Tensions with China and WHO, US prevents UN from passing global ceasefire resolution
Controversy over the role of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the fight against Covid-19 and escalating US-China tensions have prevented the United Nations from issuing a resolution calling for a global ceasefire amid the pandemic.
All 15 members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) agreed in principle to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' call for a global ceasefire on March 23, but have remained at odds over the wording of the resolution since then, RT reported.
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| A meeting of the Security Council at its headquarters in New York, USA. Photo: DW |
Many unnamed diplomats revealed that while China insisted on including its support for the WHO and its role in responding to the pandemic in the resolution, the US demanded that all references to the WHO be removed and added a "transparent" stance on Covid-19.
France and Tunisia drafted a text they believe contains “compromise language” and sent it to other members of the Security Council on May 7. However, the US rejected the draft resolution on the afternoon of May 8 (local time). Some sources familiar with the matter assert that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo personally intervened to prevent the resolution from being passed.
A spokesman for the US mission to the UN said in a statement that Washington wants the Security Council to "either issue a limited resolution to support the ceasefire, or an expanded resolution that fully addresses the need for renewed commitment by member states to transparency and accountability in the context of the Covid-19 outbreak."
President Donald Trump and top US government officials are now accusing China of concealing information, allowing the new coronavirus to spread outside the mainland.
The Trump administration also accused the WHO of being "biased and accommodating" to China, and of making mistakes in handling the crisis that caused the Covid-19 pandemic to rage globally.
US officials also believe in the hypothesis that the dangerous pathogen originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China.
Beijing has denied all of the above accusations, and asked Washington not to "politicize" the epidemic or "play the blame game" if it cannot provide evidence against China.
