"The poorest and most vulnerable members of society are being hardest hit, both by the pandemic and the response. Reduced household income forces poor families to cut back on essential health and food expenditures, particularly affecting children, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers. we must commit to building back better by using the recovery from COVID-19 to pursue a more sustainable and inclusive economy and society."

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Rather than go into vast and tedious details on all I am doing to bring about this Board of Inquiry, we must now hear directly from the Secretary General. I share with you directly and unedited, two moving statements made by the present Secretary General, Antonio Gutteres, one on how to protect children during this pandemic, from April 16, and the other, an earlier one, UN chief urges unity in mobilizing 'every ounce of energy' to defeat coronavirus pandemic, of April 3. I will save my own perceptions for a future article, and I hope the sincerity plus the effective realpolitik impact of what he is saying is clear to our readers. Antonio Gutteres is doing a great job during the most difficult times the UN has faced since the peak of the Arms Race.

Secretary-General's statement on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on Children April 16

As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads across the globe, we are seeing an alarming pattern. The poorest and most vulnerable members of society are being hardest hit, both by the pandemic and the response. I am especially concerned about the well-being of the world's children. Thankfully, children have so far been largely spared from the most severe symptoms of the disease. But their lives are being totally upended.

I appeal to families everywhere, and leaders at all levels: protect our children. Today we are launching a report that highlights the risks they face.

First, education.

Almost all students are now out of school. Some schools are offering distance learning, but this is not available to all. Children in countries with slow and expensive Internet services are severely disadvantaged.

Second, food.

A staggering 310 million schoolchildren nearly half of the world's total rely on school for a regular source of daily nutrition. Even before Covid-19 the world faced unacceptable rates of childhood malnutrition and stunting.

Third, safety.

With children out of school, their communities in lockdown and a global recession biting deeper, family stress levels are rising. Children are both victims and witnesses of domestic violence and abuse. With schools closed, an important early warning mechanism is missing. There is also a danger that girls will drop out of school, leading to an increase in teenage pregnancies. And we must not ignore the growing risks children are facing as they spend more time online.

This can leave children vulnerable to online sexual exploitation and grooming. A lack of face-to-face contact with friends and partners may lead to heightened risk-taking such as sending sexualized images. And increased and unstructured time online may expose children to potentially harmful and violent content as well as greater risk of cyberbullying. Governments and parents all have a role in keeping children safe. Social media companies have a special responsibility to protect the vulnerable. F

Fourth, health.
Reduced household income will force poor families to cut back on essential health and food expenditures, particularly affecting children, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers. Polio vaccination campaigns have been suspended. Measles immunization campaigns have stopped in at least 23 countries. And as health services become overwhelmed, sick children are less able to access care. With the global recession gathering pace, there could be hundreds of thousands additional child deaths in 2020. These are just some of the findings of the report we are issuing today. Its conclusion is clear. We must act now on each of these threats to our children.

Leaders must do everything in their power to cushion the impact of the pandemic.

What started as a public health emergency has snowballed into a formidable test for the global promise to leave no one behind. The report urges governments and donors to prioritize education for all children. It recommends they provide economic assistance, including cash transfers, to low-income families and minimize disruptions to social and healthcare services for children. We must also prioritize the most vulnerable children in conflict situations; child refugees and displaced persons; children living with disabilities.

Finally, we must commit to building back better by using the recovery from COVID-19 to pursue a more sustainable and inclusive economy and society in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. With the pandemic placing so many of the world's children in jeopardy, I reiterate my urgent appeal: let us protect our children and safeguard their well-being.

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April 3: UN chief urges unity in mobilizing 'every ounce of energy' to defeat coronavirus pandemic

Ten days ago, António Guterres called for an immediate global ceasefire to help people in war-torn regions receive life-saving aid to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

"We know the pandemic is having profound social, economic and political consequences, including relating to international peace and security", the UN chief said, in a virtual press conference outlining the impact so far of the ceasefire appeal.

He cited sustained restrictions on movement by governments everywhere, and factors that could contribute to rising discontent and political tensions, but maintained that "the global ceasefire appeal is resonating across the world".

He said that the call has been endorsed by 70 Member States, regional partners, non-State actors, and others.

"Religious leaders including Pope Francis have added their moral voice in support of a global ceasefire, as have citizens through grassroots mobilization online", he told reporters.

Putting words into peace actions

Although a substantial number of fighters and militias have accepted the call, the UN chief stressed that "there is a huge distance between declarations and deeds between translating words into peace on the ground, and in the lives of people."
He acknowledged the "enormous difficulties" in implementing a truce to halt conflicts that have festered for years, where "distrust is deep", and recognized that "any initial gains are fragile and easily reversible". The UN chief observed that in many critical situations, there has been no let-up in fighting, and in some, conflicts have even intensified. "We need robust diplomatic efforts to meet these challenges", he asserted. "To silence the guns, we must raise the voices for peace"

Intense diplomatic push

Mr. Guterres explained that he and his envoys are engaging with conflict actors to help push forward ceasefires.

As the UN Special Envoy in Yemen works to convene the parties to discuss COVID-19 crisis management and nationwide ceasefire mechanisms, the conflict has spiked despite expressed support for a truce by the Government and warring parties.

