New York, September 22 – The United Nations urged its member states to show unity and solidarity in order to defeat the virus as it opened the 75th General Assembly session. But the call by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was met by the ongoing fight between the United States and China over the handling of the pandemic that has infected over 27 million people and killed over 900,000 this year.
“We must be united,” Guterres said in an address to the 193-nation assembly which has to hold the week-long session virtually because of the deadly virus. Government leaders sent pre-recorded speeches to be broadcast to an assembly hall nearly deserted as each country was represented by just one diplomat.
Guterres said, “As we have seen, when countries go on their own direction, the virus goes in every direction. We must act in solidarity. Far too little assistance has been extended to countries with the fewest capacities to face the challenges.”
He said governments that have used populism and nationalism to fight the virus have
failed and have made the health crisis worse.
“Too often, there has been a disconnect between leadership and power,” he said. “And power is not always associated with the necessary leadership.”
The UN celebrated this year the 75th anniversary of its establishment. But the pandemic has mostly closed its headquarters and canceled its meetings.
US President Donald Trump asked the international organization to hold the Chinese government “accountable for their actions” and for spreading false information through the World Health Organization.
“Seventy-five years after the end of World War II and the founding of the United Nations, we are once again engaged in a great global struggle,” Trump said.
Politico reported that Trump invoked the “fierce battle” the United States waged against the “invisible enemy, the China Virus.”
“The United Nations must hold China accountable for their actions,” he added.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said the world should expect a repeat of the global health crisis and therefore should join hands in fighting the current pandemic, the Xinhua news agency said.
“COVID-19 reminds us that we are living in an interconnected global village with a common stake,” Xi said in his virtual address to the assembly as reported by Xinhua.
“No country can gain from others’ difficulties or maintain stability by taking advantage of others’ troubles.”
“To pursue a beggar-thy-neighbor policy or just watch from a safe distance when others are in danger will eventually land one in the same trouble faced by others.”
“This is why we should embrace the vision of a community with a shared future in which everyone is bound together.”
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