UN / BELGIUM GERMANY IDLIB APPEAL

STORY: UN / BELGIUM GERMANY IDLIB APPEAL
TRT: 2:07
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH /NATS

DATELINE: 27 FEBRUARY 2020, NEW YORK CITY

SHOTLIST:

FILE

1. Exterior shot, flags outside UN Headquarters

27 FEBRUARY 2020, NEW YORK CITY

2. Zoom in Belgian Deputy PM De Croo and German FM Maas at the stakeout
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Alexander De Croo, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance and Development of Belgium:
“Germany and Belgium, we are the co-penholders of the Syrian humanitarian file. With our presence, both of us here in New York today, German colleague and I would like to underline our countries’ outmost commitment to this issue. The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Idlib and humanitarian needs in other parts of Syria must be a key priority of the UN Security Council. The Council, the Secretary-General, the international community, must even get more engaged than what they have been doing up to now. The displacement of nearly one million people in only three months – half of them are children which are in extremely difficult circumstances in the winter in Syria. Basically, thousands of people today are starving because of hunger and because of the cold. The killing of hundreds of civilians, the daily suffering of hundreds of thousands of children and the constant violation of the international humanitarian law must stop. What we see it is almost weaponization of access to humanitarian assistance and this is something that the international community cannot accept, and we clearly want to give a message here today that this must stop as soon as possible.”
4. Wide shot, ministers at the stakeout
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Heiko Maas, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany:
“There is more this Council can and must do to stop the suffering. First and foremost, full humanitarian access is needed, it must be ensured that aid reaches those in need. And secondly, a humanitarian ceasefire is essential. And finally, we need to redouble our efforts to come to a political solution. Thank you very much.”
6. Zoom out, ministers leaving

STORYLINE:

“The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Idlib and humanitarian needs in other parts of Syria must be a key priority of the UN Security Council,” ministers of Germany and Belgium said in New York on Thursday, calling on “the Council, the Secretary-General and the international community, must even get more engaged than what they have been doing up to now.”

Speaking to reporters before a Security Council’s meeting on Syria, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and German Foreign Mininster Heiko Maas called for a humanitarian ceasefire and humanitarian access to those in need in embattled north-west Syria.

“With our presence, both of us here in New York today, German colleague and I would like to underline our countries’ outmost commitment to this issue,” said Alexander De Croo, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance and Development of Belgium.

“The displacement of nearly one million people in only three months – half of them are children which are in extremely difficult circumstances in the winter in Syria,” said De Croo. “Basically, thousands of people today are starving because of hunger and because of the cold.”

Calling the ongoing situation on the ground in north-west Syria an “almost-weaponization of access to humanitarian assistance,” Belgian Deputy PM said “the killing of hundreds of civilians, the daily suffering of hundreds of thousands of children and the constant violation of the international humanitarian law must stop.”

“There is more this Council can and must do to stop the suffering” said the German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and proceed to underlined three priorities for the Security Council in dealing with the crisis in Idlib.”

“First and foremost, full humanitarian access is needed, it must be ensured that aid reaches those in need. And secondly, a humanitarian ceasefire is essential. And finally, we need to redouble our efforts to come to a political solution,” Maas said.