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The United Nations Security Council faces great challenges due to the conflict between the United States and China. A disaster threatens Covid resolution 19 for a global ceasefire.
The power struggles between the United States and China in the crown crisis put the UN Security Council on the brink of a diplomatic debacle. The United States opposed a laboriously negotiated compromise for a Covid resolution 19 on Friday, diplomats said. The text is intended primarily to support UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ six-week call for a global ceasefire in the pandemic.
If the most powerful UN body cannot agree on a common position on the greatest threat today, it would be a “shame” in the opinion of Council members. The bottom line is the dispute over the World Health Organization, WHO.
WHO as a disputed factor
The United States does not want to see the WHO, which President Donald Trump accuses of listening to China, mentioned in the text prepared by France and Tunisia. In the now provisionally failed draft, which is available to the German Press Agency, the term “specialized health organizations” is used.
Obviously, this was not enough for the United States, although, according to a diplomat, they had initially expressed their approval. While the negotiations themselves were constructive, “the People’s Republic of China was determined to use them to make false statements about fighting the Covid 19 outbreak in Wuhan,” said a State Department official on request.
Unlikely joint posture
From the perspective of the United States, the Security Council must now draft a text that deals exclusively with support for the global ceasefire, or one that also addresses the “responsibility” of other countries.
“From our point of view, the Council should proceed with a resolution that deals exclusively with the support of a ceasefire or with a broader resolution that addresses the need for a renewed commitment by Member States to Covid’s transparency and accountability -19 “said the representative of the United States delegation.
Critics accuse Washington of using the accusations against Beijing and the WHO to distract themselves from their own omissions in the fight against the coronavirus. The United States is by far the country with the most confirmed cases of infection and death worldwide. There have been more than 1.28 million infections and more than 77,000 deaths in the country.
Little chance of a common posture.
Some diplomats see that there is little chance that the Security Council will find a common position if the negotiations are delayed. “I don’t see how this resolution is going to be adopted,” said the ambassador of a member country.
The crisis reflects the dispute between the Trump administration and Beijing. According to observers, the two veto powers use the stage for demonstrations of power rather than cooperation. France and Tunisia are said to want to keep looking for solutions, but they don’t want to vote on the risk of a veto.
