Covid-19: A global ceasefire to
protect the vulnerable
 |
| Volunteers sew masks for the poor for protection against Covid-19 in the Syrian city of Aleppo (AFP) |
As Pope Francis and the UN Secretary General call for a
global ceasefire, humanitarian organisations highlight the threat posed by the
Coronavirus to migrants, and civilians living in conflict zones.
By Lydia O’Kane
This week the Secretary General of the United Nations,
Antonio Guterres issued an ardent appeal for a global ceasefire in order combat
the unseen enemy of the Coronavirus.
“The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of
war”, he said.
“That is why today, I am calling for an immediate
global ceasefire in all corners of the world. It is time to put
armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the true fight of our
lives.”
Taking questions from reporters, the Secretary General also
said his Special Envoys would work with warring parties to ensure the ceasefire
plea leads to action.
His call was echoed by that of Pope Francis during his
Angelus on Sunday. “May our joint fight against the pandemic bring everyone to
recognize the great need to reinforce brotherly and sisterly bonds as members
of one human family”, he said.
The threat in Syria
As hostilities continue, the UN has voiced its deep concern
about the potential impact of COVID-19 on millions across Syria, in particular,
the many people who are currently displaced in the northwestern region of the
country.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has registered five
cases of COVID-19 in Syria, but no deaths have as yet been reported.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA) noted there are presently "over 6 million internally displaced
people throughout the country, and only half of public hospitals and public
primary healthcare centres were fully functional at the end of 2019.”
The UN also said that the security situation in Libya was a
real threat, and that a major outbreak there would “overwhelm the already
stretched humanitarian aid capacity.”
Monsignor Robert Vitillo is Secretary General of
the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) and speaking to Vatican
Radio, he said a ceasefire was urgently needed.
“I know the UN has been calling for a ceasefire in these
areas of great conflict and war. I hope that rational thinking will take over
on all sides of that, so that we can have a ceasefire and we can address this
new war; this new public health emergency against Covid-19.”
Mons Vitillo noted that in these situations of war, “many
times the regular hospitals and the regular medical services cannot function.”
He also said his organisation had been working to make sure
that people in Syria, especially new born children and pregnant women, have
access to medical services. “These are the problems we need to look at”, he
stressed.
Risks to Migrants from Coronavirus
Apart from situations of conflict, humanitarian
organisations have been voicing grave concerns over the risks posed to migrants
from the Covid-19 virus.
This week the head of the European Parliament's civil
liberties committee, Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar, called for migrant camps in
Greece to be evacuated to prevent the risk of possible infections from the
virus.
At present, camps that are designed to hold around 6,000
people, are in reality housing 42 thousand, which means that social distancing
is almost impossible to adhere to. Migrants also don’t always have access to
good factual information on preventative measures to take in order to stop the
virus from spreading.
López Aguilar said that "many of those in the camps are
already in a precarious health situation and, despite the measures taken by the
Greek authorities, the overcrowding and the dire living conditions make it
difficult to contain COVID-19.”
One person returning from Egypt to the island of Lesbos has
already been diagnosed with the virus and Greece
on Friday reported 966 cases of Covid-19 and 28 deaths.
Mons Vitillo said that his organization is working to ensure
that migrants have access to information about the Coronavirus, and is
providing information to those who have mobile phones.
He also noted that the situation for Greece is particularly
difficult. “We have the situation right now where you have in the camps for
refugees in Greece on the islands really terrible living conditions and now
measures seem to be taken to close them in, and so all the more as the virus
begins to spread to those communities it will be a terrible tragedy there
unless we can make sure that we are able to get appropriate medical services for
them.”
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét