Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General
The Secretary-General of the United Nations(UN) Antonio Guterres Has requested fot a global ceasefire for fighting parties to focus on the new enemy – Coronavirus which does not exempt anyone.
In his statement yesterday, Guterres said; “Our world faces a common enemy: COVID-19. The virus does not care about ethnicity or nationality, faction or faith. It attacks all, relentlessly.”
However, the UN SG is concerned that still, armed conflict rages on around the world the most vulnerable being women and children, people with disabilities, the marginalized and the displaced. He said that these categories “pay the highest price.”
“They are also at the highest risk of suffering devastating losses from COVID-19,” he said.
He noted that unfortunately, in the war ravaged countries, health systems have collapsed, and the few number of medical practitioners are the pray of fighting parties while refugees and others displaced by violent conflict are doubly vulnerable.
“The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war,” he said calling to ” End the sickness of war and fight the disease that is ravaging our world.”
“That is why today, I am calling for an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world. It is time to put armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the true fight of our lives,” he said.
He straight pointed to the warring parties and said: ” To warring parties, I said: “Pull back from hostilities, put aside mistrust and animosity.Silence the guns; stop the artillery; end the airstrikes. This is crucial…”
This laying down arms would be followed by the willing to “help create corridors for life-saving aid, to open precious windows for diplomacy and to bring hope to places among the most vulnerable to COVID-19.”
Antonio Guterres wants warring parties to “take inspiration from coalitions and dialogue slowly taking shape among rival parties to enable joint approaches to COVID-19. But we need much more.”
In this touhing and timely message, Guterres tells the world to” End the sickness of war and fight the disease that is ravaging our world.”
“It starts by stopping the fighting everywhere. Now, ” he said. “That is what our human family needs, now more than ever.”
