The World Health Organization is currently considering making amendments to the International Health Regulations, one of which could force member states to comply with any rules issued during future pandemics, which could include vaccine passports and border closures.
One of the measures that has been suggested would require countries to “follow WHO’s recommendations in their international public health response,” which would take away any freedom for member states to approach pandemics in the way they deem most fitting.
The proposal reads: “Parties recognize WHO as the guidance and coordinating authority of international public health response during public health Emergency of International Concern and undertake to follow WHO’s recommendations in their international public health response.”
Members of Parliament of the United Kingdom, led by ex-cabinet minister Esther McVey, have written to the Foreign Office to demand any new measures be blocked which would increase the power of the WHO and allow them to dictate policy and budgets in the UK.
In the letter, McVey warned about the organization gaining too much power and transitioning from a “member-led advisory body to a healthy authority with powers of compulsion.”
“This is particularly worrying when you consider the WHO’s poor track record on providing consistent, clear, and scientifically sound advice for managing international disease outbreaks,” McVey added.
The Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office minister Andrew Mitchell then came out and said it “would never agree to anything that crosses our points of principle on sovereignty.”
“The UK is supportive of the pandemic treaty currently being negotiated by national governments, which could speed up the sharing of data on new pandemic threats to we are able to respond quickly in the event of future pandemics,” said Mitchell. “We’re clear that we would never agree to anything that crosses our points of principle on sovereignty or prevents the UK from taking decisive action against future pandemics.”
Molly Kingsley, the founder of UsForThem – a group in the UK that stood up for children’s rights during the Covid-19 pandemic – called the WHO proposal an “unprecedented land grab.”
“The Government have come back and said, well actually we’re quite worried too,” said Kingsley. “And they’re right to be because this is a really, really unprecedented land grab by the WHO.”
Speaking to Talk TV about the proposed amendment, Kingsley said, “What the proposals do is change what is currently guidance that the WHO gives to binding recommendations. And that includes binding recommendations over things like lockdown, mandatory vaccination, quarantine, isolation, and restrictions of travel.”
“You have to ask, who is the WHO to be granting themselves powers?” asked Kingsley.
