Unusual Ceasefires in Unusual Times: Why COVID-19 Ceasefires Remain an Exception

Author(s): Claudia Wiehler
Series: CSS Corona Blog
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich
Publication Year: 2020

In March, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for a global ceasefire in armed conflicts to help contain the spread of COVID-19 and ease civilian suffering. However, the low number of resulting declarations has been sobering. A potential explanation for the small number of COVID-19 ceasefires is that they can appear to be far-reaching commitments with uncertain benefits and high costs for conflict parties. Tying ceasefire calls to concrete objectives with clear temporal and geographic limitations could help in overcoming this obstacle, argues CSS Claudia Wiehler in this blog.

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