Before the United Nations World Health Assembly, anticipated for May 2024, a widely circulated video features a man cautioning about Prime Minister Modi’s apparent readiness to endorse the WHO’s pandemic treaty. In the video, the man asserts that upon the treaty’s activation, the WHO gains authority over the Indian constitution, rendering it null and void. This article aims to fact-check the assertion presented in the video.
Claim: WHO’s pandemic treaty gains authority over the Indian constitution ; PM Modi decided to sign the treaty.
Fact: The draft pandemic policy does not include any provision for overriding the sovereignty of individual nations during pandemics. The draft upholds the sovereignty of individual nations to determine and manage their approach to public health. This claim has been refuted by both the WHO and experts. Furthermore, no reports indicate that Modi is expected to sign the treaty. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
WHO’s Pandemic Treaty :
Following the outbreak of COVID-19, in March 2021, a group of world leaders announced an initiative for a new treaty on pandemic preparedness and response. This proposal was brought forth to the World Health Organization (WHO) and will be negotiated, drafted, and debated by a newly established Intergovernmental Negotiation Body.
In October 2021, the Working Group on Enhancing WHO Preparedness for and Response to Health Emergencies (WGPR) released a preliminary report, known as the ‘zero draft,’ detailing an evaluation of the advantages of a potential new WHO convention, agreement, or alternative international instrument regarding pandemic preparedness and response.
The primary objective of this treaty is to promote a comprehensive approach involving all levels of government and society, bolstering national, regional, and global capabilities and resilience against forthcoming pandemics. This entails significantly augmenting international collaboration to enhance alert systems, facilitate data-sharing, advance research, and enhance local, regional, and global manufacturing and dissemination of medical and public health countermeasures like vaccines, medications, diagnostics, and personal protective equipment.
The treaty does not override the sovereignty of nations:
The Zero Draft of the treaty, identified as the Zero Draft of WHO CA+, was released on 01 February 2023. Nevertheless, the draft treaty does not contain any provisions indicating that the sovereignty or constitution of individual nations will be disregarded by the WHO during pandemics.
The draft begins by “Reaffirming the principle of sovereignty of States Parties in addressing public health matters, notably pandemic prevention, preparedness, response, and health systems recovery.”
Moreover, a specific section of the draft titled “Sovereignty” explicitly states that states have “the sovereign right to determine and manage their approach to public health, notably pandemic prevention, preparedness, response and recovery of health systems, pursuant to their own policies and legislation, provided that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to their peoples and other countries.”
WHO refuted the claim.
When rumours circulated on social media suggesting that the treaty would relinquish the sovereignty of signatory nations to the WHO during any pandemic, the WHO denied the claim, categorically stating that “No country will cede any sovereignty to WHO.”
Experts and individuals involved in drafting the policy clarified that the draft does not advocate for such provisions; instead, it encourages nations to collaborate. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services confirmed in a statement that the draft does not supersede any nation’s individual health or domestic policies.
Amidst the circulation of rumours, the Intergovernmental Negotiation Body is anticipated to present its findings for review during the World Health Assembly in May 2024. However, we found no reports that indicate that Prime Minister Modi has shown readiness to sign the treaty. It’s crucial to note that the policy is still in the drafting phase, and numerous negotiations may occur before all nations ratify the policy framework.
To sum it up, WHO’s pandemic treaty does not cede the sovereignty of signatory nations.
