By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

GENEVA (Worthy News) – Undeterred by global criticism, the World Health Organization (WHO) aims to conclude a global pandemic treaty by 2025.

In a statement, the WHO suggests that talks on reaching an agreement will be concluded within the coming months.

The U.N. agency says the global health rules will shore up the world’s defenses against new pathogens after COVID-19 “killed more than 7 million people,” according to WHO data.

Its announcement is due to raise eyebrows among critics in the United States and other countries who warn that the pandemic treaty will undermine the sovereignty of the U.S. and other nations.

U.S. Congressional Republicans have told President Joe Biden’s administration that the WHO should not get too much power given its track record during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We must ensure that the final draft does not violate our national sovereignty or infringe upon the rights of the American people,” said Republican Congressman Brad Wenstrup, a doctor and chair of a special subcommittee investigating the COVID-19 pandemic.

He and others fear the accord will increase the WHO’s power at the expense of U.S. interests – including free speech and freedom of religion.

REPUBLICANS CONCERNED

Republicans have expressed concerns, for instance, about previous WHO-pushed lockdowns in churches.

In the Netherlands, which played a vital role in the treaty, legislator Fleur Agema of the Dutch anti-Islam Party for Freedom (PVV), which won parliamentary elections in November, shares those concerns.

“It looks like this treaty is a directive. Richer countries, such as the Netherlands, will have to give money to poorer nations to ensure their pandemic preparedness is in order, while we do not even have it in order ourselves,” she adds.

Yet despite being part of a caretaker government, Dutch Health Minister Pia Dijkstra refused to back down, saying the Netherlands, as one of the critical co-initiators of the accord, would back the pandemic treaty anyway.

She said recently that the Netherlands is “an international leader when it comes to international cooperation in the field of public health,” there is “consensus” in the European Union on this issue.

The WHO says that 194 member states have been negotiating for two years on the agreement to increase “collaboration” before and during pandemics after admitting failures during COVID-19.

The U.N.-agency aimed for an accord last week, but talks were extended due to tensions between wealthy and poorer countries on issues like vaccine-sharing and
preparedness.

PARALLEL DEAL

Yet countries reached a parallel deal to update existing legally binding health rules, known as the International Health Regulations (IHR).

That includes a new “pandemic emergency” category for the most significant and globally threatening health crises.

“The historic decisions” showed “a common desire by member states to protect their own people, and the world’s, from the shared risk of public health emergencies and future pandemics,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says.

“With this agreement, we take steps to hold countries accountable and strengthen measures to stop outbreaks before they threaten Americans and our security,” adds U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.

However, critics warn that the accord could weaken the U.S. and other nations as the treaty goes beyond information sharing and sets binding world policies for years to come.

Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.

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