New Delhi (NVI): The UN has warned that the worst is yet to be seen on the coronavirus front and urged for global peace as it apprehended that terrorist or extremist groups across the world may take advantage of the uncertainty created by the spread of pandemic.
“We need to do everything possible to find the peace and unity our world so desperately needs to battle COVID-19,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said.
He warned that the worst is yet to come and so everything possible needs to be done to find peace and unity.
“Our world desperately needs to battle the pandemic. We must mobilise every ounce of energy to defeat it,” he added.
“We know the pandemic is having profound social, economic and political consequences, including relating to international peace and security,” he said.
“We see it, for example, in postponement of elections or limitations on the ability to vote, sustained restrictions on movement, spiraling unemployment and other factors that could contribute to rising discontent and political tensions,” the UN Secretary General said.
Expressing his deep gratitude for the countries which have responded positively to his appeal for an immediate ceasefire in all corners of the globe to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, he said more than one million people have gathered support for an appeal launched by ‘Avaaz’.
He said a substantial number of parties to conflict in 11 countries— Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Colombia, Libya, Myanmar, the Philippines, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen — have expressed their acceptance for the call for peace.
But there is a huge distance between declarations and deeds — between translating words into peace on the ground and in the lives of people, the UN chief said.
“Conflicts have even intensified in some warring parties in Yemen, Libya and Afghanistan,” he said.
“To silence the guns, we must raise the voices for peace.”
“There is chance for peace but we are far from there and the need is urgent. The coronavirus storm is now coming all these theatres of conflict. The virus has showed how swiftly it can move across borders, devastate countries and upend lives,” he said.
“We know that any initial gains are fragile and easily reversible. We need robust diplomatic efforts to meet these challenges,” he added.
