A new compromise draft resolution was circulated to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, in a possible last-ditch attempt to get the divided body to agree on a text confronting the coronavirus pandemic, diplomats told dpa.
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For seven weeks, the 15-member council has been deadlocked by a feud between China and the U.S. over how to reference the World Health Organisation (WHO) in a resolution.
Beijing wants it to be mentioned, while Washington does not, even rejecting a draft with an indirect reference of the agency last week.
U.S. President Donald Trump has halted funding for the WHO, accusing it of mismanaging the crisis and putting too much faith in information from China.
Germany and Estonia, which holds the council presidency this month, on Tuesday circulated a new compromise text, which includes no mention of the WHO, diplomats told dpa.
The pared-back draft focuses on backing UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ March 23 call for a global ceasefire so that the world can concentrate on tackling the virus.
It is unclear if China will accept the text.
Germany’s UN ambassador Christoph Heusgen, who has criticised the council’s “deafening silence” on the pandemic, reiterated the importance of addressing it.
“Let us concentrate on why we were sent here by our governments and why the world is looking at us.
“The task that we have is to provide for those suffering in conflict, which is compounded by COVID-19.
“Let us overcome differences and concentrate on achieving this goal,” he told a closed-door meeting of the council, according to a tweet by the German UN mission.