According to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, Ireland will be signing up to the WHO’s proposed global Pandemic Treaty.
The revelation was made following a question by Independent TD Carol Nolan, who said she had received “a significant number of emails” regarding the matter from constituents.
Nolan asked Donnelly if he was aware that the World Health Assembly, on December 1st 2021, adopted a decision entitled:
Read the document “The World Together: Establishment of an intergovernmental negotiating body to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response” here ⬇️https://t.co/1iaUYCs3yW
— Maria Van Kerkhove (@mvankerkhove) November 29, 2021
According to the EU, the proposed “Pandemic Treaty” is a “legally-binding framework, aiming to ensure that the world can better respond to global health threats in the future.”
Ambassador Lotte Knudsen, EU ambassador to the UN, said such a Treaty would allow countries to respond “collectively, effectively and immediately” to future pandemics.
👏Today States adopted at a Special Session of @WHO a resolution that launches the process for negotiations of a #PandemicTreaty, aiming to ensure that the 🌎 can better respond to global health threats in the future. #WHASpecial #MultilateralismMatters pic.twitter.com/sEfx5mLl3u
— EU at the UN – Geneva #MultilateralismMatters (@EU_UNGeneva) December 1, 2021
Nolan asked if Ireland was planned to sign up to such an agreement.
Donnelly replied that “Ireland strongly supports a multilateral approach to global health issues with the WHO in a central leadership role.”
He went on, saying that Covid-19 shows that the “global status quo” regarding pandemic preparedness “is not acceptable.”
“Therefore,” he said, “Ireland supports the WHO led process to negotiate a binding legal instrument on pandemic preparedness and response.”
Donnelly continued: “The EU is a leading proponent of this process and Ireland, along with a majority of EU Member States, is part of the Group of Friends of the Treaty. Officials in my Department, working with Ireland’s Permanent Representation to the UN in Geneva, are engaging with the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body.”
Minister Stephen Donnelly confirming that “Ireland supports the WHO led process to negotiate a binding legal instrument on pandemic preparedness and response” or global pandemic treaty, if you prefer. @TraceyOMahony81 pic.twitter.com/3MXDXdkI7s
— David Mullins (@Mullins77David) April 13, 2022
The treaty has been received critically by many, including GB News panellist Adam Brooks.
“So, not only do we have politicians that don’t understand our everyday lives and businesses,” said Brooks.
“We could soon have a WHO Treaty, that our same politicians sign up to in the event of further Covid variants or another pandemic. I didn’t vote for that and WHO don’t determine my life.”
So, not only do we have politicians that don’t understand our everyday lives and businesses ..we could soon have a WHO Treaty, that our same politicians sign up to in the event of further Covid variants or another pandemic.
I didn’t vote for that and WHO don’t determine my life.
— Adam Brooks 🗽 (@EssexPR) April 12, 2022
Additionally, Canadian Conservative Party MP, Dr. Leslyn Lewis, claimed that the proposed treaty was a “global encroachment on our sovereignty” and would threaten “the independence of our healthcare systems.”
Addressing the WHO pandemic Treaty and our Health Care Sovereignty: My statement – https://t.co/bYMpeQWy6x#cdnpoli #cpcldr pic.twitter.com/nwe3feTZfY
— Dr. Leslyn Lewis (@LeslynLewis) April 9, 2022
Others still raised the point that, considering the WHO is an unelected body, there was the potential for such a treaty to infringe upon democracy.
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