Diplomats from 48 countries oppose politicisation of Covid origin
Permanent representatives of 48 countries have sent a letter to World Health Organisation (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in support of studying the origins of Covid-19 but opposed any politicisation of the study.
The diplomats said Covid-19 is a common enemy of mankind which can only be defeated by solidarity and cooperation of the international community, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Cooperation on the study of the origins of Sars-CoV-2 is...
Permanent representatives of 48 countries have sent a letter to World Health Organisation (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in support of studying the origins of Covid-19 but opposed any politicisation of the study.
The diplomats said Covid-19 is a common enemy of mankind which can only be defeated by solidarity and cooperation of the international community, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Cooperation on the study of the origins of Sars-CoV-2 is important in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, they said in the letter.
"As provided in the resolution WHA 73.1 entitled Covid-19 response, the purpose of the origin-tracing is to identify the zoonotic source of the virus and the route of introduction to the human population, including the possible role of intermediate hosts," the letter read.
The diplomats stressed that the study of origins is "a matter of science, and should be conducted around the world by scientists."
"Origin-tracing shall not be politicised," they said. "Otherwise the global cooperation on the study of origins will be hindered, and the global anti-pandemic efforts will be jeopardised."
The diplomats also welcomed a joint-report which was organised by the WHO on the origins of Sars-CoV-2.
They also expressed appreciation for the scientists of the joint experts group and stressed that the global study on origin-tracing "should be based on and guided by this scientific report."
They called on the WHO Secretariat, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the World Health Assembly (WHA), to cooperate with member states to advance the study of origins around the world, and take effective measures to prevent political factors from interfering with the study process.
- Bernama
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