THE UN ON GLOBAL CEASEFIRE, COVID AND ENDING STARVATION: PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
by Steve Watrous I spoke at the Peace Billboard rally on August 16 by focusing on statements from leaders of the UN and its World Food Program [WFP]. I think you’ll find their words powerful, but with a caveat. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on March 23: “The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war. That is why today, I am calling for an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world. To warring parties: Pull back from hostilities; Silence the guns; Stop the artillery; End the airstrikes. This is crucial to help create corridors for life-saving aid, open windows for diplomacy, and bring hope to the most vulnerable to COVID-19.” The billboard called “to end starvation on Earth.” Most likely, the agency best positioned to do this is the UN WFP. According to a UN news release, in July the WFP announced that it is scaling up food assistance to an unprecedented 138 million people who face desperate levels of hunger as COVID-19 tightens its grip on some of the world’s most fragile countries. The cost of the WFP’s response is estimated at $4.9 billion – with an additional $500 million special provision to prevent famine in countries most at risk. | “Three months ago at the UN Security Council, I told world leaders that we ran the risk of a famine of biblical proportions,” said WFP Executive Director David Beasley in July: “Today, our latest data tell us that, since then, millions of the world’s very poorest families have been forced even closer to the abyss. Livelihoods are being destroyed at an unprecedented rate and now their lives are in imminent danger from starvation. Make no mistake – if we do not act now to end this pandemic of human suffering, many people will die.” Here’s some important information not in my speech. On July 2, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution endorsing the Secretary-General’s call for a global ceasefire amid the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as the Santa Barbara UNA chapter observed: “Yet there has been hardly any mention of this UN Global Ceasefire in the media: on TV or radio, in newspapers, etc. Additionally the world is still experiencing wars and conflicts, not a global ceasefire.” Plus, COVID and starvation have only become worse since Guterres called to silence the guns. It’s up to us who support the UN and its goals to pressure our government to make that billboard’s message come true and, really, it can’t wait until January. |