On July 8, in Geneva, the Global Virtual Summit of the International Labor Organization (ILO) on the global COVID-19 response was held. At the invitation of the ILO chief, the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev sent an address to the participants of the summit, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry said.

The President noted that the pandemic has revealed a number of problems for the sustainable development of international relations and the absence of a global strategic action plan in such emergency situations.

In this regard, Mirziyoyev put forward the initiative to adopt, under the auspices of the United Nations, an International Code of Voluntary Obligations of States during pandemics.

According to the him, this code should stipulate the minimum conditions and obligations of states, before their citizens and international partners, in the political, social, economic, humanitarian, human rights areas.

Firstly, restrictions should be exclusively temporary, with mandatory guarantees of observance of the rights and freedoms of citizens.

Such measures should be proportionate to risks, not to impede international trade, especially in medical products, as well as measures to support socially vulnerable segments of the population.

Secondly, the rapid spread of the pandemic has shown the need for systemic, timely and effective preventive measures, including in order to prevent overloading of health services.

These are, first of all, measures for forecasting, deterring in the early stages of spread, counteracting the epidemic and minimizing its consequences.

Third, the pandemic underpinned the importance of ensuring occupational safety. This directly applies to health workers who have shown real heroism, being at the forefront of the fight against the disease.