黑料社

UNITED NATIONS聽 鈥� World leaders gathering remotely Wednesday criticized a haphazard global response to a microscopic virus that has unleashed economic havoc and taken nearly 1 million lives in its march across the globe.

In the words of Kazakhstan鈥檚 president, it was 鈥渁 critical collapse of global cooperation.鈥�

鈥淥ur world has been turned upside down,鈥� said Ghana鈥檚 president, Nana Akufo-Addo. 鈥淲e all fell together and looked into the abyss together.鈥�

The coronavirus pandemic and its consequences topped the list of concerns on the second day of prerecorded speeches by world leaders at the General Assembly鈥檚 first virtual high-level meeting.

Countries large and small spoke about struggling to deal with its impact without international coordination.

Pleas for the world to work together to combat the scourge and other global problems have taken the forefront at this week鈥檚 U.N. gathering that itself was altered by the virus.

鈥淎 pandemic is by definition a global challenge鈥� and requires a global response, but COVID-19 鈥渉as unfortunately revealed how we are tempted to react to immediate threats 鈥� nationally, not internationally,鈥� said Finland鈥檚 president, Sauli Niinisto.

Instead of uniting behind multilateral efforts to tackle the coronavirus, he said, 鈥渨e witnessed a series of national responses,鈥� which 鈥渞aise concerns on how we will be able to combat other global challenges.鈥�

Kazakhstan鈥檚 president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, warned that the world is 鈥渃oming close to what some have already called a state of 鈥榞lobal disfunction'鈥� as a result of the pandemic, and the global system is now 鈥渙n the verge of dramatic upheavals that may lead to irreversible consequences.鈥�

鈥淣ow is a make-or-break moment for the humankind,鈥� he warned.

Tokayev called for upgrading national health institutions, taking politics out of the development of a coronavirus vaccine, and revising regulations to improve the World Health Organization and enable all countries to prevent and respond to diseases.

The Kazakh leader proposed establishing an International Agency for Biological Safety based on the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention that would be accountable to the U.N. Security Council.

And he suggested creating a network of regional centers for disease control and biosafety under U.N. auspices.

Many leaders also called for any COVID-19 vaccine that is developed to be shared equally, with Sefik Dzaferovic, chairman of Bosnia鈥檚 three-member presidency, saying it must be available 鈥渢o the entire mankind.鈥�

Dzaferovic said the past few years have seen 鈥渁 very strong crisis of multilateralism鈥� at international organizations including the United Nations, which has become 鈥渁n object of strong challenging and even dispute.鈥�

But the pandemic has shown 鈥渢heir extraordinary significance in today鈥檚 globalized world,鈥� he said, and has also shown that 鈥渢he largest problems of today can no longer be solved by one, three or five states individually.鈥�

As the global death toll from the virus approaches 1 million, many leaders spoke about how dramatically lives have changed in their countries.

Ghana鈥檚 Akufo-Addo said people everywhere have learned not to shake hands or hug loved ones, not to sing in groups because it鈥檚 become 鈥渁 dangerous activity鈥� and to worry about the safety of sending children to school.

And 鈥渇or many people, the most difficult thing to deal with in these uncertain and unsettling times has been the silence forced on churches, mosques, temples and other places of worship,鈥� he said.

COVID-19鈥檚 economic impact has been felt around the world, even in the tiny Pacific island nation of Palau that has remained coronavirus-free. President Tommy Remengesau Jr. said the pandemic is affecting the archipelago鈥檚 economy and has put the country of about 18,000 鈥渋nto a level of isolation we have not known for many, many years.鈥�

Palau is struggling with disrupted supply chains for food and medicine, getting life-saving treatments for patients who used to travel to larger countries as well as keeping families united, college students in school and people working.

鈥淧rivate sector unemployment is approaching 50%, and it will take years to recover what we have lost in months,鈥� Remengesau said.

The Palau leader, who said he will soon return to life as a fisherman, recalled attending the General Assembly鈥檚 high-level meeting in 2001, two months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He called then for the unity and cooperation it inspired to be nurtured.

鈥淲e do not see human evil in this pandemic in the way we did in the perpetrators of 9/11,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut the challenge of our response is not so different 鈥� to unite in the face of a shared crisis in a way that might have seemed unlikely a year or two ago.鈥�

The pandemic also 鈥渉as shone a crude light on inequality in the world,鈥� said Honduran President Juan Orlando Hern谩ndez, a COVID-19 survivor.

Some nations, like Iraq, called for more assistance to flow to countries that have less than others.

Saudi Arabia鈥檚 King Salman, in the first address to the U.N. by a Saudi monarch since his father鈥檚 in 1957, said that as chairman of the Group of 20 major industrialized nations, the kingdom held a summit of its leaders in March and pledged $500 million 鈥渢o combat this pandemic and curb its humanitarian and economic impacts.鈥�

Reflecting a wish of all leaders, Iraqi President Barham Saleh said, 鈥淲e pray to the almighty God that the next meeting can be held in a pandemic-free world.鈥�

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