US rejects WHO’s ‘Trojan horse’ amendments

The Trump administration has rejected the World Health Organization’s proposed amendments to its International Health Regulations (IHR), which it has criticized as a “Trojan horse to curtail basic democratic freedoms.”

The United States had until July 19th to reject the amendments or be legally bound by them. Although President Trump has ordered the US to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO), it is still subject to certain legal obligations agreed to under previous administrations.

An assault on national sovereignty

On Friday, the day before the July 19th deadline, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. explained why the US is rejecting the IHR amendments.

“The first reason is national sovereignty. Nations who accept the new regulations are signing over their power in health emergencies to an unelected international organization that could order lockdowns, travel restrictions, or any other measures it sees fit,” Kennedy said in a video. “In fact, it doesn't even need to declare an emergency—‘potential public health risks’ are enough for it to initiate action.”

The secretary said that the US should not grant that much power to an organization without proper public debate and oversight, particularly since the IHR are not an official treaty and remain outside the purview of the US Senate.

“To make matters worse, the new regulations employ extremely broad language that gives the WHO unprecedented power,” Kennedy continued. “They require countries to establish systems of 'risk communication' so that the WHO can implement unified public messaging globally. That opens the door to the kind of narrative management and propaganda and censorship that we saw during the COVID pandemic. We don't want to see that kind of system institutionalized even further.”

The amendments also contain language about vaccine passports and medical surveillance that echoes the same medical tyranny we saw during the pandemic, Kennedy said.

A corrupt China ally

Even so, the secretary explained that the US might still be willing to consider accepting the amendments if the WHO were not a corrupt, totalitarian organization running cover for the Chinese Communist Party. 

“Are we going to be subject to a technocratic control system that uses health risks and pandemic preparedness as a Trojan horse to curtail basic Democratic freedoms?” he asked. “Do we want a future where every person, every movement, every transaction, and every human body is under surveillance at all times?”

On behalf of the world

Kennedy clarified that he’s not trying to sound “alarmist” and suggested that the amendments may even have been written with good intentions, but said they are nevertheless “a step in the wrong direction.” He concluded by affirming that the US is rejecting the IHR amendments “on behalf of the whole world.”

“After all, America could simply ignore the WHO,” he said. “But few other countries are as powerful as the United States. Even though many of these amendments are phrased to be non-binding, as a practical matter, it's hard for many countries to resist them, especially when they are dependent on the WHO funding and its partnerships. That's why we’re taking leadership to stop an agreement that's bad for the entire world.”

The US has been the WHO’s largest contributor.

HHS and State Dept. issue a joint statement

On Friday, Kennedy also issued a joint statement with Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the administration’s rejection of the IHR amendments.

“Developed without adequate public input, these amendments expand the role of the WHO in public health emergencies, create additional authorities for the WHO for shaping pandemic declarations, and promote WHO's ability to facilitate ‘equitable access' of health commodities,” the statement read. “These amendments have undue influence on our domestic health responses from WHO directives. They also fail to adequately address the WHO's susceptibility to the political influence and censorship - most notably from China - during outbreaks. These amendments were set to become binding on the United States regardless of our withdrawal from the WHO.”

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