Pandemic Treaty Update
Below is the latest on the so called Pandemic Treaty. The draft below seems to indicate they are some distance from reaching agreement , and there is not much detail although there is a clear effort to enhance and centralize the health infrastructure and pretty much expand what can cause a health impact (climate change, etc).
Zero draft of WHO CONVENTION, AGREEMENT OR OTHER INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENT ON PANDEMIC PREVENTION, PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE , otherwise known as WHO CA+ at the fourth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body on February 1, 2023
The Conceptual Zero Draft (CZD) of the WHO CA+ presents a proposed structure of the elements for the future instrument. It was developed by the Bureau of the INB, in accordance with a request of the INB at its Second meeting.
The CZD is intended to be a flexible, “living” document, and is presented as a “bridge” between the working draft presented at the second meeting of the INB and the future “zero” draft of the WHO CA+.
In that regard, the CZD is not an official / formal draft of the WHO CA+, is not itself the “zero” draft of the WHO CA+, and is not presented for “negotiation” “agreement” or otherwise to be “approved” by WHO’s Member States.
https://inb.who.int/home/inb-process
Talks on the draft treaty are set to continue to 2024. Member states have agreed that the treaty will be legally binding for those who sign up, but it is not yet clear how that will be enforced.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/who-tries-broker-new-pandemic-deal-calls-covid-response-catastrophic-failure
I will take excerpts from each section that I found interesting, with or without a brief comment in [......].
Its important to note:
WHO CA+ should be interpreted in a manner that promotes and supports the implementation and operationalization of the International Health Regulations and other relevant international instruments
Much of what I omit is pleasant sounding word salads and I ignore that, but feel free to read it all as I may have missed something
Introduction
27 Acknowledging the creation of the Quadripartite (WHO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Organisation for Animal Health and the United Nations Environment Programme) to better address any One Health-related issue,
[The four international agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), have signed a groundbreaking agreement to strengthen cooperation to sustainably balance and optimize the health of humans, animals, plants and the environment.
On 17 March 2022, the heads of the four organizations – QU Dongyu, the Director-General of FAO, Monique Eloit, the Director-General of OIE, Inger Anderson, the Executive Director of UNEP, and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of WHO -signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for joint One Health works, by which UNEP joined the former Tripartite (FAO, OIE and WHO) as an equal partner to form a new Quadripartite Collaboration for One Health.
The new Quadripartite MoU provides a legal and formal framework for the four organizations to tackle the challenges at the human, animal, plant and ecosystem interface using a more integrated and coordinated approach. This framework will also contribute to reinforce national and regional health systems and services.
See: Quadripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)]
[This is a potentially dangerous]
29 Recognizing that health is a precondition for, and an outcome and indicator of, the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,
47 Recognizing that publicly funded research and development plays an important role in the development of pandemic-related products and, as such, requires conditionalities,
[Big Pharma Might Not Like That]
Definitions
[They didn’t define 8/12 terms. This deal has a way to go. Lol]
Article 2
2. The provisions of the WHO CA+ shall not affect the rights and obligations of any Party under other existing international instruments and shall respect the competencies of other organizations and treaty bodies.
States that hold more resources relevant to pandemics, including pandemic-related products and manufacturing capacity, should bear, where appropriate, a commensurate degree of differentiated responsibility with regard to global pandemic prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.
[Richer states pay more]
Article 4
10. Community engagement – Full engagement of communities in prevention, preparedness, response and recovery of health systems is essential to mobilize social capital, resources, adherence to public health and social measures, and to gain trust in government.
[Global to Local. Infiltrate and control communities]
14. One Health – Multisectoral and transdisciplinary actions should recognize the interconnection between people, animals, plants and their shared environment, for which a coherent, integrated and unifying approach should be strengthened and applied with an aim to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems, including through, but not limited to, attention to the prevention of epidemics due to pathogens resistant to antimicrobial agents and zoonotic diseases.
[Withhold use of antibiotics , reduce meat consumption, herd humans into cities away from nature, and tackle Climate Change]
Article 6
2. The WHO Global Pandemic Supply Chain and Logistics Network (the “Network”) is hereby established.
[Whoopee, somebody is going to take a cut of the action]
4. The Parties commit not to impose regulations that unduly interfere with the trade in, or of, pharmaceutical raw materials and ingredients, mindful of the need for unhindered access to pandemic-related products.
