Britain refuses to sign World Health Organisation’s pandemic treaty

Britain is refusing to sign the World Health Organisation’s pandemic treaty, The Daily Telegraph newspaper has reported.

The paper reported on Wednesday that the UK stands “firmly against such vaccine-related commitments, and will not sign any form of pandemic agreement that undermines Britain’s sovereignty.”

Negotiations on the global treaty began last March, using the “zero draft” as a basis for negotiating an agreement among the WHO’s 184 member states. The negotiations are now in their ninth and final iteration, while talks have reached the halfway point – almost three years after the controversial initiative was first announced.

Now, a number of countries have expressed concern about the sharing of “pandemic related products” outlined in the legally binding document, with Britain insisting that signing up to the agreement would mean it would have to give away a fifth of its jabs, as reported by The Telegraph.

The document states that WHO countries should “set aside a portion of its total procurement of relevant diagnostics, therapeutics or vaccines in a timely manner for use in countries facing challenges… and avoid having national stockpiles of pandemic-related health products.”

Under the terms of the latest draft, member states would be mandated to give 20 per cent of “pandemic-related health products” to other countries and would be forbidden from stockpiling supplies including PPE and vaccines.

A source told the newspaper that the UK “could not accept these proposals in their current form,” adding: “And they have not been agreed.”

The newspaper reports that the UK will only agree to the treaty, or accord, if it is given a commitment that British-made vaccines are used for what the UK deems to be its own national interests. It is also understood that Britain is not willing to give up “autonomy on its own assets,” with the sharing of healthcare items seen as a key concern.

It comes as head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu, urged countries to agree to the treaty to “help fight future pandemics” – with the deadline to sign the accord rapidly approaching.

Countries have until 10th May (Friday) to finalise negotiations, with the treaty set to be formally adopted at the World Health Assembly at the end of May. Tedros, who urged member states to “please, get this done” last week, has not been able to quench the flames of opposition from politicians and commentators from the US to Australia, who have argued that the legally binding treaty would grant excessive power to a UN agency. 

It has also been argued that the treaty widens the authority of the World Health Organisation, with civil liberties campaigners citing certain sections of the document as deeply concerning, with particular concerns voiced over global surveillance.

The only time in the organisation’s 75-year history that the WHO’s member countries have been able to agree to a legally binding treaty like the pandemic accord was for a tobacco control treaty in 2003 – with experts cautioning that ongoing talks will fail to resolve fundamental disagreements between member countries.

Disagreement among countries could mean sections of the agreement are pushed back to 2026.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Dr Clare Wenham, an associate professor of global health policy at the London School of Economics, predicted that a “vanilla” treaty will be agreed by May 10th.

She said: “The current state of negotiations is anyone’s guess. So many variables remain – it will depend on next week and whether member states decide to get some parts across the line and have an agreement, or agree to delay for the future.

“If I were a betting person, I would think a very high level ‘vanilla’ treaty will be agreed, with anything controversial removed or kicked down the line for future protocols.

“What will have to happen bilaterally to get that outcome is yet to be seen, but I wouldn’t be surprised if deals were being done behind the scenes for low and middle-income countries to acquiesce.”

Independent TDs in Ireland, including Deputies Michael Collins and Mattie McGrath, have voiced strong opposition to the pandemic treaty.

Deputy Michael Collins of Independent Ireland has said he “vehemently opposes” the WHO Pandemic Treaty and the corresponding health regulation adjustments. Speaking in December, Deputy Collins said that the alterations included in the agreement pose substantial threats to Irish sovereignty by endowing the WHO with considerable authority over our national pandemic response policies.”

Deputy Mattie McGrath, speaking as far back as May 2022, described the treaty as “a total sellout,” claiming the commitment is all about “control, control, control,” as he expressed concern about granting expanded powers to the World Health Organisation.

Deputy McGrath previously called on the Minister for Health to provide a “genuine public consultation process, potentially including a referendum and a Dáil Éireann debate”, before deciding to support or reject the WHO Global Pandemic Treaty, saying such steps were “crucial” as he claimed the treaty’s binding nature would have a potential impact on Ireland’s sovereignty. He told the Dáil it might “undermine national decision-making, especially given the WHO’s influence by China and multinational pharmaceutical corporations.”

Addressing Deputy McGrath last year, Minister Stephen Donnelly said that Ireland had been participating in the “member-led, consensus-based negotiation process on both the IHR and the pandemic agreement as part of the EU bloc of Member States.”

“Ireland is also a member of the Group of Friends of the Treaty whose membership includes EU Member States, the UK, the Republic of Korea and South Africa among others,” he said, adding: “IIreland strongly supports an agreement that would foster an all-of-government and all-of-society approach, strengthening national, regional, and global capacities towards resilience to future pandemics.”

Speaking last month, the Health Minister reaffirmed Ireland’s commitment to the agreement, saying the State “strongly supports” a multilateral approach, welcoming the WHO’s “central leadership role,” adding that he anticipated the treaty to be adopted this month.

“The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that the global status quo in terms of pandemic preparedness and response is not adequate and requires revision. It also demonstrated the cross-border nature of a pandemic, and that States need to work collaboratively in managing their response to such a threat. As such, Ireland strongly supports a multilateral approach to global health issues with the World Health Organisation (WHO) in a central leadership role,” Minister Donnelly said in April.