The Biden administration is poised to sign an international commitment to cede leadership of its response to the pandemic to the World Health Organization, according to new reports Monday.
In an article published Monday titled “Why the US should oppose WHO’s new draft pandemic treaty,” The Heritage Foundation discussed the “zero draft” of the agreement.
The “zero draft” of this agreement, called WHO CA+, was published on 1 February 2023.
“Despite its failure during COVID-19 and complicity in China’s cover-up, the World Health Organization (WHO) has drafted a new global treaty against the pandemic,” the report notes. “The draft treaty focuses on expanding the WHO’s power, trampling on intellectual property rights and ‘equitably’ redistributing knowledge, technology and other resources.
“It has been wrongly reported that the draft WHO CA+ would give WHO authority over US national pandemic policies,” the authors state. As the draft says:
States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, the sovereign right to determine and manage their approach to public health, in particular pandemic prevention, preparedness, response and recovery of health systems, in accordance with their own policies. and legislation, provided that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause harm to their peoples and other countries. (World Health Organization, “Zero Draft of the WHO CA+”, pp. 10 and 11.)
However, the draft treaty is “deeply flawed” and, as currently drafted, should be rejected by the Biden administration, the authors argued.
WHO’s draft international treaty contains sections that directly conflict with the US Constitution. The treaty calls on parties to “address false, misleading, misinformation or misinformation.” This is a flagrant violation of freedom of expression.
As has been shown to be true repeatedly throughout the response to the Covid pandemic, public health officials were consistently wrong on issues ranging from the effectiveness of masks to the baseless argument that they Covid vaccines stop transmission. Even if the experts were right, it is a violation of the rights of American citizens for the government to suppress or censor speech.
Approval of the treaty by the United States Senate would be prohibited for containing provisions, called reservations. The WHO draft CA+ prohibits such reservations.
The WHO-CA+ treaty also contains passages on “equity” that could be considered unconstitutional on the basis that they violate equal protection.
In 2021, leaders of 23 countries and the World Health Organization “backed an idea to create an international treaty to help the world deal with future health emergencies like the coronavirus pandemic now ravaging the world.”
“The idea of this treaty, which would guarantee universal and equitable access to vaccines, medicines and diagnostics for pandemics, was presented by the president of European Union leaders Charles Michel at a G20 summit last November,” he point to the World Economic Forum.
The treaty was formally supported by the leaders of Fiji, Portugal, Romania, Great Britain, Rwanda, Kenya, France, Germany, Greece, Korea, Chile, Costa Rica, Albania, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, the Netherlands, Tunisia, Senegal, Spain, Norway, Serbia, Indonesia, Ukraine and the WHO.
“There will be other pandemics and other major health emergencies. No government or multilateral agency can face this threat alone,” the leaders wrote in a joint op-ed in major newspapers.
“We believe that nations should work together for a new international treaty for pandemic preparedness and response,” they said.
The treaty would also say that “the health of humans, animals and the planet are all connected and should lead to shared responsibility, transparency and cooperation at the global level.”
“We are convinced that it is our responsibility, as leaders of nations and international institutions, to ensure that the world learns the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the leaders wrote.
The HHS definitions for the Biden administration’s public health statement came directly from the WHO, the complaint states.
“The Biden administration is in the process of finalizing a deal that would give the WHO near-total authority to dictate U.S. policies during a pandemic,” The Epoch Times previously reported. “This includes vaccine policies, lockdown policies, school closing policies, contact tracing of American citizens, and even monitoring online speech if that speech goes against the official narrative.”
Thus, the Biden administration is being sued over a public health rule they argue illegally empowers the World Health Organization (WHO).
As the legal complaint states, “The Department’s definition of “public health emergency” at 42 CFR § 70.1 exceeds the agency’s authority by unlawfully delegating to the World Health Organization (WHO ) the authority to invoke emergency health powers in the United States: infringing on United States and state sovereignty.”
“Plaintiffs object to the unlawful regulation because it violates their reserved powers, authority and sovereignty,” the complaint adds.
In a February fact sheet, the Biden administration expressed its commitment to “global health.” One of his commitments was to “support and strengthen WHO”.
