LONDON -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Saturday that the coronavirus pandemic has frayed the bonds between nations, and urged world leaders to unite against the "common foe" of covid-19.
Johnson, who made the remarks in a prerecorded speech to the United Nations General Assembly, said that nine months into the pandemic, "the very notion of the international community looks tattered."
"Never again must we wage 193 separate campaigns against the same enemy," he said.
Johnson set out a plan for preventing another global pandemic, including a network of research labs around the world to identify dangerous pathogens before they leap from animals to humans.
Meanwhile, London police clashed with demonstrators Saturday as they broke up a protest in Trafalgar Square against covid-19 restrictions amid rising tensions over limits on everyday life as the government tries to stem a sharp rise in infections.
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Johnson -- who contracted covid-19 in the spring and spent three nights in intensive care -- also called for countries to share data to create a global early-warning system for disease outbreaks, and urged countries to stop slapping export controls on essential goods, as many have done during the pandemic.
Johnson also committed $636 million through the global COVAX vaccine-procurement pool to help 92 of the world's poorest countries obtain a vaccine, should one become available.
He announced that the U.K. is boosting its funding for the World Health Organization by 30%, to $432 million over the next four years, and urged world leaders to acknowledge "that alarm bells were ringing before this calamity struck" and to learn from the experience.
"With nearly a million people dead, with colossal economic suffering already inflicted and more to come, there is a moral imperative for humanity to be honest and to reach a joint understanding of how the pandemic began, and how it was able to spread -- not because I want to blame any country or government, or to score points," Johnson said. "I simply believe -- as a former covid patient -- that we all have a right to know, so that we can collectively do our best to prevent a recurrence."
Johnson is seeking to counter the impression that Britain is retreating from the world stage or becoming more protectionist in the wake of its departure from the European Union. The U.K. left the bloc's political institutions in January and will make an economic break when a transition period ends Dec. 31.
Police and protesters were injured Saturday when officers moved in after three hours of speeches in front of thousands of people who packed the iconic square in London waving placards opposing mandatory vaccinations, mask requirements and limits on civil liberties.
Nine police officers were injured, including two who required hospital treatment for head injuries. Sixteen people were arrested on a variety of charges including breaching coronavirus regulations, assaulting a police officer and violent disorder.
Police said they intervened because the demonstrators refused to comply with the very social-distancing rules they were there to protest. Officers removed sound equipment, bottles were thrown and police drew their batons in confrontations with protesters. Several people were seen being led away in handcuffs.
The demonstration was held as Parliament prepares to review covid-19 legislation and the government imposes new restrictions to control the disease. Some lawmakers have criticized the government for implementing the rules without parliamentary approval.
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Speakers at the rally denied they were conspiracy theorists, arguing they were standing up for freedom of expression and human rights.
Dan Astin-Gregory, a leadership trainer, acknowledged the deaths and suffering caused by the pandemic, but said the response to covid-19 has been out of proportion to the threat.
"We are tired of the fear-mongering and the misrepresentation of the facts," he told the crowd. "We are tired of the restrictions to our freedoms."
