WHO closing in on finalizing pandemic treaty

The World Health Organization (WHO) is close to finalizing its pandemic agreement, according to Reuters.

For three years, the WHO has been pushing member states to ratify a “pandemic agreement” that it claims will “strengthen global pandemic prevention, preparedness and response to prevent a repeat of the health, social and economic impacts that were caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.” Negotiations over a final draft stalled last year, but WHO officials are hopeful that one will be ready for signing at the World Health Assembly in May.

"[The talks] went overnight until 9 a.m. (Saturday) but didn't manage to resolve the final issues," a source involved in the negotiations told Reuters, while another source said that “big advancement was made . . . almost all the treaty was agreed upon with few outstanding yet crucial issues.”

In a speech to the Standing Committee on Health Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response on Monday—the committee overseeing the pandemic agreement negotiations—WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said only one article has yet to be finalized.

“As you know, after a long week and a marathon session on Friday that lasted until Saturday morning, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body is closer than ever to delivering on its mandate,” he said. “Negotiators worked through the night on Friday without any sleep for more than 24 hours non-stop. That is a true reflection of the seriousness Member States give to this process and to the importance of concluding a WHO Pandemic Agreement for adoption at the WHA in a few weeks’ time.

“All bar one article has been agreed.”

The pandemic agreement

The agreement would grant WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus singular power to declare pandemics for countries around the world. Ghebreyesus could announce a pandemic at any time and for any reason, such as a virus, a social condition like loneliness, or a phenomenon like climate change.

Once a pandemic is declared, countries would be legally bound to transform into biosecurity states. Governments would be required to respond to the “emergency” with such measures as censoring “misinformation” and cracking down on taxpayers who are non-compliant with public health measures. To that end, the WHO has partnered with the European Union to develop a global vaccine passport to “facilitate global mobility and protect citizens across the world.”

Recent drafts of the pandemic treaty would crack down on taxpayers who disobey mandates, among other measures.

In Article 18 of the agreement, the WHO clarifies that governments must promote “pandemic literacy” — a strategy which, like media literacy, tells the public who to trust and suppresses “misinformation.”

“The Parties shall strengthen science, public health and pandemic literacy in the population, as well as access to information on pandemics and their effects and drivers, and combat false, misleading, misinformation or disinformation, including through effective international collaboration and cooperation as referred to in Article 16 herein,” the agreement states.

In addition, governments should craft policies that suppress dissent against “public health and social measures” and promote trust in the government.

“The Parties shall, as appropriate, conduct research and inform policies on factors that hinder adherence to public health and social measures in a pandemic and trust in science and public health institutions,” says the document.

Member states are also instructed to rope in the private sector for pandemic-related activities. 

Other provisions in the agreement require governments to take an authoritarian approach to pandemics that goes beyond mere regulations and extends to social engineering. In Article 17, for example, governments must not only develop public health policies but also “social policies” aimed at “mobilizing social capital in communities for mutual support.”

A pretense to prescribe global policies

The WHO would also be able to use public health as a pretext to dictate global policy. In one clause, for example, the WHO demands that governments “encourage ceasefires in affected countries during pandemics to promote global cooperation against common global threats.” In another clause, countries must enforce “gender equality” and place more women in leadership positions to create a proper “health and care workforce.”

Member states wishing to withdraw from the agreement must wait a minimum of two years after signing it, and then another year for the withdrawal to take effect. 

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