GA / FRANCE COLONNA

STORY: GA / FRANCE COLONNA
TRT: 03:13
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: FRENCH / NATS

DATELINE: 21 SEPTEMBER 2023, NEW YORK CITY

SHOTLIST:
1. Med shot, exterior, General Assembly sign, UN Headquarters
2. Wide shot, French Minister of Foreign Affairs walking to podium, General Assembly Hall
3. SOUNDBITE (French) Catherine Colonna, Minister of Foreign Affairs, France:
“What are our principles? They are those that this Assembly reaffirmed by overwhelming majorities when it condemned - three times already - Russian aggression against Ukraine. Nothing morally nor legally can ever justify invading its neighbor, attempting annexations through unworthy maneuvers, and martyrizing the population.”
3. Med shot, French delegation
4. SOUNDBITE (French) Catherine Colonna, Minister of Foreign Affairs, France:
“What we see is the expression of pure brutality, capable of using all weapons, even those of hunger, to try to resuscitate its imperialist chimera.”
5. Wide shot, French Minister of Foreign Affairs at podium
6. SOUNDBITE (French) Catherine Colonna, Minister of Foreign Affairs, France:
“What is happening in Ukraine concerns us all. If we allow our common principles to be transgressed there, they will be transgressed everywhere. If we allow this aggression to be rewarded, other instances will occur again, there or elsewhere.”
7. Med shot, French delegation
8. SOUNDBITE (French) Catherine Colonna, Minister of Foreign Affairs, France:
“Our solidarity also goes to those committed to others, sometimes at risk of their lives. I think of the Blue Helmets. I also think of the 116 humanitarian workers killed, injured, and kidnapped in 2022. We must better protect them, and France stands entirely by their side.”
9. Med shot, French delegation
10. SOUNDBITE (French) Catherine Colonna, Minister of Foreign Affairs, France:
“Concerning the climate today, we're seeing that our lack of ambition can lead to disasters. Storms, fires, and floods have marked this year worldwide and caused tens of thousands of victims. The latest IPCC report and the assessment carried out in view of COP 28 must alarm us. We can't look away. On the contrary, we must act quickly and collectively in the face of these common challenges, which spare no nation on this planet. It’s urgent, but it’s possible.”
11. Wide shot, French Minister of Foreign Affairs at podium
13. SOUNDBITE (French) Catherine Colonna, Minister of Foreign Affairs, France:
“In Nagorno-Karabakh, the international community must ensure that a population that has suffered nine months of an implacable blockade, which has seen a campaign of bombings and destruction, can see its rights and security finally guaranteed. A diktat imposed on a besieged civilian population cannot be a solution, and the threats made against Armenia itself and attacks on its territory now already documented must stop.”
14. Med shot, French delegation
15. SOUNDBITE (French) Catherine Colonna, Minister of Foreign Affairs, France:
“We believe in African solutions to African problems, and we support African regional organizations whenever they ask for the support of their partners.”
16. Med shot, French delegation

STORYLINE:
Catherine Colonna, Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, said, “What are our principles? They are those that this Assembly reaffirmed by overwhelming majorities when it condemned - three times already - Russian aggression against Ukraine.”

Addressing the General Assembly today (21 Sep), Colonna said, “Nothing morally nor legally can ever justify invading its neighbor, attempting annexations through unworthy maneuvers, and martyrizing the population.”

She also said, “What we see is the expression of pure brutality, capable of using all weapons, even those of hunger, to try to resuscitate its imperialist chimera.”

Colonna continued, “What is happening in Ukraine concerns us all. If we allow our common principles to be transgressed there, they will be transgressed everywhere. If we allow this aggression to be rewarded, other instances will occur again, there or elsewhere.”

She said, “Our solidarity also goes to those committed to others, sometimes at risk of their lives. I think of the Blue Helmets. I also think of the 116 humanitarian workers killed, injured, and kidnapped in 2022. We must better protect them, and France stands entirely by their side.”

On climate, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France said, “Today, we're seeing that our lack of ambition can lead to disasters. Storms, fires, and floods have marked this year worldwide and caused tens of thousands of victims. The latest IPCC report and the assessment carried out in view of COP 28 must alarm us. We can't look away. On the contrary, we must act quickly and collectively in the face of these common challenges, which spare no nation on this planet. It’s urgent, but it’s possible.”

She said, “In Nagorno-Karabakh, the international community must ensure that a population that has suffered nine months of an implacable blockade, which has seen a campaign of bombings and destruction, can see its rights and security finally guaranteed. A diktat imposed on a besieged civilian population cannot be a solution, and the threats made against Armenia itself and attacks on its territory now already documented must stop.”

She also said, “We believe in African solutions to African problems, and we support African regional organizations whenever they ask for the support of their partners."