to better serve humanity, especially people caught in conflict

Filed under 18.07.03 - RECOMMENDATIONS UNTV - United Nations Television.