[No sanctions on India and China because 85% of pharmaceutical raw materials and ingredients come from or are used by them to make drugs]
6. The Parties, working through the Governing Body for the WHO CA+, shall take all appropriate measures to establish and start functioning of the Network no later than XX. It is understood that giving effect to this Article immediately upon adoption of the WHO CA+ shall be considered pursuant to, and within the meaning of, Article 35 of the WHO CA+.
Article 7
4 In the event of a pandemic, the Parties:
(a) will take appropriate measures to support time-bound waivers of intellectual property rights that can accelerate or scale up manufacturing of pandemic-related products during a pandemic, to the extent necessary to increase the availability and adequacy of affordable pandemic-related products;
[Transfer technology for free]
Article 8. Regulatory strengthening
1. The Parties shall strengthen the capacity and performance of national regulatory authorities and increase the harmonization of regulatory requirements at the international and regional level, including, as applicable, through mutual recognition agreements.
[Give CDC and FDA more power and money]
2. Each Party shall build and strengthen its country regulatory capacities and performance for timely approval of pandemic-related products and, in the event of a pandemic, accelerate the process of approving and licensing pandemic-related products for emergency use in a timely manner, including the sharing of regulatory dossiers with other institutions.
[Less safety testing, Quicker approval of Vaccines/Drugs]
3. The Parties shall, as appropriate, monitor and regulate against substandard and falsified pandemic-related products, through existing Member State mechanisms on substandard and falsified medical products.
[No cheap (substandard) repurposed drugs that work as well as new expensive drugs (falsified)]
Article 9
5. The Parties shall establish, no later than XX, with reference to existing models, a global compensation mechanism for injuries resulting from pandemic vaccines.
[Make sure mechanism minimizes injuries resulting from vaccines]
6. Pending establishment of such global compensation mechanism, each Party shall, in contracts for the supply or purchase of pandemic-related products, endeavour to exclude buyer/recipient indemnity clauses of indefinite or excessive duration.
[Keep liability waivers, just not forever]
7. In the conclusion of contracts for the supply or purchase of pandemic-related products, each Party shall endeavour to exclude confidentiality provisions that serve to limit disclosure of terms and conditions.
8. Each Party shall, as applicable, implement and apply international standards for, oversight of and reporting on laboratories and research facilities that carry out work to genetically alter organisms to increase their pathogenicity and transmissibility, in order to prevent accidental release of these pathogens, while ensuring that these measures do not create any unnecessary administrative hurdles for research.
[Find out who is doing GOF but don’t bother them]
Article 10
1.
pathogens with pandemic potential and genomic sequences, and benefits arising therefrom, that applies and operates in both inter-pandemic and pandemic times, is hereby recognized. In pursuit thereof, it is agreed to establish the WHO Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing System (the “PABS System”) under this WHO CA+. The Parties are mindful that the PABS System, or parts thereof, could be adopted under Article 21 of the WHO Constitution, should such an approach be agreed. The terms of the PABS System shall be developed no later than XX with a view to their provisional application consistent with Article 35 hereof.
2. The PABS System shall cover all pathogens with pandemic potential, including their genomic sequences, as well as access to benefits arising therefrom, and ensure that it operates synergistically with other relevant access and benefit-sharing instrument
(g) Facilitated access shall be provided pursuant to a Standard Material Transfer Agreement, the form of which shall be set out in the PABS System and that shall contain the benefit-sharing options available to entities accessing pathogens with pandemic potential; and
[Lets keep track of all viruses and share them for to use in the next Pandemic]
(h) Such options shall include, but not be limited to: (i) real-time access by WHO to 20% of the production of safe, efficacious and effective pandemic-related products, including diagnostics, vaccines, personal protective equipment and therapeutics, to enable equitable distribution, in particular to developing countries, according to public health risk and need and national plans that identify priority populations.
