WHO Pushes Global Pandemic Treaty (Worthy News In-Depth)
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent
GENEVA/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) is preparing a global pact that critics fear will give it absolute power over global biosecurity.
Under the so-called “pandemic treaty,” nations could be forced to obey a worldwide law for outbreaks to avoid “mistakes” made during the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHO suggested.
If passed, the WHO likely gets the authority to press governments to implement mandatory vaccinations and related passports and digital identities, Worthy News established.
The health body could also quickly impose measures such as travel restrictions and standardized medical care.
Other proposals include “the sharing of data and genome sequences of emerging viruses” and “rules on equitable vaccine distribution.”
Additionally, the European Union, which backs the treaty, pushes for a ban on wildlife markets and incentives to report new viruses or variants.
WHO CHIEF
Member states have till August to decide on an initial version of the “pandemic treaty,” which is backed by WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Worthy News learned.
Tedros is likely to be elected unopposed for a second term in May.
The U.S. was among the countries that initially opposed making the treaty legally binding, but President Joe Biden’s administration has since shifted towards signing the deal.
Washington says it hopes to boost transparency and grant the WHO quicker access to outbreak sites. Several diplomats said they expect opposition from China and others on national sovereignty grounds.
China did allow WHO-led expert teams to visit the suspected COVID-19 epicenter in Wuhan. But even the WHO says China is withholding clinical data from early cases that may hold clues about the origins of the coronavirus.
Opponents view it as another step to “reset” the economic, political, and health systems worldwide to increase control over people’s lives through global surveillance.
MISTAKES MADE
They say the WHO is not qualified to make global health decisions as it only admitted publicly that COVID-19 was airborne in late December 2021.
However, scientists reportedly knew the virus was airborne within weeks of the pandemic being declared.
The WHO also ignored early advice about airborne transmission, critics claim.
In questions to the European Union’s executive obtained by Worthy News, European legislator Christine Margarete Anderson expressed concern about the treaty.
She told the European Commission that “Many who favor the treaty believe that it offers the best way to increase political commitment from states to reform global health governance.”
However, “the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates that this proposition has no basis in fact,” Anderson added.
MANIPULATING TREATIES
“Government responses to COVID-19 have purportedly violated or manipulated many treaties, including human rights agreements,” she said.
Anderson, of the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany party, referred to rules such as obligatory COVID-19 vaccines and lockdowns.
Anderson then asked: “To what extent will the Commission ensure that the citizen, who has no direct vote in a body such as the WHO, is not bypassed in the decision-making process. And [how will it guarantee] that a shift of competence further and further away from the voter does not lead to an increasing ‘de-democratization’ of our society?”
Other critics say that while COVID-19 is potentially deadly to some vulnerable groups, this isn’t a valid justification for handing over more power to the WHO.
The group has faced pressure over its often slow response to current or perceived pandemics.
Yet, negotiations on new rules for dealing with outbreaks have begun at the WHO with a target date of May 2024 for a treaty signed by the U.N. health agency’s 194 member countries.
The pact would be the second such health accord after the 2003 Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. That is a legally-binding treaty that aims to reduce smoking via taxation and rules on labels for Tobacco Control.
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