This week, the 75th World Health Assembly is convening in Geneva, Switzerland with delegates from 194 nations. Apparently, there was not the consensus vote of delegates from 194 nations to pass the amendments that would empower the WHO to declare a "public health emergency." Some African nations, Iran, Malaysia, and Brazil objected to the amendments but for different reasons. The amendments represent one of several tracks simultaneously ongoing to give the WHO more authority.

First, there are still three days left during the World Health Assembly. One amendment is still on the table, and the other 12 amendments can resurface any time during the WHO meetings. 

Second, there is already another hearing on these amendments scheduled for June 16-17, 2022.  

Third, there is a separate "Pandemic Treaty" that the WHO will consider on August 1, 2022. The African nations that objected to Biden's amendments do not appear to oppose their substance. Rather, they want all the changes consolidated in a new "Pandemic Treaty" and not done in piecemeal fashion. 

Except for the President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, who blasted the Biden amendments and objected to the WHO gaining more authority, there was little international objection against giving greater power to the WHO. Some leaders are enamored with the WHO's Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and others want the WHO to globally mandate universal health care.

The remaining amendment is to Article 59: "Entry into force; period for rejection or reservations," which seeks to change the amount of time to reject amendments from 18 to six months. The existing WHO regulations provide for an 18-month grace period during which a nation may withdraw its "yes" vote for amendments. The proposed remaining amendment would reduce that opportunity to six months.

This also has a direct impact on Article 61: "Rejection," which states "If a State notifies the Director-General of its rejection of these Regulations or of an amendment thereto within the period provided in paragraph 1 of Article 59, these Regulations or the amendment concerned shall not enter into force with respect to that State. Any international sanitary agreement or regulations listed in Article 58 to which such State is already a party shall remain in force as far as such State is concerned." The remaining amendment will allow the WHO to fast track future amendments.

On January 18, 2022, officials from the Biden administration quietly sent the WHO extensive amendments to the current International Health Regulations without an official statement or a single press conference. The proposed amendments, in combination with the existing ones, enables Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and any future Director-General to have unrestricted powers to define and then implement their interventions and to declare "health emergencies" at will.  

The contents of the proposed amendments were not made public until April 12, 2022, when a researcher discovered them. On May 6, the Biden administration finally posted the amendments for public comment, but the time to register expired after 24 hours and was open only to certain minorities.

On March 31, 2020, the U.S. contribution to the WHO was $115.8 million, followed by China at approximately one-half that amount, followed by Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Brazil. Then in July 2020, President Donald Trump notified Congress and the U.N. that the United States was formally withdrawing from the WHO. Bill Gates quickly increased his contribution from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to $250 million. Gates is the second largest contributor to the WHO, only behind the United States. The WHO was highly instrumental during COVID-19 in promoting the agenda of the Chinese Communist Party which has caused millions of deaths from COVID-19, not to mention the collateral damage from prolonged lockdowns, quarantines, and mask mandates.

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver stated, "It is a positive sign that 12 of the 13 amendments have been withdrawn. However, one amendment remains, the other 12 can return, and we know the WHO will hold more meetings on these amendments and on a new 'Pandemic Treaty' that will vest considerable global power in this agency of the United Nations. America's sovereignty is not for sale."

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SOURCE Liberty Counsel

CONTACT: Mat Staver, 407-875-1776, Liberty@LC.org 

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