Why does the WHO get to ignore the rules it doesn’t like, but it expects the world to obey ALL the rules it makes?

From a blog reader.

The proverbial saying ‘power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely‘ conveys the opinion that, as a person’s power increases, their moral sense diminishes.

Absolute monarchies are those in which all power is given to or, as is more often the case, taken by the monarch. Examples of monarchs who corrupted their power include Roman emperors, who declared themselves gods, and Napoleon Bonaparte, who declared himself an emperor.  Is history repeating with the World Health Organisation??

The principles embodied in the World Health Organisation Constitution and the International Health Regulations (2005), which are currently in effect and are international law, have to be the minimum standard that all 196 State Parties deserve and are the minimum standards the World Health Organisation and all of its representative must be held to.

Under Article 55 of the International Health Regulations (2005), amendments… may be proposed by any State Party or by the World Health Organisation Director-General and shall be submitted to the World Health Assembly for consideration. The text of any proposed amendment shall be communicated to all State Parties by the Director-General at least four months before the World Health Assembly at which it is proposed for consideration.

In the recent meeting of the Working Group for the International Health Regulations in October 2023, the Co-Chairs noted that “it appeared unlikely that the package of amendments would be ready by January 2024. In this regard, the Working Group agreed to continue its work between January and May 2024. The Director-General will submit to the 77th Health Assembly the package of amendments agreed by the Working Group”.

Steven Solomon is the Principal Legal Officer for the World Health Organisation and is advising the Working Group. Unfortunately, this Solomon is not like his namesake, the biblical king most famous for his wisdom, who answered a question from God by asking for wisdom in order to rule and guide his people better.

However, this Solomon has decided that on the grounds that the Working Group is neither a State Party nor the Director-General himself, the four-month advance notice for submission of amendments rule in Article 55 does not apply.

Please note the Working Group is made up of representatives of State Parties and is working with the authority of the Director-General.  This is a wilful breach of the International Health Regulations (2005), which are international law.  

This does beg the question: if the Working Group is not a State Party nor the Director-General himself, then how can the Working Group be permitted to submit amendments??

To compound the charade and to appear to comply with the deadline, Mr Solomon has proposed that the Director-General could share the same documents that were sent in 2022, basically the entire wish list of all amendments, plus those sections that were available as ‘agreed text’ by the Working Group at the end of January 2024.  

The Co-Chair even joked in the live webcast of their meeting in October 2023 about working right up to the morning of the 77th session of the World Health Assembly and handing over the amendments during the day. The effect would be to eliminate any chance for any State Party to consider the full package of amendments before the vote to approve them.

With over 300 proposed amendments being submitted, this can only be considered a major rewrite of the 66 articles of the International Health Regulations, which are international law! This process must be taken seriously.