Analysis
The World Health Assembly (WHA), the governing body of the World Health Organisation (WHO), met for its annual meeting in Geneva from 21 to 30 May this year.
On the agenda was the discussion of a third of the proposed 307 amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005 and the latest version of the draft Pandemic Instrument or treaty, also known as the zero drafts of the “WHO CA+” (pdf).
Up for consideration, according to the UK Parliament’s commons library website, were issues such as how a pandemic will be defined, and the working of the treaty alongside the IHR.
Other issues include the guiding principles of the treaty such as human rights, sovereignty, equity, and more; and the setting up of a Conference of the Parties—a new governing body for the treaty; and further legal issues such as the IHR, withdrawal, and dispute settlement….