The UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) has been toiling away in relative obscurity for decades, but it was the pandemic that really brought it to the fore.
The UN and various governments would no doubt say that it played its role perfectly, and critics might do the same – but they will vehemently disagree on what the role was, and is supposed to continue to be.
Is WHO a benevolent international promoter of health and safety and in particular when it comes to the most vulnerable categories of population worldwide? Or is it yet another globalist group bent on a serious “power grab” – robbing national authorities of agency in this particularly sensitive sector?
Some actions, such as a number of provisions contained in the effort to amend the 2005 International Health Regulations (IHR), have given pause even to those who may not bill themselves as being against globalization.
That’s because WHO attempted to wade in on issues like misinformation, disinformation, vaccine passports, and all this in the context of expanding its own related powers.
Now, observers say that the latest draft of these amendments seems to have toned things down a little, but continues to provide for WHO’s expanded powers along the said lines.
Initially, the amendments were worded such to allow WHO to “strengthen” its own abilities when it comes to combating “misinformation and disinformation” – whereas now, the text says that WHO will “coordinate and support” locally on matters like risk communications, including “misinformation,” etc.
The other important point is vaccine passports, and which entity has the ultimate say in issuing and requiring them. On this, WHO still wants the ability to require these, as well as recommend to nation-states to carry out a number of “proof-reviewing” exercises.
These concern not only vaccine passports (“proof of vaccination or other prophylaxis”), but also proof of medical examinations and lab analysis, and, “proof of measures taken on departure or in transit to eliminate infection or contamination.”
Under the amendments, anyone who refuses to to be examined or vaccinated can be denied entry into a county.
Another point of interest – interpreted by some as a way to let private companies participate in both “the war on misinformation” and vaccine passports efforts is the provision that says non-state actors must comply “with health measures taken under these IHR.”
And WHO can still declare an “Early Action Alert” and a “Pandemic Emergency.”
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