Coronavirus: Disease Control

(asked on 2nd October 2020) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UK Chargé d’Affaires to the UN's statement of 8 September 2020 at the Security Council briefing on resolution 2332, what diplomatic steps he is taking to support the UN Secretary General's call for a global ceasefire to help tackle the covid-19 pandemic.


Answered by
Nigel Adams Portrait
Nigel Adams
This question was answered on 12th October 2020

The UK strongly supports the UN Secretary-General's call for a global ceasefire, the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 2532, and calls on all UN Member States to uphold their international commitments. We have made that support clear at the UN Security Council, and in joint statements with other UN member states as part of the Groups of Friends of Women, Peace and Security and Children and Armed Conflict on 30 March, and the Protection of Civilians on 27 May.

COVID-19 affects vulnerable countries in different ways. In our statement assessing the global ceasefire to help fight COVID-19 at the UN Security Council on 8 September, we pressed the need to look further ahead at evolving risks to instability and take action to prevent conflict. The UK Government believes problems with access to humanitarian aid and healthcare should be highlighted in such assessments. We also support horizon scanning, effective early warning mechanisms and UN analysis from the ground to enable us to respond in a more agile and timely manner to threats to international peace and security. We will continue to work within the UN Security Council and with international partners to promote initiatives which build on the global ceasefire and marshal support for UN efforts to take forward peace processes and mitigate risks of conflict escalation.

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