UN / AFGHANISTAN

STORY: UN / AFGHANISTAN
TRT: 4:23
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH /NATS

DATELINE: 9 SEPTEMBER 2021, NEW YORK CITY

SHOTLIST:

1.Exterior shot, UN Headquarters

9 SEPTEMBER 2021, NEW YORK CITY

2.Wide shot, Security Council
3.Split screen, three briefers
4.SOUNDBITE (English) Deborah Lyons, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan:
“What is of immediate and practical importance to those around this table is that of the 33 names presented, many are on the United Nations sanctions list, including the prime minister, the two deputy prime ministers, and the foreign minister. All of you will need to decide which steps to take regarding the sanctions list, and the impact on future engagement.”
5.Wide shot, Security Council with briefers on screen
6.SOUNDBITE (English) Deborah Lyons, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan:
“In the current environment the UN role must be clear and build on our humanitarian imperative. There is an immediate and pressing need to deliver, on a huge scale, essential humanitarian aid in areas such as health, food security, non-food items, and sanitation.”
7.Cutaway, delegates
8.SOUNDBITE (English) Deborah Lyons, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan:
“Billions of assets and donor funds have been frozen by members of the international community. The understandable purpose is to deny these funds to the de facto Taliban administration. Inevitable effect, however, will be a severe economic downturn that could throw many more millions into poverty and hunger, may generate a massive wave of refugees from Afghanistan, and indeed set Afghanistan back for generations.”
9.Wide shot, Security Council
10.SOUNDBITE (English) Deborah Lyons, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan:
“The economy must be allowed to breathe for a few more months, giving the Taliban a chance to demonstrate flexibility and a genuine will to do things differently this time, notably from a human rights, gender, and counter-terrorism perspective.”
11.Cutaway, Afghanistan’s delegate
12.SOUNDBITE (English) Deborah Lyons, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan:
“We are, however, increasingly worried by the growing number of incidents of harassment and intimidation against our national staff. We will continue to do everything possible to support our staff and keep them from harm’s way. The UN cannot conduct its work—work that is so essential to the Afghan people—if its personnel are subjected to intimidation, fear for their lives, and cannot move freely.”
13.Wide shot, Security Council with briefers on screen
14.SOUNDBITE (English) Malala Yousafzai, Co-founder and Board Chair of the Malala Fund:
“Send a clear, unequivocal message to the Taliban, that a fundamental condition of any working relationship is upholding girls’ right to education in accordance with international treaties and conventions. Statements are not sufficient. The Taliban government must guarantee and protect the rights of women and girls.”
15.Split screen, three briefers
16.SOUNDBITE (English) Malala Yousafzai, Co-founder and Board Chair of the Malala Fund:
“A united Security Council, speaking with one voice for girls’ education can compel the Taliban to make real concessions. This is vital, not only for Afghan women and girls themselves, but for long term security in the region and our world. I hope and trust that the Security Council will stand with the girls and women of Afghanistan.”
17.Cutaway, delegates
18.SOUNDBITE (English) Simon Coveney, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defense of Ireland:
“Those who have seized power now bear the ultimate responsibility to ensure the safety, security and human rights of Afghan people. Any new administration must adhere to Afghanistan's obligations under international law, including international humanitarian refugee and human rights law. I call on the members of this Council to send an unequivocal message, that those who violate international laws and perpetrates human rights violations must be and will be held accountable by the international community.”
19.Wide shot, Security Council

STORYLINE:

In Afghanistan, “there is an immediate and pressing need to deliver, on a huge scale, essential humanitarian aid in areas such as health, food security, non-food items, and sanitation,” the top UN official in the country said on Thursday (9 Sep).

Briefing the Security Council via videolink, Deborah Lyons, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan also said “in the current environment the UN role must be clear and build on our humanitarian imperative.

Lyons commented on the Taliban’s announcement of a new government, mainly comprised by the hard-liners who were in power in Afghanistan in 1990s and early 2000s.

“What is of immediate and practical importance to those around this table is that of the 33 names presented, many are on the United Nations sanctions list, including the prime minister, the two deputy prime ministers, and the foreign minister. All of you will need to decide which steps to take regarding the sanctions list, and the impact on future engagement,” said the Special Representative.

She also warned of the looming crisis because “billions of assets and donor funds have been frozen by members of the international community.”

“The understandable purpose is to deny these funds to the de facto Taliban administration. Inevitable effect, however, will be a severe economic downturn that could throw many more millions into poverty and hunger, may generate a massive wave of refugees from Afghanistan, and indeed set Afghanistan back for generations,” Lyons said, suggesting that the Afghan economy “must be allowed to breathe for a few more months, giving the Taliban a chance to demonstrate flexibility and a genuine will to do things differently this time, notably from a human rights, gender, and counter-terrorism perspective.”

Also speaking at meeting of the Security Council via videolink, Malala Yousafzai, Co-founder and Board Chair of the Malala Fund, urged the Council members to “send a clear, unequivocal message to the Taliban, that a fundamental condition of any working relationship is upholding girls’ right to education in accordance with international treaties and conventions.”

“Statements are not sufficient,” the Nobel Peace Prize laureate said. “The Taliban government must guarantee and protect the rights of women and girls.”

She also suggested that “a united Security Council, speaking with one voice for girls’ education can compel the Taliban to make real concessions. This is vital, not only for Afghan women and girls themselves, but for long term security in the region and our world. I hope and trust that the Security Council will stand with the girls and women of Afghanistan.”

Presiding over the meeting of the Council, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defense of Ireland, Simon Coveney, said “those who have seized power now bear the ultimate responsibility to ensure the safety, security and human rights of Afghan people. Any new administration must adhere to Afghanistan's obligations under international law, including international humanitarian refugee and human rights law.”

Coveney called on the members of this Council “to send an unequivocal message, that those who violate international laws and perpetrates human rights violations must be and will be held accountable by the international community.”