The Ministry of Health is inviting the views of New Zealanders on proposals to update a significant global health agreement.
Full text of Ministry of Health Press Release:
The International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) aim to prevent and control the spread of disease and other public health hazards between countries to protect the health of their citizens. They define countries’ rights and obligations in handling public health events and emergencies that have the potential to cross borders. While the IHR serve countries well we can improve the IHR to ensure the regulations continue to be fit for purpose.
International negotiations are currently being held on amendments to the IHR. The Ministry is interested in New Zealanders’ views on the proposed amendments to help inform New Zealand’s position as we contribute to the ongoing negotiations. You can comment of the proposed amendments here:
The consultation will run from Wednesday 17 January to Sunday 18 February.
The consultation is only one of the steps involved in considering whether the IHRs are in New Zealand’s national interest and will inform ongoing negotiations. Other steps that are still required before New Zealand agrees to be bound by changes to the IHRs include seeking agreement from Cabinet, conducting a National Interest Analysis, and presenting that Analysis and the text of the IHR changes to Parliament for Treaty Examination.
Signing IHR changes may create new international legal obligations for New Zealand. However, this doesn’t automatically change New Zealand law – only the New Zealand Parliament can do this.
The proposed IHR amendments
At the 75th World Health Assembly in May 2022, governments agreed to establish the Working Group on the International Health Regulations (WGIHR) to develop a package of targeted amendments to the IHR. As a first step, the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General asked Member States to share their proposals on how the IHR could be strengthened. Over 300 proposed amendments were submitted.
The amendments have yet to be finalised and the exact scope won’t be decided until April 2024. However, areas of negotiation include:
- foundational articles including purpose and scope, principles, and responsible authorities
communicating a public health event - tiered alert system to determine a public health emergency of international concern
health measures to enable a prompt and effective response to public health risks (such as technical guidance, health products, technologies, knowledge sharing and health workforce) - international movement of travellers, baggage, cargo, containers, means of transport, goods, or postal parcels
- digitalisation of health documents
- establishing an Emergency, Implementation and Compliance Committee
- IHR implementation.
Member states are now discussing these proposals within the WGIHR meeting process.
Further information:
- This consultation does not relate to Cabinet’s decision on 29 November 2024, to reserve New Zealand’s position as to whether 2022 technical amendments should enter into force in New Zealand. Those technical amendments, agreed in May 2022 by countries, including New Zealand, are not part of the ongoing substantial IHR negotiations that are the focus of this consultation. View information about those technical amendments and New Zealand’s position.
- Alongside the review of the IHR, the WHO Member States are working together to draft and negotiate an international legal instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, or ‘pandemic treaty’. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) are also currently consulting on the pandemic treaty. You can have your say here. It is expected that the negotiations will be completed in time for both the IHR amendments and the pandemic treaty to be considered by the World Health Assembly meeting in May 2024.
- Further information about both the IHR and the Pandemic Treaty can be found on the Ministry’s website.
- The full proposals to amend the regulations can be found on the WHO website.
Whatever the WHO wants, the answer is a firm NO!
When are we calling out the WHO for what it is, for what it is done.
Need I remind people Sweden policy was no lockdown strategy, and they have been proven right.
Pull out of the WHO now.
You mention that Sweden has been proven right with its response to the COVID pandemic yet according to Our World in Data the cumulative difference between the reported number of deaths per million between 1 January 2020 until 26 November 2023 and the projected number of deaths for the same time period based on previous years (i.e. excess mortality) was 1,616 per million excess mortality in Sweden and just 34 in New Zealand. In the UK it was 3,145.
Although lockdowns were not implemented in Sweden, in January 2021 legislation was passed determining limiting number of visitors to shops and the Prime Minister said that a general lockdown was being considered.
Restrictions also impacted Sweden’s economy in the transportation sector, education, arts and entertainment.
In education, secondary and higher education institutions were advised to switch to distance education.
National scholastic tests were cancelled to give teachers in Sweden more time to prepare for the possibility of distance education.
In early 2020 the Swedish Government introduced a series of urgent measures which were intended to support Swedish companies that were negatively affected by COVID-19, but that were otherwise sound companies. The measures aimed at tackling the outbreak and mitigating its effects on companies and the economy.
Incidentally, Sweden’s unemployment rate in November was 7.1% which was a little over 3% higher than NZ’s.
Sweden is not now regarded as having got it right with its COVID-19 responses.
Lol, you must have graduated Magna-cum-never
Well I hope everyone here sends a response.
I see this isn’t on the news so hopefully if we can get this around the awake community the submissions should be what they should be and we do not accept any amendments.
Please share this to the right people and get this nonsense stopped in its tracks for New Zealand.
“You can make your voice heard!”
Yeah, and you’ll promptly ignore us all and go ahead with it anyway 😒👍
GFY there dear government.
Click the link and give them your opinions by all means, but don’t count on this stopping anything. These people are hellbent.
Politicians aren’t going to stop this nonsense, if you want to know what will, pick up a few of the history books and have a look.
It’s a sales pitch.
What is the service they’re selling and is it worth the price you’ll pay? Can you cancel at any time?
Why should unelected beauracrats that got so much wrong with covid get greater influence.
Are they calling for gain of function research to be halted immediately?
Just restrictions and requirements of the plebs.
G F Y WHO
To Paraphrase Groucho MAX (from Horse Feathers) Whatever the who wants I’m against it!
Here’s my ‘”view” for the M.O.H.
No, no and no.
How interesting! A WHO “Compliance Committee”.
I certainly wont be ‘complying’ with anything these unelected corrupt imbeciles come up with.