UN / GREAT LAKES REGION

STORY: UN / GREAT LAKES REGION
TRT: 3:15
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / FRENCH / NATS

DATELINE: 26 OCTOBER 2022, NEW YORK CITY

SHOTLIST:

FILE – NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, UN headquarters exterior

26 OCTOBER 2022, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (French) Huang Xia, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes region:
“The Great Lakes region continues experiencing instability. This has to do with the activities of the armed groups, and this is one of its main challenges.”
4. Wide shot, Security Council
5. SOUNDBITE (French) Huang Xia, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes region:
“The continued activity on behalf of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), the Resistance for the Rule of Law (RED Tabara), and the M23 feed insecurity in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo but also give rise to the mistrust and tensions among the countries of the region and in particular between the DRC and Rwanda.”
6. Wide shot, Security Council
7. SOUNDBITE (French) Huang Xia, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes region:
“The rigorous prosecution of the perpetrators of these crimes, as well as going for the violations of human rights committed inter alia by the armed groups, is needed to end the resurging violence in the region.”
8. Wide shot, Security Council
9. SOUNDBITE (French) Huang Xia, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes region:
“The humanitarian situation also remains very worrying. According to the High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 4 .9 million refugees and asylum seekers fled to the region because of violence and climate.”
10. Wide shot, Security Council
11. SOUNDBITE (French) Huang Xia, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes region:
“The stabilization in the region and restoring trust, which is a double-long process, requires constant and significant mobilization of the international community in support of the efforts made by the governments and peoples of the region. It is only through coordinated action, consistent and smooth that we will be able to accompany the Great Lakes on the road to peace and sustainable development.”
12. Wide shot, Security Council
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Claver Gatete, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Rwanda:
“The harmonization and synchronization of international and regional efforts are paramount to avoid diluting or reversing the progress achieved and the Peace and Cooperation Framework.”
14. Wide shot, Security Council
15. SOUNDBITE (French) Zéphyrin Maniratanga, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Republic of Burundi:
“Now more than ever, the international community should play an effective role as a guarantor of the search for Peace in the region.”
16. Wide shot, Security Council
17. SOUNDBITE (French) Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Democratic Republic of the Congo:
“About the armed groups, the DRC is pursuing its efforts individually and with all our partners to reduce the threat posed by the armed groups.
18. Wide shot, Security Council

STORYLINE:
UN Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region Huang Xia highlighted that the region continues experiencing instability due to the activities of armed groups.

Addressing the Security Council today (26 Oct), Xia said that the continued activity on behalf of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), the Resistance for the Rule of Law (RED Tabara), and the M23 feeds insecurity in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Xia added that it also gives rise to mistrust and tensions among the region’s countries, particularly between the DRC and Rwanda.

He also stated that the rigorous prosecution of the perpetrators of these crimes, as well as going for the violations of human rights committed inter alia by the armed groups, is needed to end the resurging violence in the region.

Xia also said that the humanitarian situation also remains “very worrying.”

He reported that according to the High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 4 .9 million refugees and asylum seekers fled to the region because of violence and climate.

The Special Envoy said that the stabilization in the region and restoring trust requires constant and significant mobilization of the international community in support of the efforts made by the governments and peoples of the region.

“It is only through coordinated action, which is consistent and smooth, that we will be able to accompany the Great Lakes on the road to peace and sustainable development,” he concluded.

The Permanent Representative of Rwanda to the United Nations, Claver Gatete, said to the Security Council that the harmonization and synchronization of international and regional efforts are “paramount to avoid diluting or reversing the progress achieved and the Peace and Cooperation Framework.”

Also addressing the Security Council, Zéphyrin Maniratanga, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Burundi to the United Nations, said, “Now more than ever, the international community should play an effective role as a guarantor of the search for Peace in the region.”

Regarding the armed groups, Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja, Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said that his country “is pursuing its efforts individually and with all our partners to reduce the threat level posed by the armed groups.”