UNSC meet on COVID-19 ends with no concrete outcomes

After months of delay, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) met on Thursday via video conferencing to discuss the COVID crisis but the meet resulted in no concrete outcomes.

The only thing UNSC could agree was on press elements post the meet. The statement said, UNSC "expressed their support for all efforts of the Secretary-General concerning the potential impact of the COVID pandemic to conflict-affected countries" and "recalled the need for unity and solidarity with all those affected."

No support was seen for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' global call for a ceasefire and no word came on any resolution being adopted or a joint solution to the crisis also.

The meet saw China saying no one should be made a scapegoat while calling for global solidarity. This comes even as the country comes under increased criticism for hiding information on the coronavirus, whose first case was reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019.

The Chinese envoy to the UN, Ambassador Zhang Jun, said, "To overcome this global challenge, solidarity, cooperation, mutual support, and assistance is what we need, while beggar-thy-neighbor or scapegoating will lead us nowhere. Any acts of stigmatisation and politicisation must be rejected."

The US called for an analysis of the origins and timely sharing of health data, a point that China will surely note given how it has been keen to say that while the first case might be from the country, its origins might be different.

Ambassador Kelly Craft, the Permanent Representative of the US to the UN said, "The United States reiterates today the need for complete transparency and the timely sharing of public health data and information within the international community."

Adding, "The most effective way to contain this pandemic is through accurate, science-based data collection and analysis of the origins, characteristics, and spread of the virus. We cannot stress enough how important these methods are."

Meanwhile, the Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, called on "everybody to lift all non-UN multilateral or unilateral coercive measures and sanctions against developing countries" -- a remark for Washington for its sanctions against Iran and Venezuela. Iran, which is the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, has been writing to global capitals for the removal of the US trade sanctions as it is impacting the country's measures to contain the pandemic.

The United Nations Secretary-General briefed the council regarding the current situation saying that "this is the fight of a generation -- and the raison d’être of the United Nations itself."

He highlighted eight risks emerging out of the crisis, which includes, the "threat of terrorism" that "remains alive" and "Terrorist groups may see a window of opportunity to strike while the attention of most governments is turned towards the pandemic."

Guterres highlighted the "weaknesses and lack of preparedness" exposed by the pandemic which may "provide a window onto how a bioterrorist attack might unfold – and may increase its risks" and fears that "non-state groups could gain access to virulent strains that could pose similar devastation to societies around the globe."

Other things he highlighted as the impact of COVID, include erosion of public trust, stalling of conflict resolution efforts, an increase in instances of racism, etc.

The financial situation of the United Nations was also talked about by UNSG who called it "perilous" and said that the body has "only enough cash to fund peacekeeping operations through the end of June and limited capacity to pay troop and police-contributing countries."

This may impact India given that it is the largest contributor of troops for the UN peacekeeping missions.