GUTERRES: Put an End to the Disease of war, Fight the Disease Afflicting our World

25 Mar 2020

N.Y - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent out a call, on Wednesday, for a "cease-fire all over the world," saying: "Our world faces a common enemy, the Corona Covid-19 virus. This virus attacks everyone relentlessly, and does not care for any ethnic origin, nationality, faction, or religion."

“Meanwhile, armed conflicts are still raging around the world, with the most vulnerable people actually paying the highest price for these conflicts, namely women and children, people with disabilities, the marginalized and the homeless,” Guterres said.

“They also face the risk of devastating losses from the Covid-19 virus,” he added.

Guterres reminded of the collapsed health systems in war-ravaged countries, where health workers, who are already few in numbers, have been frequently targeted. He, thus, warned that in wake of such conditions, refugees and displaced citizens “are at double risk,” noting that “the ferocity of the virus has revealed the madness of wars."

“For this reason, I call today for an immediate cease-fire all over the world. It is time to stop armed conflict and focus together on the real battle in our lives,” the UN-Secretary General corroborated, urging the parties at war to put their hostilities aside and to abandon their feelings of enmity and distrust.

“This is crucial, in order to help create channels for the delivery of life-saving aids, to open valuable windows for diplomatic conflict resolution, and to bring a ray of hope to where the most vulnerable groups to the Covid-19 virus reside,” Guterres underscored.

“Put an end to the disease of war, and combat the disease afflicting our world…and this begins by stopping the fighting everywhere, for this is what our human family needs, now more than ever!" the UN Secretary-General concluded.