UN Security Council Seeks to Get Past U.S.-China Spat on Virus

(Bloomberg) -- A majority of members of the United Nations Security Council are pushing for a resolution to address the coronavirus outbreak after talks stalled last week due to a U.S.-China disagreement over the origins of the pandemic.

In an effort to break the deadlock, Tunisia circulated a resolution Wednesday among the ten rotating members of the 15-nation Security Council that expresses concern about the outbreak, supports Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ appeal for a global cease-fire, and calls the pandemic “a threat to humanity and to international peace and security.”

The resolution calls on nations to “provide protection for the most vulnerable in conflict zones, especially refugees, displaced populations, women, children, and person with disabilities,” according to a copy of the text seen by Bloomberg.

The Security Council has been unable to come up with a united response to the pandemic in recent weeks due to discord over a U.S. attempt to single out Beijing’s role in allegedly accentuating the global crisis. Diplomats at the UN are now seeking to schedule a meeting on the outbreak for later this week or next, Dominican Republic Ambassador Jose Singer told reporters Wednesday.

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