Governments Hold Detailed Discussions On Proposed Amendments To International Health Regulations

The sweeping powers exercised by the World Health Organization (WHO) during the COVID-19 pandemic were given to it as a result of the International Health Regulations that were passed at a meeting of the World Health Assembly (WHA) in 2005. The decision-making body of the WHO, the WHA is attended by delegations from all WHO Member States. Its meetings are held annually in Geneva, Switzerland.

Prior to 2005, the WHO had essentially acted as a coordinator, assistant, or collaborator to the public health services and drug regulatory authorities of its Member States. As controversial as this role already was back then, things were about to get a whole lot worse. With the passing of the 2005 regulations, the WHO took on vast new powers that were unprecedented in the field of global health. These powers now enable it to decide when a public health emergency of international concern exists and to take the principal decisions regarding what measures should be implemented in response. Under the regulations, the WHO’s recommended actions can include vaccination, quarantine, isolation, drug treatment, and contact tracing, among others.

Now, however, following the COVID-19 pandemic, the way is being prepared for the WHO’s already considerable powers to be expanded still further. Given the global body’s close links to Bill Gates and the pharma industry, and the funding it receives from these interests, this is deeply concerning. The increasing transfer of powers to the WHO raises important questions regarding national sovereignty and personal liberty.

To read a fascinating eye-witness account and analysis of the passing of the International Health Regulations in 2005, see this article by Suzanne Harris, JD.