UNITED NATIONS, Jul 03 (APP):United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the coronavirus pandemic is profoundly affecting peace and security worldwide, and urged the Security Council to play its part in protecting the millions of people either trapped in, or fleeing conflict, and already facing acute vulnerabilities.
“Collective security and our shared well-being are under assault on many fronts, led by a relentless disease and abetted by global fragilities,” Guterres told the 15-member Council. “Our challenge is to save lives today, while buttressing the pillars of security for tomorrow.”
The U.N. chief was addressing a virtual high-level meeting of the Security Council to discuss the effect of the pandemic on peace and security.
The meeting, convened by Germany, follows the Council’s passage on Wednesday of resolution 2532 (2020), which demands a general and immediate cessation of hostilities in all situations on its agenda.
More than 10.5 million people worldwide have been confirmed to have coronavirus.
“The consequences can be seen even in a number of countries traditionally seen as “stable,” he said. “But the impacts are particularly apparent in countries already experiencing conflict or emerging from it and may soon engulf others.”
Guterres said tensions are rising as a result of the severe socioeconomic fallout of the health crisis and the erosion of public trust in countries where the people feel the response has been ineffective or lacked transparency.
With some 100 armed conflicts raging around the world, peace processes are at risk, particularly if the international community is not fully engaged.
“In other places, conflict actors — including terrorist and violent extremist groups — see the uncertainty created by the pandemic as a tactical advantage,” Guterres said.
He noted that in many places, health care workers and humanitarians who are aiding the sick and those impacted by the virus have been targeted for attack.
Guterres warned of growing signs of authoritarianism, including restrictions on the media, civic space and freedom of expression, as well a rise in hate speech and an “epidemic” of online misinformation.
“Populists, nationalists and others who were already seeking to roll back human rights are finding in the pandemic a pretext for repressive measures unrelated to the disease,” he cautioned.
Guterres said these wide-ranging risks require an urgent and united response, including from the Security Council, and he welcomed their endorsement Wednesday of his call for a global cease-fire to support the coronavirus response.
Peter Maurer, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said his organization sees first-hand how COVID-19 is deepening fragility, spiking humanitarian needs, accelerating the impact of violence in conflict and reversing hard-won development gains.
Sharing lessons for humanitarian response, he said international humanitarian law must be respected in order to protect civilians from pandemics. Countries where health services are destroyed, stand little chance of fighting COVID-19.
Healthcare workers – the first and last lines of defence – must be protected, he said, stressing that resolution 2286 (2016) will be “fruitless” if it does not result in meaningful behaviour change on the ground.
Assistance and protection must be available to all those in need without threat of intimidation or manipulation. “People’s needs are the only reasonable basis on which to respond”, he insisted, and he called for the development of a “people’s vaccine” that will be equitably distributed to everyone.
Further, he said the secondary impacts of the pandemic must be mitigated through the creation of safety nets and livelihoods, and that humanitarian responses must reach the most vulnerable, as failure to do so will only nurture the cycle of exclusion.
States also must guard against any rollback of civilian protections. Exceptional measures taken to fight the coronavirus must be time-bound and proportional to public health needs. Overall, he said, responses will only be effective if there is community trust and engagement.
“Health care at gunpoint is futile”.
Heiko Maas, Germany’s Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, underscored the urgent need for rapid and safe humanitarian access during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The Council must finally embrace a broader understanding of peace and security” he said.
While the UN’s founders may well have had artillery batteries in mind when they drafted the Organization’s charter, “today, we know a virus can be more deadly than a gun”, he said. Today, climate change affects more people than conventional weapons. “Closing our eyes to this reality means refusing to learn.”
The United Nations must be equipped with effective capacities. While resolution 2532 (2020) was “long overdue”, the Council nonetheless sent a sign of unity by endorsing the Secretary-General’s call for a global ceasefire. “This is what maintaining peace and security means in the twenty-first century,” he observed.
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