On March 23, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres appealed for a global cease-fire to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet over eight weeks later, the Security Council has not been able to muster consensus on a resolution to support even a humanitarian, time-limited cease-fire, despite early and repeated warnings about the potential devastation that the virus will bring to conflict zones.
This article argues that a U.N. Security Council resolution could provide critical momentum for humanitarian preparations and a framework for translating humanitarian pauses or cease-fires into structured political processes.