U.K. refuses to sign WHO Global Pandemic Treaty

05/23/2024 / By Ava Grace

The United Kingdom has declined to endorse the World Health Organization‘s (WHO) global pandemic treaty due to concerns over potential infringement of its sovereign rights.

The pandemic accord introduced in May 2021 appeals to all participating states to surrender a certain percentage of their supplies related to the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic for international distribution. For London, the treaty mandates it to allocate 20 percent of its pandemic-related health products to other nations. In exchange, the global health body would get “real-time access” to 10 percent of these products for free and 10 percent “at affordable prices.”

According to the document, each WHO member nation should “set aside a portion of its total procurement of relevant diagnostics, therapeutics or vaccines on time for use in countries facing challenges … and avoid having national stockpiles of pandemic-related health products.” Nations set out plans during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to organize a legally binding document, which would force countries to tackle the next global health emergency in a united way.

But the U.K. refused to sign this treaty over concerns that it would undermine Britain’s sovereignty. The British government has proposed conditions that any agreement must protect its national interests and national sovereignty, particularly where British-produced vaccines are concerned. (Related: Pandemic treaty will give WHO power to force lockdowns on UK, MPs warn.)

Health department spokesman: Any treaty should put U.K. sovereignty first

A spokesperson for the British Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) told the Telegraph that any acceptance of the treaty would be predicated on it respecting the U.K.’s national interest and sovereignty. They did not divulge further specifics about the WHO document.

“We cannot comment on the details of specific proposals and no proposals have been agreed [upon],” the DHSC spokesperson said. “We will only support the adoption of the accord and accept in on behalf of the U.K. if it is firmly in the [British] national interest and respects national sovereignty.”

Meanwhile, an anonymous source told the newspaper that the U.K. wouldn’t approve the current version of the draft. They added that a consensus has not yet been reached and discussions on the final draft of the treaty are ongoing. The source also mentioned that despite the U.K. seeking to collaborate with fellow WHO member states, it refuses to relinquish control over its assets.

“The new pact and a series of updates to existing rules for dealing with pandemics from the WHO are intended to shore up the world’s defenses against new pathogens after the COVID-19 pandemic killed millions of people,” according to Reuters. “One of the main points of disagreement between wealthy countries and developing states is the vexed issue of sharing drugs and vaccines fairly.”

Earlier, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said countries need to agree to the accord to help fight future pandemics. He also exhorted countries who did not fully agree with the accord’s text to at least refrain from blocking consensus among the global health body’s 194 member nations.

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Watch this clip about the WHO’s Pandemic Treaty and the great resistance against it.

This video is from the KLA-TV–English channel on Brighteon.com.