By World BEYOND War, April 2020
1) Sign the petition for a global ceasefire.
2) Contact your nation’s government and get a clear commitment to engaging in the ceasefire (not just urging others to do so).
3) Use the Comments section on this page to report on what you learn!
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres proposed this global ceasefire:
Our world faces a common enemy: COVID-19.
The virus does not care about nationality or ethnicity, faction or faith. It attacks all, relentlessly.
Meanwhile, armed conflict rages on around the world.
The most vulnerable — women and children, people with disabilities, the marginalized and the displaced — pay the highest price.
They are also at the highest risk of suffering devastating losses from COVID-19.
Let’s not forget that in war-ravaged countries, health systems have collapsed.
Health professionals, already few in number, have often been targeted.
Refugees and others displaced by violent conflict are doubly vulnerable.
The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war.
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.
To warring parties, I say:
Pull back from hostilities.
Put aside mistrust and animosity.
Silence the guns; stop the artillery; end the airstrikes.
This is crucial…
To help create corridors for life-saving aid.
To open precious windows for diplomacy.
To bring hope to places among the most vulnerable to COVID-19.
Let us take inspiration from coalitions and dialogue slowly taking shape among rival parties in some parts to enable joint approaches to COVID-19. But we need much more.
End the sickness of war and fight the disease that is ravaging our world.
It starts by stopping the fighting everywhere. Now.
That is what our human family needs, now more than ever.
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 – the #COVID19 pandemic.https://t.co/F6JRA6ekvZ pic.twitter.com/7WgtFMk5GC
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) March 23, 2020
Fifty-three countries said they supported it:
Other nations said the same. There were even startling reports that the United States supported it. The latter were based entirely on this tweet from the U.S. National Security Council:
The United States hopes that all parties in #Afghanistan, #Syria, #Iraq, #Libya, #Yemen, and elsewhere will heed the call of @antonioguterres. Now is the time for peace and cooperation.
— NSC 45 Archived (@WHNSC45) March 24, 2020
The trouble is that it is simply not clear whether the NSC speaks for the U.S. government and whether it simply wants everyone else to cease firing or is committing the U.S. military (and its junior partners) to a ceasefire.
A list of the nations with troops fighting in Afghanistan raises a similar question about a number of nations backing the ceasefire.
So does a list of the nations fighting in Yemen.
So does a list of the nations with wars actually in their territories.
Below is a list of the world’s nations. Those in bold have indicated support for the global ceasefire. We need help in both getting all of the other nations on board, and in pinning down exactly what each nation is committing to. Please help make this idea a reality by taking these steps:
1) Sign the petition for a global ceasefire.
2) Contact your nation’s government and get a clear commitment to engaging in the ceasefire (not just urging others to do so).
3) Use the Comments section on this page to report on what you learn!
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Andorra
- Angola
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Australia
Does this mean that Australia wants others to cease firing or that its troops in places like Afghanistan will cease firing? - Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belgium
Does this mean that Belgium wants others to cease firing or that its troops in places like Afghanistan will cease firing? - Belize
- Benin
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cabo Verde
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Central African Republic (CAR)
- Chad
- Chile
- China
- Colombia
- Comoros
- Congo, Democratic Republic of the
- Congo, Republic of the
- Costa Rica
- Cote d’Ivoire
- Croatia
- Cuba
- Cyprus
- Czechia
Does this mean that Czechia wants others to cease firing or that its troops in places like Afghanistan will cease firing? - Denmark
Does this mean that Denmark wants others to cease firing or that its troops in places like Afghanistan will cease firing? - Djibouti
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- El Salvador
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Estonia
Does this mean that Estonia wants others to cease firing or that its troops in places like Afghanistan will cease firing? - Eswatini (formerly Swaziland)
- Ethiopia
- Fiji
- Finland
Does this mean that Finland wants others to cease firing or that its troops in places like Afghanistan will cease firing? - France
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Germany
Does this mean that Germany wants others to cease firing or that its troops in places like Afghanistan will cease firing? - Ghana
- Greece
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Hungary
Does this mean that Hungary wants others to cease firing or that its troops in places like Afghanistan will cease firing? - Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
Does this mean that Italy wants others to cease firing or that its troops in places like Afghanistan will cease firing? - Jamaica
- Japan
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Kosovo
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
Does this mean that Lithuania wants others to cease firing or that its troops in places like Afghanistan will cease firing? - Luxembourg
Does this mean that Luxembourg wants others to cease firing or that its troops in places like Afghanistan will cease firing? - Madagascar
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mali
Does this mean that Mali wants others to cease firing or that its troops in Mali will cease firing? - Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Mexico
Does this mean that Mexico wants others to cease firing or that its troops in Mexico will cease firing? - Micronesia
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
Does this mean that Montenegro wants others to cease firing or that its troops in places like Afghanistan will cease firing? - Morocco
- Mozambique
- Myanmar (formerly Burma)
- Namibia
- Nauru
- Nepal
- Netherlands
Does this mean that Netherlands wants others to cease firing or that its troops in places like Afghanistan will cease firing? - New Zealand
Does this mean that New Zealand wants others to cease firing or that its troops in places like Afghanistan will cease firing? - Nicaragua
- Niger
- Nigeria
- North Korea
- North Macedonia (formerly Macedonia)
- Norway
Does this mean that Norway wants others to cease firing or that its troops in places like Afghanistan will cease firing? - Oman
- Pakistan
- Palau
- Palestine
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Poland
Does this mean that Poland wants others to cease firing or that its troops in places like Afghanistan will cease firing? - Portugal
Does this mean that Portugal wants others to cease firing or that its troops in places like Afghanistan will cease firing? - Qatar
Does this mean that Qatar wants others to cease firing or that its troops in places like Yemen will cease firing? - Romania
- Russia
- Rwanda
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Samoa
- San Marino
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Singapore
- Slovakia
Does this mean that Slovakia wants others to cease firing or that its troops in places like Afghanistan will cease firing? - Slovenia
Does this mean that Slovenia wants others to cease firing or that its troops in places like Afghanistan will cease firing? - Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Korea
- South Sudan
- Spain
Does this mean that Spain wants others to cease firing or that its troops in places like Afghanistan will cease firing? - Sri Lanka
- Sudan
- Suriname
- Sweden
Does this mean that Sweden wants others to cease firing or that its troops in places like Afghanistan will cease firing? - Switzerland
- Syria
- Taiwan
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Timor-Leste
- Togo
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Does this mean that UAE wants others to cease firing or that its troops in places like Yemen will cease firing? - United Kingdom (UK)
- United States of America (USA):
The National Security Council either wants others to cease firing in Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, or is committing the United States to doing so. It is not clear. - Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Vatican City (Holy See)
See here. - Venezuela
- Vietnam
- Yemen
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe