The United Nations voted 150-0 to hold a coronavirus summit in December in a bid to promote unified action against COVID-19’s “unprecedented” effects on virtually every corner of the globe.
The United States, Israel, and Armenia abstained from voting on the resolution that would authorize the meeting and the necessary planning for such an event, which will include recorded speeches from world leaders and a discussion led by World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus, according to the Associated Press.
“This is a time for action — action in memory of the souls lost to COVID-19, action to protect the most vulnerable people who are depending upon us,” Assembly President Volkan Bozkir said. “And action to safeguard our futures. Let us not forget that none of us are safe until we are all safe.”
Bozkir said that the summit was a “belated first step” and added that it would be “a historic moment and a test for multilateralism.”
Azerbaijan and Canada led the negotiations on the resolution, which was put to a vote after three proposed amendments were blocked.
The U.S. proposed an amendment that would have removed a reference to the World Health Organization. President Trump announced that the U.S. would withdraw from the international agency in July, alleging that China had improper influence over the health organization. The move will not become effective until July 2021, but the Trump administration has already reallocated $62 million in funds for the WHO and reassigned officials from the Department of Health and Human Services who worked with the agency.
“The fundamental role of the United Nations system in the comprehensive global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the crucial role played by the World Health Organization,” the resolution reads.
Acting U.S. Rep. Courtney Nemroff said the inclusion of WHO-related language was “not reached through normal processes and methods of transparent negotiation.”
“We broke silence on the Oct. 26 version of the text and asked the president of the General Assembly to take our proposals into account in a revised version that would allow the UNGASS to enjoy the greatest member state support possible,” Nemroff said. “We sent an additional letter to the PGA that was also disregarded, and unfortunately, these concerns were not met. This introduction of new language not reached through normal processes and methods of transparent negotiation undermines the co-facilitators’ role and the integrity of the negotiations process by member states.”
“As a result, we regret that the United States cannot join consensus on this resolution,” Nemroff said.
A separate proposal to have Tedros open the summit with a speech did not make it into the final resolution. The WHO chief will, however, give a presentation during the summit in addition to leading a discussion.
A second amendment from Israel would have removed a reference to U.N. “observer states” such as Palestine. Armenia’s amendment would have eliminated a reference to the Nonalignment Movement — a bloc of 120 nations in the developing world formed that were not aligned with a major power during the cold war, according to the United Nations.
The resolution calls for a response to the coronavirus “that is people-centered, gender-responsive, with full respect for human rights, multidimensional, coordinated, inclusive and innovative, based on unity, solidarity and multilateral cooperation.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations for further comment.
