Thread by @birb_k

WHO “TOOL & TEETH”. Recent thread looked at the Tool (Treaty). This thread looks at Teeth - amendments to Int’l Health Regulations (IHR). Proposed amendments submitted for World Health Assembly debate were developed by Biden Cabinet U.S. Dept of HHS. Surprised?
#StopTheTreaty
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75th W.H. ASSEMBLY AGENDA. Topic 16 “Strengthening WHO preparedness for & response to health emergencies.” A move to seize power. The agenda hyperlinks to key docs incl A75/18, the focus of this thread. NOTE: HHS controls NIH, FDA, CDC. 🤔
Agenda doc: apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_f…
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U.S. HHS Cover Letter to proposed amendments, “reiterating the critical importance of strengthening the IHR,” 18 Jan 2022. Tedros 20 Jan response, welcoming it with “honour” and assuring WHO members of Tedros “highest consideration.” WHO Members will tackle it at WHO Assembly.
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The U.S. HHS amendment submission, big picture. Two things to notice at this scale, 1) Quantity of changes, BOLD/UNDERLINED text, and 2) Entire new section called “Compliance.” Affects Articles 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18, 48, 49, 53, 59.
Doc avail: apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_f…
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More TEETH. The old version of the WHO International Health Regulations (IHR) included 36 “shall” statements. If the U.S. amendments are accepted as proposed, that number more than doubles to 80 “shall” statements, incl some “may” statements changed to “shall” statements.
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Exa, Article 10 “Verification,” 3 & 4. See text proposed by U.S. Remember, new text is bold/underlined; strikethroughs indicate proposed removal. Highlights & annotations are mine. Strategy of ostracizing/isolating? Nuke allowance to “take into account the views of the State?”
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New Compliance Committee section has many impactful provisions, even formalizing the practice of the WHO Director-General to bring in entities such as “United Nations and its specialized agencies” and “nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in official relations with WHO.”
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Hopefully this thread gave a small taste of the “Teeth” strategy. Links to full World Health Assembly agenda topic #16 docs included, end of thread. Each person should review, come to own conclusions. Earlier thread covering the “Tool” - Pandemic Instrument (Pandemic Treaty):
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https://twitter.com/birb_k/status/1525526118672916486

Links to agenda and docs related to the IHR topic #16 at May 22-28 World Health Assembly:

apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_f…

apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_f…

apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_f…

apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_f…

apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_f…

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