UN chief warns of 'COVID-19 storm' for warring nations

United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres said Friday that warring parties in 11 countries have responded positively to his appeal for a global ceasefire to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, but turning words into peace is enormously difficult and fighting has escalated in major conflicts, including in Yemen, Libya and Afghanistan.

He called on all governments, groups and people with influence "to urge and pressure combatants around the world to put down their arms," saying the need is urgent because "the COVID-19 storm" is now coming to all conflict areas.

Guterres told a briefing at UN headquarters in New York that his appeal 10 days ago was rooted in the recognition that "there should be only one fight in our world today: our shared battle against COVID-19."

The UN chief said the appeal is "resonating" across the world, citing a growing number of endorsements for the ceasefire from 70 countries, civil society, religious leaders including Pope Francis, and more than one million people in an online petition organized by non-profit organization Avaaz.

He said parties to conflicts in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Colombia, Libya, Myanmar, the Philippines, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen have also expressed their acceptance.

But Guterres said: "There are enormous difficulties to implementation as conflicts have festered for years, distrust is deep, with many spoilers and many suspicions."

He also warned that "terrorist or extremist groups may take profit from the uncertainty created by the spread of the pandemic."

The UN General Assembly unanimously approved a resolution on Thursday recognizing "the unprecedented effects" of the coronavirus pandemic and calling for "intensified international co-operation to contain, mitigate and defeat" the COVID-19 disease. It was the first resolution adopted by the 193-member world body on the pandemic.

The 15-member Security Council is expected to discuss the pandemic sometime next week. It is likely to have two resolutions to consider: one backed by the council's 10 elected members and the other by permanent member France.

With respect to the conflagrations taking place across the globe, Guterres said Friday that "in many of the most critical situations, we have seen no let-up in fighting – and some conflicts have even intensified."

Source: Agencies



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