Despite support for a universal armistice from dozens of countries, including U.S. allies such as the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, as well as human rights groups, the Trump administration has refused to be bound by the call for an end to fighting. A White House official referred The Intercept to a State Department comment to Foreign Policy magazine: “The United States supports the secretary-general’s call for a global ceasefire, but have noted that we will continue to fulfill our legitimate counter-terrorism mission.”

While there have been significant declines in fighting in some conflicts, Woods noted, including a pause in Russian airstrikes in northern Syria since early March, other war zones have seen a marked uptick in violence.

“In Somalia, we’ve seen no letup at all in U.S. actions against al Shabaab, which are presently running at their highest-ever tempo,” he told The Intercept. “It’s deeply troubling that more belligerents are not heeding the UN’s call for ceasefires during this global health crisis.”