Guterres urges the Security Council to unite in the "Corona" crisis

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, urged last night the Security Council, which has been divided for weeks, to show unity in the field of responding to the crisis of the "Covid-19" epidemic, pointing out that the matter is "the struggle of a generation and the justification for the existence of the United Nations itself."

"Showing the unity and design of the council means a lot in this troubling period," the Secretary-General added during the first meeting of the Council devoted to the epidemic.

The closed session ended after three hours with a brief statement from the 15 member states of the Security Council, in which it was content to express its "support" for the Secretary-General.

For his part, Guterres stressed that "the involvement of the Security Council will be decisive in mitigating the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on peace and security." He added, "To defeat the epidemic, we today need to work together", and "this means strengthening our solidarity." In this context, he raised the threat of "still alive" terrorism.

For its part, the US ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Kraft, has sparked the debate between the United States and China over the Chinese source of the virus, which is the main reason for the paralysis of the Security Council.

"The most beneficial way to contain the epidemic is to collect accurate data based on scientific data, and to analyze the origins and characteristics of the virus outbreak," the US ambassador said in her speech later published by her office.

Her Chinese counterpart Zhang Jun, for his part, indicated that any "stigma or politicization act must be rejected."

Germany, a non-permanent member of the Security Council that called for this session on "Covid-19", did not express its dissatisfaction with the delay in the response of the permanent members of the Council (the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain).

The German Ambassador, Christoph Huisgen, condemned "the silence that has been applied so far by the Security Council," according to the letter published by the German diplomatic mission. He referred to the efforts made by the permanent members to "reach a result or a decision among them, or to organize a summit." "But we have to acknowledge that this has not been possible until now," he said. Two competing draft resolutions have been discussed 15 days ago, one of them among the 10 non-permanent members of the Security Council, and the other among the five permanent members. The second draft resolution put forward by France is based on a "cessation of hostilities" called for in March by the UN Secretary-General and a "humanitarian cessation" of the fighting. Diplomats from missions that are not members of the Council, told Agence France Presse that discussing this decision two weeks ago exclusively between the permanent members is "frustrating."

In this regard, Paris responded by saying that before negotiations are held between the 15 countries, the differences between the "big five" must first be resolved, otherwise there will be no result. France hopes to organize a video summit among the leaders of the five countries to find consensus.

The other draft is being discussed among the non-permanent members (Tunisia, Germany, Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Estonia, Vietnam, Niger, South Africa, St. Vincent and the Grenadines), and the permanent countries have not seen it. In its latest version, which was prepared the day before yesterday and "AFP" obtained a copy of it, the draft resolution urges "a coordinated, unified and urgent international action to reduce the effects of (Coved-19)." It states that "the UN Security Council oversees the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic on international peace and security," calling for "an immediate global ceasefire to allow for an appropriate humanitarian response." The 10 non-permanent members of the Security Council did not request a vote on their project. But it was unclear to what extent they could wait for the response of the permanent members. The adoption of any Security Council resolution requires at least nine of 15 votes, in case a permanent member does not use the veto. While the Secretary-General of the United Nations did not hesitate to express periodic positions since the beginning of the crisis, and with the adoption by the General Assembly of the United Nations of its 193 members a week ago a resolution calling for "cooperation", the Security Council's position since the beginning of the crisis seemed weak and hesitant. A state diplomat who is not a member of the council admits to "France Press": "It is the first time that I have seen two separate systems within the Security Council." He added that "this dual movement" between the permanent and non-permanent members is "very strange." At the conclusion of the Security Council meeting, France and Belgium welcomed the "very positive and constructive" meeting. As for Russia, it stressed that "time is not a time to blame and bear responsibilities" but rather "time to work together."

Two competing draft resolutions have been under discussion for 15 days, one between the 10 non-permanent members and the other between the five permanent members.