UN adopts Global COVID-19 Resolution urging “Intensified International Cooperation”
The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday evening approved its first resolution on the global coronavirus outbreak, calling for "intensified international cooperation to contain, mitigate, and defeat the pandemic".
"Clearly, we must fight the virus for all of humanity, with a focus on people, especially the most affected: women, older people, youth, low-wage workers, small and medium enterprises, the informal sector, and vulnerable groups" - U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.
The resolution, titled "Global Solidarity to Fight the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)," encourages all countries to tackle the crisis by "exchanging information, scientific knowledge, and best practices, and by applying the relevant guidelines recommended by the World Health Organization".
The COVID-19 outbreak is a "threat to human health, safety, and well-being," the resolution states, recognizing "the unprecedented effects of the pandemic, including the severe disruption to societies and economies, as well as to global travel and commerce, and the devastating impact on the livelihood of people."
"The poorest and most vulnerable are the hardest hit by the pandemic," warns the document, "and that the impact of the crisis will reverse hard-won development gains and hamper progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals."
The resolution "emphasizes the need for full respect for human rights, and stresses that there is no place for any form of discrimination, racism, and xenophobia in the response to the pandemic." It also recognizes the efforts of frontline workers and governments to address the crisis.
Sponsored by Ghana, Indonesia, Liechtenstein, Norway, Singapore, and Switzerland, the approved resolution was formally backed by 188 of the U.N. body's 193 members.
In response to the virus outbreak, the General Assembly has temporarily shifted to a "silence procedure" for passing resolutions; rather than meeting and voting to adopt a resolution by a majority or consensus, resolutions now pass as long as none of the member nations object before set deadlines.
The General Assembly declined to pass a rival coronavirus resolution sponsored by Russia. The New York Times reported that "diplomats said the European Union, United Kingdom, United States, and Ukraine objected to the Russian draft, which was co-sponsored by Central African Republic, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela."
In addition to calling for a global response to the coronavirus "based on unity, solidarity, and renewed multilateral cooperation," the approved resolution "calls upon the United Nations system, under the leadership of the secretary-general, to work with all relevant actors in order to mobilize a coordinated global response to the pandemic and its adverse social, economic, and financial impact on all societies."
