SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
The U.N. Secretary-General called for a global ceasefire to allow the world to come together against the coronavirus. (Photo by Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)
As 'Fury of Virus Illustrates Folly of War,' UN Chief Calls for Global Ceasefire
"End the sickness of war and fight the disease that is ravaging our world."
Mar 24, 2020
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called on the countries of Earth to declare an immediate ceasefire and join together to battle the coronavirus pandemic that is ravaging people and communities across the planet.
"The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war," said Guterres. "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."
"We welcome this call by Antonio Guterres," the global anti-poverty group Concern said on Twitter. "Coronavirus poses an enormous threat to the the 71 million people across the globe who have been displaced by violence and a ceasefire of all arms must take place to ensure that they can be reached with life-saving aid."
Guterres said he hoped action taken to stop conflict could help refugees, women, children, and other marginalized communities in warzones get the help they need to survive--including better delivery of humanitarian and medical aid.
"End the sickness of war and fight the disease that is ravaging our world," said Guterres. "It starts by stopping the fighting everywhere. Now. That is what our human family needs, now more than ever."
Progressives welcomed the declaration.
"U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' call for a global ceasefire prioritizes people over profit, healthcare over warfare, and solidarity over global isolation," tweeted CodePink. "Divest from war."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called on the countries of Earth to declare an immediate ceasefire and join together to battle the coronavirus pandemic that is ravaging people and communities across the planet.
"The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war," said Guterres. "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."
"We welcome this call by Antonio Guterres," the global anti-poverty group Concern said on Twitter. "Coronavirus poses an enormous threat to the the 71 million people across the globe who have been displaced by violence and a ceasefire of all arms must take place to ensure that they can be reached with life-saving aid."
Guterres said he hoped action taken to stop conflict could help refugees, women, children, and other marginalized communities in warzones get the help they need to survive--including better delivery of humanitarian and medical aid.
"End the sickness of war and fight the disease that is ravaging our world," said Guterres. "It starts by stopping the fighting everywhere. Now. That is what our human family needs, now more than ever."
Progressives welcomed the declaration.
"U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' call for a global ceasefire prioritizes people over profit, healthcare over warfare, and solidarity over global isolation," tweeted CodePink. "Divest from war."
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called on the countries of Earth to declare an immediate ceasefire and join together to battle the coronavirus pandemic that is ravaging people and communities across the planet.
"The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war," said Guterres. "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."
"We welcome this call by Antonio Guterres," the global anti-poverty group Concern said on Twitter. "Coronavirus poses an enormous threat to the the 71 million people across the globe who have been displaced by violence and a ceasefire of all arms must take place to ensure that they can be reached with life-saving aid."
Guterres said he hoped action taken to stop conflict could help refugees, women, children, and other marginalized communities in warzones get the help they need to survive--including better delivery of humanitarian and medical aid.
"End the sickness of war and fight the disease that is ravaging our world," said Guterres. "It starts by stopping the fighting everywhere. Now. That is what our human family needs, now more than ever."
Progressives welcomed the declaration.
"U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' call for a global ceasefire prioritizes people over profit, healthcare over warfare, and solidarity over global isolation," tweeted CodePink. "Divest from war."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.