Support and strengthen WHO. Among his first acts in office a year ago, President Biden declared that the United States would reengage with the World Health Organization (WHO), highlighting our nation’s commitment to advancing multilateral cooperation in a moment of international health crisis. Last week, the United States again demonstrated this commitment, leading a successful decision at the WHO Executive Board meeting to strengthen the International Health Regulations (2005). This strengthening will improve the world’s ability to prevent, detect and rapidly respond to infectious disease outbreaks in the future. Beyond COVID-19, the United States is working with global partners through WHO on a wide range of global health challenges, including childhood immunization, nutrition, polio eradication, ‘strengthening the global health workforce to achieve universal health coverage and address the climate threat. change positions for health. These and other issues remain critical priorities, especially in the wake of COVID-19, and demonstrate the importance of strong and equitable health systems that serve those most at risk.
The states of Texas and Oklahoma are accusing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) of “unlawfully” delegating the authority to declare a public health emergency in the US to the WHO, according to a copy of the complaint. The plaintiffs claim that a 2017 rule waives HHS’ authority to WHO to determine when there is a public health emergency involving a communicable disease in the U.S.
HHS’s definitions for the statement come directly from the WHO, the complaint states.
“The Department’s definition of a “public health emergency”…exceeds the agency’s authority by illegally delegating to the World Health Organization (WHO) the authority to invoke health powers of ’emergency in the United States, infringing on the sovereignty of the United States and the state,’ he denounced. he says
The states asked in July to repeal the rule, a move the Biden administration denied, according to the complaint. Now, they are seeking court intervention to declare the rule “unlawful” for relying on the authority of a foreign body.
America First Legal, which was founded by former Trump administration officials, represents Texas in the lawsuit, which was filed in a Texas district court.
“The last few years have been a horrifying tutorial of how US global elites working in concert are prepared to use the pretext of a health emergency to impose draconian and totalitarian controls on the lives of our people – this is what this landmark lawsuit.” former Trump administration adviser and current president of America First Legal Stephen Miller said in a statement to the DCNF.
The Biden administration has extended the country’s public health emergency over Covid-19 until May, even though the former president said in September that Covid was “over”. The national emergency declaration has been in effect since January 2020.
The WHO has faced scrutiny in recent years over its alleged reliance on China, leading former President Trump to withdraw US funding from the world health organisation. During a 2021 congressional hearing, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said there were “hints” of Chinese influence at the WHO.
“We are proud and honored to represent the great State of Texas and to work with the courageous patriot Attorney General Ken Paxton in bringing this lawsuit against the Biden Department of Health and Human Services for illegally abdicating the national sovereignty of America at the World Health Organization, empowering corrupt foreign governments and bureaucrats to make life-or-death decisions about our society, our economy, our families and our most essential freedoms,” Miller said .
The clause of Section 2 of Article II of the US Constitution states that the President “shall have power, with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the senators present shall be agreement”.
Treaties to which the United States is a party also have the force of federal law, forming part of what the Constitution calls “the supreme law of the land.”
“The Senate does not ratify treaties. After consideration by the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Senate approves or rejects a resolution of ratification. If the resolution is approved, ratification occurs when the instruments of ratification are formally exchanged between the United States and the foreign power,” notes the US Senate.
All international treaties or agreements must comply with the US Constitution or they are non-binding, null and void.
There are a number of Senate bills that would ensure that the US government represents American voters and not unelected bureaucrats in international organizations. There is “HR 419: No Taxpayer Funding for the WHO Act” by Texas Congressman Chip Roy. There is “HR 79: WHO Withdrawal Act” by Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs. And there’s Sen. Ron Johnson’s “S 4343, No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty Without Senate Passage Act.”
(Voters who want to call their House members can find their numbers here, while those who want to call their senators can find those numbers here.)
NOW READ:
Even After WSJ ‘Lab Leak’ Report, White House Clings to China-Driven Covid Narrative
“*” Indicates mandatory fields
OPINION: This article contains comments that reflect the opinion of the author.
Español de Venezuela 
English 