The WHO’s new international pandemic treaty reportedly includes plans for a digital passport and ID system.
The treaty, which they plan to finalize by 2024, aims to shift governing authority now reserved to sovereign states over to the WHO when they determine there is a pandemic.
The United States recently proposed amendments to the 2005 International Health Regulations which binds all 194 U.N. member states.
Among the changes the WHO will no longer need to consult with the state or attempt to obtain verification from the state where a reported event of concern (e.g., a new outbreak) is allegedly occurring before taking action on the basis of such reports.
In addition to the authority to make the determination of a public health emergency of international concern under Article 12, the WHO will be granted additional powers to determine a public health emergency of regional concern, as well as a category referred to as an intermediate health alert.
This means that under the new treaty, sovereign states would not even have to agree that there is a public health emergency for the WHO to assume its full powers.
A new Emergency Committee will be constituted at the WHO, which the Director-General will consult in lieu of the state within whose territory the public health emergency of international concern has occurred, to declare the emergency over.
The amendments will also give “regional directors” within the WHO, rather than elected representatives of the relevant states, the legal authority to declare a Public Health Emergency of Regional Concern.
Leslyn Lewis, a member of the Canadian parliament and lawyer with international experience, has warned that the treaty would also allow the WHO unilaterally to determine what constitutes a pandemic and declare when a pandemic is occurring.
“We would end up with a one-size-fits-all approach for the entire world,” she cautioned. Under the proposal pandemics could span beyond infectious diseases to include things like an obesity crisis.
The WHO has contracted German-based Deutsche Telekom subsidiary T-Systems to develop a global vaccine passport system, with plans to link every person on the planet to a QR code digital ID. Reports indicate that this Digital ID would be mandatory.
“Vaccination certificates that are tamper-proof and digitally verifiable build trust. WHO is therefore supporting member states in building national and regional trust networks and verification technology,” explained Garret Mehl, head of the WHO’s Department of Digital Health and Innovation.
“The WHO’s gateway service also serves as a bridge between regional systems. It can also be used as part of future vaccination campaigns and home-based records.”
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