World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a speech on Monday that those concerned about the erosion of sovereignty under the WHO’s proposed pandemic agreement are “either uninformed or lying” and that He asserted that such agreements “actually confirm national sovereignty.”
Following the inadequate UN response to the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, WHO member states have been working since at least 2021 to draft an international agreement on how to deal with the pandemic. The agency has set a May 2024 deadline for submitting a final proposal to the World Health Assembly, the annual summit of member states scheduled to be held that month.
The current proposed treaty contains provisions that alarm some lawmakers, health observers, activists and others. These include ambiguous provisions increasing funding to the WHO without guaranteeing clear commitments, expanding WHO’s powers to declare various health emergencies, and further eroding freedoms. It includes provisions calling for unspecified action against “misinformation and disinformation” that critics say could potentially occur. Speaking on a global scale.
The WHO and Tedros personally allowed the criminal Chinese Communist Party to destroy itself by failing to inform the world that the new virus that spread in Wuhan, China in early 2020 was actually a contagious pathogen. It has been under international criticism for many years. Early samples of the virus that could have been used to develop treatments for infected people more quickly, as well as critical evidence to dissuade travel bans that could have limited or slowed the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus.
A laboratory worker in a protective suit handles a patient’s sample in the laboratory.The deadly coronavirus that originated in China has so far [at the time of this photograph] 106 people have died and more than 4,000 have been infected, the majority in and around Wuhan (THOMAS SAMSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Mr. Tedros presided over the organization during a major sexual assault scandal, made major WHO decisions in defiance of health experts (Mr. Tedros is not a doctor), and was responsible for genocidal China’s He has personally faced criticism for maintaining inappropriately close ties with dictator Xi Jinping. Despite this, Tedros won an undisputed second term as WHO director-general in 2022.
Tedros defended his handling of the pandemic at the World Government Summit in Dubai on Monday, mainly by arguing that the WHO does not have sufficient powers to deal with emergencies.
“Despite some progress, including improved surveillance, a pandemic fund, building vaccine production capacity, and the periodic reviews we have initiated, the world remains unprepared for a pandemic,” Tedros said. . Said People convened in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). “The cycle of panic and neglect is starting to repeat itself. And there will be a next time. History teaches us that it’s not a matter of if the next pandemic will happen, but when.”
“If the agreement had existed before, [Wuhan coronavirus]That way we wouldn’t have lost so much,” Tedros argued.
The WHO director-general said there were two “major obstacles” to passing international pandemic legislation, the first being disagreements among WHO member states, which he was “confident” countries would overcome. said. Another described the agency’s chief as “a litany of lies and conspiracy theories about the agreement.”
It’s a power grab by the World Health Organization. Transferring sovereignty to the WHO. It would give the WHO the power to impose lockdowns and vaccination requirements on countries. That’s an “attack on freedom.” WHO not allowing people to travel. And WHO wants to control people’s lives. These are some of the lies that are being spread.
Tedros continued: “These lies would be crazy if they weren’t so dangerous.” “But they are putting the health of people around the world at risk. And that’s no laughing matter.”
Mr Tedros said concerns raised by those highlighting vague provisions in the draft pandemic deal were “completely, completely and categorically false” and argued that joining the deal would increase sovereignty.
“The WHO will not even be a party to the agreement. The parties are governments and only governments,” Tedros said. “Far from ceding sovereignty, this agreement actually affirms national sovereignty and national responsibility in its fundamental principles. In fact, this agreement itself is an exercise of sovereignty.”
Tedros urged those concerned to read the document, arguing that those concerned about the vastly increased powers given to the WHO through the deal were “either uninformed or being lied to.” did. draft textavailable on the agency’s website.
At the end of his speech on Monday, the WHO director-general urged the world to “say no to inequality, say no to lies and misinformation, and say yes to international cooperation.”
Since the start of the year, Tedros has stepped up his attacks on critics of the pandemic agreement ahead of this year’s World Health Assembly. In January, Tedros lamented the “torrent of fake news, lies and conspiracy theories” he said were attacking the pandemic deal.
“Failure to implement the Pandemic Agreement and the IHR amendments will be a missed opportunity that future generations may not forgive,” Tedros told the WHO Executive Board.
Tedros did not address some of the specific concerns that opponents of the pandemic deal have raised beyond sovereignty issues. At a press conference last week, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) invited several experts to discuss the draft’s concerning provisions. Congressman Smith himself pointed out that the treaty could require American taxpayers to fund abortions and censor free speech.
Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) (Manuel Balce Senator/AP)
“There is absolutely no ambiguity here. Abortion is included in the list of essential health services published by WHO in 2020 in response to COVID-19. [the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic] “Despite the fact that the vast majority of countries restrict and regulate abortion,” said Congressman Smith. The agreement requires states to make “annual financial contributions” to “essential health services.”
He also pointed out that the draft treaty “does not provide free speech protections, including specificity on how to define ‘combat’ and ‘misinformation’.”
“Regarding COVID-19, does it apply retroactively to the WHO and Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus regarding the origins of COVID-19, misleading guidance, and the negative influence of Xi Jinping’s Chinese Communist Party on all virus-related issues? ?” asked Rep. Smith. “Will there be room for dissent, especially among scientists and medical professionals, about vaccines, treatments, viral infections, etc., or will group think once again crowd out other points of view?”
