COVID-19: UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres Calls for Global Ceasefire Amidst Global Pandemic

9th and Incumbent UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres speaks at a UN event

Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Antonio Guterres, has called for "an immediate global ceasefire" in all armed conflicts, amidst the global coronavirus outbreak.

This comes as all countries Europe and South East Asia are currently battling to control further spread of the pandemic.

The Americas are also badly hit, while Russia and Africa are also working hard to control further spread of the virus too.

Also, the United States, China, Israel, as well as some other countries are working hard to develop a vaccine against the virus.

Guterres made the call on March 24 via his official Twitter handle, saying, "#COVID19 does not care about Nationality or ethnicity, faction or faith. It attacks all, relentlessly".

"Meanwhile, armed conflict rages on around the world and the most vulnerable pay the price."

According to the UN OCHA's estimates, about 2,277 were lost in the 50-day Gaza-Israel war which came to an end on August 26, 2014, when a ceasefire was agreed upon between the warring factions, Israel and Hamas. The conflict continues to this day.

In March 2019, the Israeli Military took responsibility for targeting and attacking a building which it said was used as a Hamas Intelligence HQ in Gaza. 

But, in contrast, as at this morning, the coronavirus pandemic has already claimed 24,093 lives out of the over 500,000 that have been affected worldwide. This represents a sharp difference of 1000% in casualties.

Armed conflicts in the middle east and Africa continue to be a destabilizing factor in the world. Also, military tensions between the US and North Korea, and other cases of conflicts remain an issue.

The economies and societies of Syria and Yemen, for example, have now been completely ravaged by years-long armed conflicts that continue to this day. Many people have been displaced from their homes, and the poor have become poorer, and more in number too.

More often than not, it is the poor and vulnerable in the immediate environments of these wars, tensions and conflicts that take the hardest hit.

But, Guterres hopes that in the face of #COVID19, warring factions around the world will find common grounds for peace, knowing that what should unite us now is far more than the things that we can allow to divide us.