With Ireland set to sign up to the World Health Organisation’s global Pandemic Treaty, the group has sought sanctions against signatory countries which break its rules.
The proposed treaty is set to be a legally binding tool which will coordinate countries’ response to future pandemics across the globe. This week Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said Ireland would be signing up to the agreement, as reported by Gript.
Stephen Donnelly has confirmed that Ireland will be signing up to the WHO’s proposed “binding legal” global Pandemic Treaty.#gript https://t.co/Prv0081vao
— gript (@griptmedia) April 14, 2022
However, last September, World Health Organisation Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that such a treaty would carry with it “incentives” to follow the treaty’s rules, including international sanctions.
As reported by Politico, Tedros said that the treaty would “have all the incentives, or the carrots” to encourage the enforcement of the rules, including around issues like transparency into pandemic investigations.
“But maybe exploring the sanctions may be important,” he added.
At the same press conference, the German Health Minister Jens Spahn cited the World Trade Organisation’s ability to sanction countries that fail to adhere to trade rules.
Spahn said there “there must be something that follows” as regards punishments if countries fail to comply with the treaty.
Some have raised concerns over the treaty’s potential implications, considering the fact that the World Health Organisation is believed to be highly influenced by China.
WHO is a trusted source of information on COVID-19 across the world. But it has also been accused of pro-China bias. How true are those allegations?https://t.co/cW2dgn8sUi
— DW News (@dwnews) April 17, 2020
Loading ...