BOOM
Ambassador Pamela Hamamoto dropped a "bomb" on the WHO's proposed "Pandemic Agreement" by proposing that it instead be adopted as amendments to the International Health Regulations.
NOTE: As of noon Eastern on November 4, 2024, it is clear that a new draft of the proposed Pandemic Agreement has been submitted by the INB “Bureau,” but they continue to keep it secret from the general public.
Please watch the video below:
United States Ambassador Pamela Hamamoto suggested a change to the legal structure of the negotiations. She advocated that the agreement be adopted as amendments to the International Health Regulations rather than as a separate agreement.
Careful consideration should also be given to the legal form of the pandemic agreement.
The United States supports adopting the agreement as a WHO Article 21 regulation which offers important advantages, including broader member state participation, more timely entry into force and better coherence with the [International Health Regulations] IHR.
We recognize that doing so will require changes to the existing text and we are ready to engage in these discussions.
We were pleased that member states were able to find compromise solutions and adopt the IHR amendments earlier this year and we hope the [Intergovernmental Negotiating Body] INB will agree to adopt many of these solutions rather than reopening challenging issues with little time remaining.
We realize member states are frustrated by the remaining gaps in the text and are feeling pressured to agree to provisions which they feel are either insufficient to address their concerns or overly burdensome.
However, we should acknowledge that the text, as it currently stands, goes a long way to addressing the shortcomings and inequities uncovered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It would be a terrible missed opportunity if the INB is unable to reach consensus after three years of hard work.
We cannot afford to let this opportunity slip away.
Thank you very much.
United States Ambassador Pamela Hamamoto
HamamotoPH@State.gov
Pamela.Hamamoto@HHS.gov
Watch the first session of the 12th meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body:
https://apps.who.int/gb/inb/e/e_inb-12.html
Read an overview/summary of the meeting:
Negotiators Have a Week to Decide if Pandemic Agreement Possible by December
The pandemic agreement talks resumed on Monday for two weeks, but parties only have a week to decide whether they have sufficient common ground to call a special World Health Assembly (WHA) in December to adopt the document.
James Roguski
310-619-3055
JamesRoguski.substack.com/archive
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