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On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization characterized the rapid global spread
of the novel coronavirus known as Covid-19 as a pandemic.1 Shortly after, on 23 March
2020, the UN Secretary General (UNSG) Antonio Guterres called for an immediate global
ceasefire, to help tackle the threat of Covid-19 rather than compound the risk to those in
fragile and conflict-affected areas.2 The UNSG implored conflict parties to immediately
“silence the guns” in order to “to help create corridors for life-saving aid”, “to open precious
windows for diplomacy”, and “to bring hope to places among the most vulnerable to
COVID-19”.3
In response to this call, at least 171 states together with multiple international, regional,
and local organisations, including major religious leaders, declared their support by June
2020.4 Since the onset of the pandemic, ceasefires have been declared or proposed by
some conflict parties in Armenia and Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Angola, Cameroon, Central
African Republic, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Libya, Myanmar, Nigeria, Philippines, Senegal,
Syria, South Sudan, Sudan, Thailand, Ukraine and Yemen, although as we discuss further
below, not all of these can be clearly attributed to the UNSG call itself. Difficulties in
agreeing a United Nations Security Council Resolution to support the initiative undercut
the call, but eventually on 1 July 2020, the UN Security Council (UNSC) unanimously
approved Resolution 2532 in support of a 90-day global humanitarian pause to enable
humanitarian assistance related to Covid-19.5 |
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