After Months of Debate, UN Security Council Calls for Global Coronavirus Truce

Resolution calls for 90 day worldwide truce

It took months of revisions and debate, but the UN Security Council  finally passed a resolution Wednesday backing an immediate, global ceasefire for the sake of shifting attention to the coronavirus pandemic. It calls for a 90 day “humanitarian pause.”

Russia was previously concerned that the language didn’t allow them to defend themselves in Syria, while the US wanted both language blaming China for the virus, and language clarifying it didn’t apply to various US wars.

That didn’t happen, but the US included a signing statement complaining about language that should’ve been in there emphasizing “transparency,” while China’s own statement criticized the politicization of the process.

Many nations had already endorsed the plan months ago, and agreed to voluntary compliance. This means many of the wars that would be liable to be paused for this already were. There is no reason to think that the US will pause any conflicts.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.