COVID-19 and multilateral governance at the United Nations between risk-prevention, procedural adaptation and feeble response
Some thoughts in the aftermath of Security Council Resolution 2532 (2020) on Covid-19
1. Introduction On the 1st July 2020 the UN Security Council (SC) adopted, under the special voting procedure arranged for the extraordinary circumstances caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic,[1] Resolution 2532 (2020), which is intended to deal with the impact of the pandemic on peace and security.[2] This ‘long overdue resolution’[3] was the...
COVID-19 and multilateral governance at the United Nations between risk-prevention, procedural adaptation and feeble response / Zoom Out
Disaster risk reduction in light of the COVID-19 crisis: Policy and legal considerations
1. Re-setting the scene: The task at end The current crisis triggered by the COVID-19 does not seem to have a precedent since World War II in its global scope and import. The etymology of the word ‘crisis’ contains a good indication of the task at end. A Crisis is not only a moment of...
COVID-19 and multilateral governance at the United Nations between risk-prevention, procedural adaptation and feeble response / Zoom Out
The health of international cooperation and UNGA Resolution 74/274
1. Introduction COVID-19 and the unprecedented crisis that it brings offers an opportunity for the strengthening and advancement of international cooperation. States, however, have reacted, at least initially, answering primarily to national interest instead of recognizing a common threat to humanity that calls for a united response. On 20 April 2020, the United Nations General...
COVID-19 and multilateral governance at the United Nations between risk-prevention, procedural adaptation and feeble response / Zoom Out
The United Nations principal political organs and the universal pandemic: How to meet, negotiate and deliberate under ‘new, extraordinary and exceptional circumstances’?
1. Introduction In a United Nations setting that was quite disoriented by the unprecedented situation created by a declared universal pandemic, in mid-March 2020 the UN Headquarters were shut down and nobody, including UN officers and delegates, was allowed to enter the New York premises of the Organization. It took some days to single out...
