Coronavirus: Security Council has failed the world over pandemic, former UN chief says

Ban Ki-moon blames US, China, UK, France and Russia for abandoning Covid-19 leadership over 'political differences' between superpowers

Former UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said world powers had failed to unite. Getty

The United Nation’s former leader has criticised major world powers for failing to unite in combating the coronavirus pandemic.

The UN Security Council has let down the world population by not issuing a single resolution on the Covid-19 outbreak, former secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said.

Unlike during the Ebola crisis the five permanent members – the United States, China, Britain, France and Russia – have “failed” in their leadership, said Mr Ban. “During my time in 2014 when the Ebola pandemic happened it took just one day to declare that it was a serious threat to the maintenance of international peace and security.”

The failing was mainly because of the “political differences” between China and the US.

In March this year the UN chief, Antonio Guterres, called for a ceasefire in global conflicts so the world could focus on the pandemic. But US President Donald Trump objected to a reference in the resolution’s wording to the World Health Organisation, which he claimed promoted disinformation from China. Mr Trump has also continued to call the disease the “Chinese virus” in reference to the epicentre of the outbreak being in Wuhan.

The squabbling and failure in leadership has continued as coronavirus infections have increased dramatically with around 200,000 new cases per day. More than 540,000 people have died and 12 million people have been infected.

Covid-19 is a sombre reminder of our common human bonds and vulnerabilities

When Mr Ban headed the organisation he formed the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response through a Security Council resolution to fight a widespread outbreak in West Africa. Within 10 months the deadly disease had been contained after the UN’s first every emergency health mission supplied cash, logistics and staff to the region.

Mr Ban told the Chatham House webinar that the world now needed “full co-operation and solidarity” from the major powers and “a sense of compassion for other people”.

“Covid-19 is a sombre reminder of our common human bonds and vulnerabilities,” he told the think tank. “We will dishonour the victims unless we respond to the pandemic and our shared threats with a renewed sense of solidarity and collective action.”

Growing racial tensions alongside the spread of fake news was also undermining global stability.

“We all need to be vigilant about the risks posed to peace, democracy and public health by the rising amount of hate speech, fake news amplified by social media in the time of crisis, sometimes as deliberate state propaganda and sometimes as cynical click bait designed to maximise revenue for digital platform providers.”

Workers in personal protective equipment are seen alongside police patrols in Melbourne, Australia. Nine public housing towers are placed under lockdown, with a stay-at-home order announced for the whole city starting from Wednesday. Getty Images

A woman looks out a window from a locked-down public housing tower in Melbourne. AP Photo

People walk along the street before entering the area where stores are open, during the gradual reopening of commercial activities in in Mexico City. Reuters

Grade 7 pupils of the Sitoromo Junior Secondary School in Sterkspruit, South Africa, sit in their classroom as a cook pours milk into a steaming dish of maize porridge. The school reopened only for Grade 7 pupils after being shut for two weeks because of a Covid-19 case found among its staff. AFP

Serbian army soldiers prepare a makeshift field hospital inside the Belgrade Arena. AFP

Workers in personal protective equipment in Melbourne, Australia. Getty Images

People wearing face masks stand outside a high school as their wards write the annual national college entrance exam, which had been postponed by a month, in Beijing, China. Reuters

A visitor wearing a face mask takes a selfie in front of Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece "Mona Lisa" at the Louvre Museum in Paris, on the museum's reopening day. AFP

Firefighters prepare to distribute food at a public housing tower in Melbourne, Australia. Reuters

People eat lunch at a restaurant with plastic dividers between tables, as a preventative measure amid the Covid-19 pandemic in Sao Paulo, Brazil. AP Photo

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A health worker takes a nasal swab of a person for a Covid-19 test at a hospital in New Delhi, India. AP Photo

Remaining vigilant was also important given the rising “isolationism, nationalism, disregard of international law and abandonment of key treaties”, he said, referring to the faltering nuclear deals between Russia and America.

He added that the years from 1920 to 1945 were a reminder of the “terrible consequences of the failures of multilateralism”.

Mr Ban also urged the leading powers to unite against the growing environmental threat, including Britain, which will host the UN’s COP conference on climate change next year.

“There are many issues like climate change, which are an existential threat,” he said. “The countries that have contributed the least to global warming are paying the highest price. They have not done anything wrong. It’s most industrialised countries that have done wrong.”