UNITED NATIONS — How should the U.N. General Assembly and its 193 member states respond to the coronavirus pandemic? Members have been sent two rival resolutions for consideration — and under new voting rules instituted because the global body isn’t holding meetings, if a single country objects a resolution is defeated. One resolution, which has more than 135 co-sponsors, calls for “intensified international cooperation to contain, mitigate and defeat the pandemic, including by exchanging information, scientific knowledge and best practices and by applying the relevant guidelines recommended by the World Health Organization.”The other, sponsored by Russia with support from Central African Republic, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, also recognizes the leading role of WHO in combating the pandemic, but it calls for abandoning trade wars and implementing protectionist measures, and not applying unilateral sanctions without U.N. Security Council approval. General Assembly President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande sent both resolutions to all member states late Monday afternoon under a so-called “silence procedure,” saying they had 72 hours until 6 p.m. EDT on Thursday to send an objection, or break silence.

Source: International New York Times April 01, 2020 04:52 UTC