The WHO is working on introducing a new Pandemic Preparedness Treaty. You can read the UK parliament’s research briefing – it all sounds very well-meaning.
However, some people are worried about the treaty goes too far and will take away our sovereign rights, i.e. the UK’s ability to act locally, control its own response and work in the best way for its citizens (yes, that’s us).
The proposed treaty, and the associated amendments to the International Health Regulations, would give away control of public health response to the WHO, an unelected international body. The WHO is partly funded by the UK, and is not controlled by anyone – however it is vulnerable to influence.
For example, in 2020-21 the WHO’s second largest contributor was the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation ($751 million). Its sixth largest contributor was the GAVI Alliance ($432 million). Given this large amount of funding from vaccine-focused organisations, at minimum the WHO is likely to lean heavily towards vaccination as a pandemic solution.
The constant barrage of “it’s safe and effective” and “get the jab to protect others” was bad enough with sars-cov-2. What happens if the WHO says to the UK, “you MUST vaccinate 85% of your population”? What happens if it says, “all your children MUST be vaccinated”?
Concerns have been cited by many in the UK, including the group UsForThem which campaigns for children’s wellbeing. In their Substack of 25th March 2023 they detailed their concerns. You can access and download their full briefing paper from the link.
Of particular concern are the proposed amendments to the wording of the International Health Regulations. Perhaps the most concerning is the proposed change to Article 3 (1) Principles. The current text reads: “The implementation of these Regulations shall be with full respect for the dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms of persons.” However, the proposed amendment will change this to, “The implementation of these Regulations shall be based on the principles of equity, inclusivity, coherence and in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities of the States Parties, taking into consideration their social and economic development.” References to respect for our dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms are completely deleted.
In the UK, over 156,000 people signed the petition “Do not sign any WHO Pandemic Treaty unless it is approved via public referendum”. In November 2022 the government’s official response said that “COVID-19 has demonstrated that no-one is safe until we are all safe” and that “the Government does not consider a referendum is necessary, appropriate or in keeping with precedent for such an agreement.”
Petitions with over 100,000 signatures are considered for debate in parliament, and this issue was debated on 17th April – you can watch the debate on YouTube and read the transcript here.
You don’t have to be a conspiracy theorist to be deeply concerned about this issue. It’s simple: we should not surrender our sovereign control in the aid of international cooperation. We are capable of cooperation without this straightjacket of a treaty, without a set of rules that strip away individual rights.
We should not surrender our national sovereignty, nor our individual rights and freedoms, to anyone.