WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, all 49 Republican U.S. Senators sent a letter to Joe Biden calling on his administration to “withdraw” its support for two international agreements that would cede the nation’s sovereignty during public health emergencies to the World Health Organization (WHO). The letter highlights that a proposed Pandemic Treaty and its International Health Regulation (IHR) amendments, which may be implemented during this month’s World Health Assembly (WHA), would expand the WHO’s authority over the United States – a plan the senators called “unacceptable.”

The 77^th WHA will take place beginning later this month from May 27 to June 1 in Geneva, Switzerland. The WHA is the WHO's decision-making body and meets annually to plan its goals and design policies for its 194 member nations.

The letter began by noting the WHO’s “persistent failures” during the COVID-19 pandemic caused “lasting harm” to the nation, and then it emphasized the U.S. “cannot afford” to increase WHO authority when it has an “inability to perform its most basic function.”

The senators stressed that any changes to the status quo should address these “well-documented shortcomings.” However, the senators noted that the new pandemic treaty and its accompanying IHR amendments rather focus on “supercharging the WHO,” which in turn would give it power to “shred” intellectual property rights and infringe on free speech.

“Some of the over 300 proposals for amendments made by member states would substantially increase the WHO’s health emergency powers and constitute intolerable infringements upon U.S. sovereignty,” wrote the senators. “We are deeply concerned that your administration continues to support these initiatives and strongly urge you to change course.”

The letter also served notice that the treaty and its IHRs are “not in order,” for the IHR’s themselves require that any changes be provided to the member states “at least four months” before they are to be considered. The World Health Assembly (WHA) is scheduled to take place beginning May 27, 2024, and the WHO has yet to provide the final text of the amendments, stated the signatories.

The senators stated that if Biden “should ignore this advice” then they would consider any pandemic related agreement a “treaty” and reminded Biden that, according to Article II Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, a treaty requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate to ratify.

“The WHO’s most recently available version of the pandemic response treaty is dead on arrival,” declared the signatories.

In addition to the letter, all 49 senators have co-sponsored legislation S.444, known as the “No Pandemic Preparedness Treaty without Senate Approval Act.” This proposed bill, and its counterpart in the U.S. House, H.R. 1425, would require any agreement reached by the WHA be subject to Senate ratification.

The Sovereignty Coalition, a non-partisan group of public policy-minded leaders and organizations, which includes Liberty Counsel Action, agreed that the WHO’s “global governance” agreements should be “dead on arrival” and must not be implemented.

Liberty Counsel Action Chairman Mat Staver said, “The sovereignty of the United States is not up for negotiation. Joe Biden is attempting to bypass the U.S. Constitution to give the World Health Organization unprecedented control over the United States and the world. Ceding American sovereignty to the WHO is offensive and tyrannical.”

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