NEW YORK, April 22 — The UN General Assembly has demanded equal access for any future Covid-19 vaccine but its seeming unanimity was a fluke. The United States in fact opposed the resolution but acted too late to stop it, diplomats say. The 193 members of the General Assembly adopted by consensus...
A general view shows the opening of the Assembly of the Heads of State and the Government of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia February 9, 2020. — Reuters pic
But the non-binding resolution irked the United States for another reason. It highlighted the “crucial leading role” of the World Health Organisation, which President Donald Trump has strongly criticised for not doing more to halt the virus after it was detected in China.The reason for the delay, diplomats told AFP, was that the United States had tried unsuccessfully to block it after the fact.
But faced with the coronavirus pandemic, the General Assembly has changed its way of doing business until at least late May to avoid physical meetings at the UN headquarters in New York. “One delegation wanted to break the silence after the silence,” a diplomat told AFP, with another diplomat confirming the United States was the country.
Russia has moved forward this week with another resolution that targets sanctions. It calls on all nations to “face global challenges as good neighbors, refraining from implementing protectionist and discriminatory measures inconsistent with the World Trade Organisation rules.”
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