After nearly three months of negotiation, the United Nations (UN) Security Council has unanimously adopted its first COVID-19-related resolution, demanding a general and immediate ending of hostilities around the world in the wake of coronavirus.
The draft resolution was backed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, whose speech on 23 March 2020 called for a global ceasefire in order to tackle the pandemic in all conflicts on its agenda including Syria, Yemen, Libya, South Sudan, and Congo. It calls on all warring parties “to engage immediately in a durable humanitarian pause for at least 90 consecutive days” to enable the safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid and medical evacuations, and recognises “the unprecedented effects” of the pandemic. Guterres told a press conference on Thursday 2 July that his appeal for a global ceasefire had been endorsed by nearly 180 countries, more than 20 armed groups, religious leaders, and millions of members of civil society.
The impact of this virus has been felt globally and has led to over 530,000 deaths across 216 countries, according to the World Health Organization. It has highlighted the moral duty of influential nations to promote peaceful humanitarian solutions. The UN has also requested that the Secretary-General provide updates on the organisation’s efforts to address the coronavirus in countries facing situations of armed conflict and humanitarian crises, as well as on the impact of COVID-19 on the ability of peacekeeping operations to deliver humanitarian aid effectively.
The Security Council also acknowledged the critical role that women have played in COVID-19 response efforts, as well as the disproportionate negative impact of the pandemic - notably the socioeconomic impact - on women and girls, children, refugees, internally displaced persons, older persons, and persons with disabilities. It called for concrete actions to minimise this impact and ensure the full, equal, and meaningful participation of women and youth in the development and implementation of an adequate and sustainable response.
In a speech delivered at the Security Council briefing on COVID-19 on 2 July 2020, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the UK Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the UN, spoke of both the immediate and long-term ramifications of the virus on health, humanitarian, economic, development, and security challenges. He said:
Mr President [Guterres], this pandemic has brought into sharp focus the urgent need for the development objective and sustainable peace and security cannot be solved as separate issues, and they cannot be solved alone. Together, we have this expertise. Together, we have the resources. We must use them and respond to this challenge. And together, we will succeed.
His speech highlighted the urgency of the current humanitarian situation. Now, we need to see if the world heeds this message.
James is a GDL student at Nottingham Law School, starting the BTC in September. He studied English Literature at the University of Exeter where he obtained a 2:1 BA (Hons). James is looking to practise in areas of Public Law, including international human rights, civil liberties and protest rights upon obtaining pupillage.