The pandemic-related products shall be provided to WHO on the following basis: 10% as a donation and 10% at affordable prices to WHO; (ii) commitments by the countries where manufacturing facilities are located that they will facilitate the shipment to WHO of these pandemic-related products by the manufacturers within their jurisdiction, according to schedules to be agreed between WHO and manufacturers.
j) Upon adoption, each Party shall, in accordance with its national law, adopt and implement effective legislative, executive, administrative or other measures to give effect to such recognition at the domestic level and/or with respect to its relations with all other States and regional economic integration organizations, as appropriate; and
[Make it a Law so the can punish the offenders who break it]
Article 13
2. Each Party shall periodically assess the functioning, readiness and gaps of its preparedness and multisectoral response, logistics and supply chain management, through appropriate simulation or
tabletop exercises, that include risk and vulnerability mapping. Such exercises may consist of after- action reviews of actual public health emergencies that can support identifying gaps, share lessons learned and improve national pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
[Practice Makes Perfect, and Lets Make Sure We Get Our Story Strait]
3. The Parties will convene multi-country or regional tabletop exercises every two years, with technical support from the WHO Secretariat, with an aim to identify gaps in multi-country response capacity.
[All for one and one for All]
Article 14
2. Towards this end, each Party shall:
(a) incorporate into its laws and policies human rights protections during public health emergencies, including, but not limited to, requirements that any limitations on human rights are aligned with international law, including by ensuring that: (i) any restrictions are non- discriminatory, necessary to achieve the public health goal and the least restrictive necessary to protect the health of people; (ii) all protections of rights, including but not limited to, provision of health services and social protection programmes, are non-discriminatory and take into account the needs of people at high risk and persons in vulnerable situations; and (iii) people living under any restrictions on the freedom of movement, such as quarantines and isolations, have sufficient access to medication, health services and other necessities and rights;
[Legalize removing human rights for the public good]
Article 15
2. Recognizing the central role of WHO as the directing and coordinating authority on international health work, and mindful of the need for coordination with regional organizations, entities in the United Nations system and other intergovernmental organizations, the WHO Director-General shall, in accordance with terms set out herein, declare pandemics.
Article 16
2. Each Party shall establish, implement and adequately finance an effective national coordinating multisectoral mechanism with meaningful representation, engagement and participation of communities.
[Bribe the communities to go along]
3. Each Party should promote effective and meaningful engagement of communities, civil society and non-State actors, including the private sector, as part of a whole-of-society response in decision- making, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, as well as effective feedback mechanisms
[Don’t forget Public Private Partnerships, the engine of Pandemic Fascism]
Article 17
1. The Parties commit to increase science, public health and pandemic literacy in the population, as well as access to information on pandemics and their effects, and tackle false, misleading, misinformation or disinformation, including through promotion of international cooperation. In that regard, each Party is encouraged to:
(b) conduct regular social listening and analysis to identify the prevalence and profiles of misinformation, which contribute to design communications and messaging strategies for the public to counteract misinformation, disinformation and false news, thereby strengthening public trust; and
[Set up a Ministry of Truth if you haven’t already done so]
Article 18
1. The Parties, recognizing that the majority of emerging infectious diseases and pandemics are caused by zoonotic pathogens, commit, in the context of pandemic prevention, preparedness, response and recovery of health systems, to promote and implement a One Health approach that is coherent, integrated, coordinated and collaborative among all relevant actors, with the application of existing instruments and initiatives.
[Animals are the new Terrorists as are Humans who are too close to them]
2. The Parties, with an aim of safeguarding human health and detecting and preventing health threats, shall promote and enhance synergies between multisectoral and transdisciplinary collaboration at the national level and cooperation at the international level, in order to identify, conduct risk assessment of and share pathogens with pandemic potential at the interface between human, animal and environment ecosystems, while recognizing their interdependence.
3. The Parties will identify and integrate into relevant pandemic prevention and preparedness plans interventions that address the drivers of the emergence and re-emergence of disease at the human- animal-environment interface, including but not limited to climate change, land use change, wildlife trade, desertification and antimicrobial resistance.
[That covers everything]
(d) enhance surveillance to identify and report on pathogens resistant to antimicrobial agents in humans, livestock and aquaculture that have pandemic potential, building on the existing global reporting systems; and
[. They seem fixated on antimicrobial agents . Many bacteria can be engineered to be resistant to antibiotics. The next pandemic might be bacterial and not viral.
