|
Washington, D.C. – Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Secretary of State Marco Rubio today announced the United States’ formal rejection of the World Health Organization’s proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR). These amendments, adopted by the World Health Assembly (WHA) in 2024, would have expanded the WHO’s authority during public-health emergencies – potentially allowing for global lockdowns, travel restrictions, and compulsory digital health documentation set to take effect in the U.S. as of July 19, even without U.S. membership in the WHO (HHS.gov).
“The amended IHR would give the WHO the ability to order global lockdowns, travel restrictions, or any other measures it sees fit to respond to nebulous ‘potential public health risks’,” the State and HHS Departments jointly stated.
Key concerns include:
- Threats to U.S. sovereignty. Allowing the WHO to influence domestic public-health policy without adequate mechanisms to ensure that the U.S. retains final decision-making authority.
- Vague language. Broad and unclear provisions increasing the risk of politically motivated WHO-led interventions, such as those centered on “solidarity” instead of urgent public-health needs.
- Information control and censorship risk. Amendments could constrain scientific debate and enable narrative control similar to that seen during COVID-19.
- Digital health mandates. The proposals would compel adoption of international digital health credentialing systems, raising privacy and civil liberty red flags
- Failure to Follow Procedure. When “adopted,” the amendments to the IHR were only submitted for consideration three months prior to their consideration by WHA members when WHO procedures require a minimum of four-months’ notice.
- More pandemics, not fewer. As economist Thomas Sowell said, “Many of today’s problems are the result of yesterday’s solutions,” and empowering the WHO with dictatorial emergency health powers will only encourage it to declare even more “emergencies.”
In a video message, Secretary Kennedy stated these amendments “open the door to the kind of narrative management, propaganda, and censorship that we saw during the COVID pandemic,” and emphasized that international cooperation must not come at the expense of American constitutional rights or sovereignty.
Secretary Rubio echoed this sentiment, criticizing the text for being “vague and broad,” and warning it may shift responses toward political posturing rather than swift, effective public-health action.
The formal rejection received bipartisan support in Congress, including from U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R–WI), sponsor of the No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty Without Senate Approval Act. To his credit, Senator Johnson has been the main defender of health freedom in the U.S. Senate.
The President and General Counsel of the National Health Federation (NHF), a Codex Alimentarius accredited INGO, welcomed the news, stating that “This last-minute rejection of the proposed binding amendments to the International Health Regulations is good news to all of us who oppose the totalitarian Biomedical Security State that is being crafted to imprison the World’s people in a cage innocently labeled as ‘health security.’ However, with this victory we must still remain vigilant to further threats to our health and health freedom.” |
