Twelve conservative members of the European Parliament have sent an open letter to the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) demanding proof that the vote that served as the basis for the upcoming global ‘Pandemic Treaty’ was conducted according to the rules.
The MEPs suspect that certain amendments to the WHO’s newly revised International Health Regulations (IHR)—that are set to give exclusive power to the WHO over global pandemic measures in the event of further outbreaks—were, in fact, adopted in violation of the internal rules of the organization, without a clear majority of members present.
The conservative lawmakers called for the European Council to urgently review the matter and demanded that WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus provide them with “conclusive and unambiguous evidence” that the vote on the amendments in May 2022 was correctly executed.
The revised IHR—also known as the Pandemic Treaty—was developed by the WHO starting in 2021, following the European Commission’s initiative. The aim of the instrument would be to establish a global framework of binding health regulations as well as preparedness and response policies and to make it mandatory for all 194 member states to follow the WHO’s guidelines during pandemics, including quarantine measures, border closures, and vaccine requirements.
As a regulatory backbone, the treaty will be further complemented by a “wide range of digital products” to track contagious outbreaks under the EU’s and WHO’s jointly developed Global Digital Health Certification Network (GDHCN), including its flagship project, a global vaccine passport system—branded by critics as something out of a ‘totalitarian dystopia.’
The two changes referred to in the letter aim to reduce the period for the automatic entry into force of any IHR amendments from 24 months to just 12 months, as well as the period for rejecting or expressing reservations on IHR amendments from 18 months to 10 months.
The WHO Constitution defines that such significant changes can only be made by “a majority of the members present and voting.” However, the signatories state that there is no evidence on the WHO’s website that this vote was executed in accordance with the rule.
The MEPs warned in the letter that
Under no circumstances—in particular not with a far-reaching process of IHR-revisions going on—a proper democratic process can be allowed to be hindered nor reduced by unduly shortened [entry into force and reservation] periods
If the changes were not voted on properly, the amendments do not count as being adopted (under the Constitution’s own rules), meaning that the reservation and entry periods have not even started to run yet. If they were—and that can be shown by evidence—the reservation period will end on November 30th, and the new amendments enter into force on May 31st, 2024.
Given the urgency, the MEPs demanded the WHO to provide solid proof that the vote in question was correctly executed (with the majority of member states partaking) in the form of “an uninterrupted video within 48 hours”—a time period set to expire at noon, November 30th.
The letter states:
In case the requested evidence is not produced in time or not completely we, the undersigned members of the European Parliament, declare that the Amendments to the International Health Regulations … dated 28 May 2022 as NULL AND VOID.
Despite less than a day remaining until the deadline, the WHO is taking its time to answer. Talking to The European Conservative, Rob Roos (ECR), the Dutch lawmaker who initiated sending the letter, confirmed that no reply was given as of 5:00 p.m., November 29th.
“If the WHO’s amendments don’t take into account national sovereignty to a sufficient degree, they should be declared null and void from a legal perspective,” Roos added.