"I call on all governments and movements involved and their supporters to put an end to the catastrophic conflict and humanitarian nightmare and come to the negotiating table", implored the UN chief.

In Syria, where the first COVID-related deaths have now been reported, the UN Special Envoy has appealed for a "complete and immediate" nationwide ceasefire to allow for "an all-out-effort against COVID-19".

Turning to Libya, although the warring parties have welcomed calls to stop the fighting, clashes have escalated drastically on all frontlines, obstructing efforts to effectively respond to COVID-19. "I urge both parties, and all others directly and indirectly involved in the conflict, to immediately halt hostilities to allow authorities to effectively address the COVID-19 threat", underscored Mr. Guterres.

In Afghanistan, a 21-member team was announced last week to directly negotiate with the Taliban, and technical contacts established for an initial prisoner release. Pledging his full support, the Secretary-General stated his belief that "the time has come for the Government and the Taliban to cease hostilities as COVID-19 looms over the country".

Special appeal

For all nations in conflict, the UN chief made a special appeal to those with influence on warring parties "to do everything possible for the ceasefire to become a reality". He called on "all those that can make a difference, to make that difference", by urging and pressuring combatants around the world to lay down their arms. Noting that there is a chance for peace, Mr. Guterres maintained, "but we are far from there".

COVID-19 overshadows conflicts

"The need is urgent", he said. "The COVID-19 storm is now coming to all these theatres of conflict". Against the backdrop of a coronavirus moving swiftly across borders, devastating countries and upending lives, Mr. Guterres projected that, "the worst is yet to come". "We need to do everything possible to find the peace and unity our world so desperately needs to battle COVID-19", concluded the Secretary-General. "We must mobilize every ounce of energy to defeat it".

s.un.org/en/story/2020/04/1061012

(Article changed on April 19, 2020 at 16:15)

Authors Website: https://www.facebook.com/groups/592985284186083/

Authors Bio:

Early in the 2016 Primary campaign, I started a Facebook group: Bernie Sanders: Advice and Strategies to Help Him Win! As the primary season advanced, we shifted the focus to advancing Bernie's legislation in the Senate, particularly the most critical one, to protect Oak Flat, sacred to the San Carlos Apaches, in the Tonto National Forest, from John McCain's efforts to privatize this national forest and turn it over to Rio Tinto Mining, an Australian mining company whose record by comparison makes Monsanto look like altar boys, to be developed as North America's largest copper mine. This is monstrous and despicable, and yet only Bernie's Save Oak Flat Act (S2242) stands in the way of this diabolical plan.

We added "2020" to the title.


I am an art gallery owner in Santa Fe since 1980 selling Native American painting and NM landscapes, specializing in modern Native Ledger Art.


I have always been intensely involved in politics, going back to the mid's 1970's, being a volunteer lobbyist in the US Senate for the Secretary General of the United Nations, then a "snowball-in-hell" campaign for US Senate in NM in the late 70's, and for the past 20 years have worked extensively to pressure the FDA to rescind its approval for aspartame, the neurotoxic artificial sweetener metabolized as formaldehyde. This may be becoming a reality to an extent in California, which, under Proposition 65, is considering requiring a mandatory Carcinogen label on all aspartame products, although all bureaucracies seem to stall under any kind of corporate pressure.


Bills to ban aspartame were in the State Senates of New Mexico and Hawaii, but were shut down by corporate lobbyists (particularly Monsanto lobbyists in Hawaii and Coca Cola lobbyists in New Mexico).


For several years, I was the editor of New Mexico Sun News, and my letters to the editor and op/eds in 2016 have appeared in NM, California, Wisconsin, New York, Maryland, the Christian Science Monitor, USA Today, and many international papers, on the subject of consumer protection. Our best issue was 10 days before Obama won in 2008, when we published a special early edition of the paper declaring that Obama Wins! This was the top story on CNN for many hours, way back then....


My highest accomplishments thus far are

1. a plan to create a UN Secretary General's Pandemic Board of Inquiry, a plan that is in the works and might be achieved even before the 75th UN General Assembly in September 2020.


2. Now history until the needs becomes clear to the powers who run the United Nations: a UN Resolution to create a new Undersecretary General for Nutrition and Consumer Protection, strongly supported ten years ago by India and 53 cosponsoring nations, but shut down by the US Mission to the UN in 2008. To read it, google UNITED NATIONS UNDERSECRETARY GENERAL FOR NUTRITION, please.


These are not easy battles, any of them, and they require a great deal of political and journalistic focus. OpEdNews is the perfect place for those who have a lot to say, so much that they exceed the limiting capacities of their local and regional newspapers. Trying to go beyond the regional papers seems to require some kind of "inside" credentials, as if you had to be in a club of corporate-accepted writers, and if not, you are "from somewhere else," a sad state of corporate induced xenophobia that should have no place in America in 2020!

This should be a goal for every author with something current to say: breaking through yet another glass ceiling, and get your say said in editorial pages all over America. Certainly, this was a tool that was essentially ignored in 2016, and cannot be ignored in the big elections of 2020.


In my capacity as Editor of the Santa Fe Sun News, Fox interviewed Mikhail Gorbachev: http://www.prlog.org/10064349-mikhail-gorbachev