“It's making a lot of things harder," said Ronald Neumann, a former U.S. ambassador who is president of the American Academy of Diplomacy. It's a very convenient excuse for people not to do things they don't want to do." At the same time, discussions on human rights, nonvirus global health issues, climate change and trade are likely to be foregone. In Geneva, another hub of U.N.-sponsored diplomacy, the coronavirus has torpedoed some gatherings. A Human Rights Council session was suspended in mid-March “until further notice” and two plenary sessions of the Conference on Disarmament were put off.

Source: International New York Times April 04, 2020 12:56 UTC