WHEELING, WV (WTRF) – West Virginia Governor Jim Justice is among a group of 24 (*24*) governors who have joined together to express their shared opposition in a letter to President Joe Biden to two proposals currently under negotiation that they say would give the World Health Organization (WHO) “unprecedented and unconstitutional” powers in the United States.
The governors explain that “these agreements, if adopted, would seek to elevate WHO from an advisory body to a global authority on public health. Under the proposed amendments and the treaty, the WHO Director-General would reportedly be given unilateral authority to declare a ‘public health emergency of international concern’ (PHEIC) in member states, which would go beyond pandemics and include a range of other perceived emergencies.”
At the end of May and beginning of June, the representatives of the The 194 member countries of the World Health Assembly met and agreed on a package of “critical amendments” to the International Health Regulations (2005), according to the WHO. The aim of the amendments was to commit to concluding negotiations on a global pandemic agreement. The WHO’s goal was to conclude these negotiations within a year.
The The WHO said the changes were developed to “strengthen global preparedness, surveillance and response to health emergencies”.
In June, WHO member states agreed on a global process to develop a draft pandemic agreement.
In their letter, the governors claim that the proposals in the draft amendments give the WHO Director-General the authority to dictate PHEIC responses, which they say could “undermine state sovereignty” and strip elected officials of “their role in setting public health policy and requiring citizens to follow WHO guidelines, which could potentially include regulations regarding medical treatments.”
Governors are concerned that the latest draft of the “pandemic treaty,” which would give WHO immediate access to outbreaks through rapid response and expert teams, would weaken intellectual property rights. The draft also allows WHO to exploit the treaty to call on parties to combat false, misleading, misinformation or disinformation through effective international collaboration and cooperation.
The governors express concern because they believe that public health policy in the United States is a matter that “should be the preserve of the states, not the federal government and certainly not international organizations like the WHO.”
Read the full letter Here.
The 24 governors who signed the letter include Governor Kay Ivey (AL), Governor Mike Dunleavy (AK), Governor Sarah Sanders (AR), Governor Ron DeSantis (FL), Governor Brian Kemp (GA), Governor Brad Little (ID), Governor Eric Holcomb (IN), Governor Kim Reynolds (IA), Governor Jeff Landry (LA), Governor Tate Reeves (MS), Governor Greg Gianforte (MT), Governor Jim Pillen (NE), Governor Joe Lombardo (NV), Governor Chris Sununu (NH), Governor Doug Burgum (ND), Governor Kevin Stitt (OK), Governor Henry McMaster (SC), Governor Kristi Noem (SD), Governor Bill Lee (TN), Governor Greg Abbott (TX), Governor Spencer Cox (UT), Governor Glenn Youngkin (VA), Governor Jim Justice (WV) and Governor Mark Gordon (WY).
