By Michelle Nichols
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Britain on Wednesday proposed that the UN Security Council call for a ceasefire to allow COVID-19 vaccination, a move that will be a key test for United Nations cooperation between China and the government of new US President Joe Biden.
Britain’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Dominic Raab, called for a “quick adoption” by the 15-member council of a draft resolution calling for a vaccination ceasefire, warning that 160 million people are at risk of losing their lives due to instability and conflict.
“The local ceasefire will be essential to allow life-saving vaccinations,” said Raab.
The UN Security Council took more than three months to support an appeal by Secretary General Antonio Guterres for a global pandemic ceasefire last year over disputes between China and the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump.
“We need to resist prejudice, respect science and reject misinformation and attempts to politicize the pandemic. In this sense, members of the Security Council must set an example,” China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the council. on Wednesday.
He made no mention of the British initiative and instead urged the warring parties to implement a ceasefire required by the Security Council in the resolution adopted in July, while Russia’s UN Ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, signaled that another resolution is not needed.
British UN ambassador Barbara Woodward hopes the council will be able to adopt a new resolution “in the coming weeks”.
‘WILDLY UNEVEN, UNFAIR’
Longstanding tensions between China and the Trump administration have reached boiling point with the pandemic, highlighting Beijing’s attempt at greater multilateral influence in a challenge to Washington’s traditional leadership at the United Nations.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington would pay more than $ 200 million it owes to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the end of the month. Biden rescinded Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Geneva-based body this year.
Blinken said that a continuing WHO investigation into the origins of the pandemic should be independent, based on science and facts and free from interference. The White House raised concerns that China, where the virus first emerged in 2019, may change the report.
“To better understand this pandemic and prepare for the next one, all countries must make all data available from the first days of any outbreak,” said Blinken, not to mention China.
The Trump administration accused Beijing of a lack of transparency, which she said worsened the outbreak of COVID-19. China has denied these claims.
Secretary-General Guterres called for a global immunization plan, urging the Group of 20 rich and large emerging powers to take the lead.
“We must ensure that everyone, everywhere, can be vaccinated as quickly as possible. However, progress in vaccination has been extremely uneven and unfair,” Guterres told the council.
“Only 10 countries have administered 75% of all COVID-19 vaccines. Meanwhile, more than 130 countries have not received a single dose. Those affected by conflict and insecurity are at particular risk of being left behind ”.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Alex Richardson and Jonathan Oatis)