Article 19 -
(c) commit to prioritize and increase or maintain, including through greater collaboration between the health, finance and private sectors, as appropriate, domestic funding by allocating in its annual budgets not lower than 5% of its current health expenditure to pandemic prevention, preparedness, response and health systems recovery, notably for improving and sustaining relevant capacities and working to achieve universal health coverage; and
[5% of 5 trillion is 250 billion]
(d) commit to allocate, in accordance with its respective capacities, XX% of its gross domestic product for international cooperation and assistance on pandemic prevention, preparedness, response and health systems recovery, particularly for developing countries, including through international organizations and existing and new mechanisms.
[ cant wait to see what XX IS. WHO taking from NATO’s playbook]
Article 20
1. A governing body for the WHO CA+ is established to promote the effective implementation of the WHO CA+ (hereinafter, the “Governing Body”).
[World Governing Body]
2. The Governing Body shall be composed of:
(a) the Conference of the Parties (COP), which shall be the supreme organ of the Governing Body, composed of the Parties and constituting the sole decision-making organ; and
(b) the Officers of the Parties, which shall be the administrative organ of the Governing Body.
4. The Officers of the Parties, as the administrative organ of the Governing Body, shall:
(a) be composed of two Presidents, four Vice-Presidents and two rapporteurs, serving in their individual capacity and elected by the COP for XX years; and
(b) endeavour to make decisions by consensus; however, if efforts to reach consensus are deemed by the Presidents to be unavailing, decisions may be taken by voting by the President and Vice-Presidents.
[This sounds shady. Needs clarification]
Article 22
1. The Governing Body, at its first meeting, shall consider and approve cooperative procedures and institutional mechanisms to promote compliance with the provisions of the WHO CA+ and also address cases of non-compliance.
Article 24
1. A Secretariat for the WHO CA+ shall be provided by the Director-General of the World Health Organization. Secretariat functions shall be:
(a) to make arrangements for sessions of the Governing Body and any subsidiary bodies and to provide them with services as required;
[Sounds like the Secretariat will be the handler of the Governing Body to Make Sure they Follow Orders]
Article 25
Article 25. Reservations
1. No reservations or exceptions may be made to this WHO CA+ unless expressly permitted by other articles of this WHO CA+.
2. A reservation incompatible with the object and purpose of the WHO CA+ shall not be permitted.
3. Reservations that are receivable in accordance with the above, once made, may be withdrawn at
any time by notification to this effect addressed to the Depositary, who shall then inform all Parties thereof. Such notification shall take effect on the date on which it is received.
[This needs clarification. The US has a Reservation under IHR which states the IHR is binding only on the Federal Governments and not the states in areas the Federal Government has no authority under the Constitution]
Article 33
1. The WHO CA+ shall be subject to ratification, acceptance, approval or accession by States, and to formal confirmation or accession by regional economic integration organizations. It shall be open for accession from the day after the date on which the WHO CA+ is closed for signature. Instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval, formal confirmation or accession shall be deposited with the Depositary.
2. Any regional economic integration organization that becomes a Party to the WHO CA+ without any of its Member States being a Party shall be bound by all the obligations under the WHO CA+. In the case of those organizations, where one or more of its Member States is a Party to the WHO CA+, the organization and its Member States shall decide on their respective responsibilities for the performance of their obligations under the WHO CA+. In such cases, the organization and the Member States shall not be entitled to exercise rights under the WHO CA+ concurrently.
3. Regional economic integration organizations shall, in their instruments relating to formal confirmation or in their instruments of accession, declare the extent of their competence with respect to the matters governed by the WHO CA+. These organizations shall also inform the Depositary, who shall in turn inform the Parties, of any substantial modification in the extent of their competence.
[Unclear if ratification is required. I would say Yes if no Reservation permitted. Needs clarification]
Article 34
1. The WHO CA+ shall enter into force on the thirtieth day following the date of deposit of the thirtieth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval, formal confirmation or accession with the Depositary.
[No idea what this means. 3030 is an interesting number]
Note: The absence of any mention of improving Pharmacovigilance is telling.