The UN General Assembly has recognized the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the greatest challenges in the history of the organization. This is stated in a comprehensive resolution on the comprehensive fight against the pandemic, RIA Novosti reports.
169 states voted for the resolution. The USA and Israel opposed it, Ukraine and Hungary abstained.
The document says that the UNGA expresses deep concern over the increase in discrimination, incitement to hatred, racism and xenophobia associated with the epidemic. The authors demand to fight this.
The organization also called on governments and civil societies of countries to respond in the context of the fight against the pandemic. This includes strengthening health and social support systems.
In addition, the document says about the need to provide all states with unhindered timely access to high-quality diagnostics, therapeutic agents, drugs and vaccines to combat coronavirus infection.
Earlier, the UN published a report on the impact of the epidemic on life in large cities. According to the document, the high death rate from the disease is associated with poor air quality. At the same time, the organization noted that the air became cleaner during the pandemic, and greenhouse gases became less. UN representatives stressed that if additional measures are not taken to protect the environment, the positive effect will only be temporary.