The Biden administration wants to give the China-backed World Health Organization authority to impose its mandates without having to ask a country’s national government for permission.
On Monday, Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis had a one-word answer for that: No.
Speaking at an event to honor law enforcement in Cape Coral, DeSantis touched on President Joe Biden’s plan for the WHO while discussing the riots and protests of 2020.
DeSantis noted that during the unrest following the death of Minneapolis man George Floyd in police custody unidentified “public health people” were telling Americans that they couldn’t go to the beach or venture outside to protest COVID-19 lockdowns but they would let protesters demonstrate for defunding the police.
“That’s when you knew all of this was such a fraud,” said DeSantis.
And then, while on that subject, he added, “We in Florida, there is no way we will ever support this W.H.O. thing … that’s not going to happen. No way.”
“But you saw, I mean, you saw a lot of these elites advocate very pernicious policies, and part of the reason people want to move here [to Florida] is because we rejected those policies, but they advocated very pernicious policies, including locking kids out of school.”
The “WHO thing” that DeSantis referred to are amendments to the WHO’s International Health Regulations, as they pertain to a potential outbreak that could trigger a response from other nations.
They key portion is that the Biden amendments would simply strike language to the WHO’s existing protocol. The current regulations say, “Before taking any action based on such reports [of an outbreak], WHO shall consult with and attempt to obtain verification from the State Party in whose territory the event is allegedly occurring.”
As Breitbart News reported last week, the World Council for Health, a nonprofit group opposed to Biden’s amendments offered a summary of their meaning.
“These amendments give control over the declaration of a public health emergency in any member state to the WHO Director-General – even over the objection of the member state,” the group noted.
“Properly understood, the proposed IHR amendments are directed towards establishing a globalist architecture of worldwide health surveillance, reporting, and management. Consistent with a top-down view of governance, the public will not have opportunities to provide input or criticism concerning the amendments. This, of course, is a direct violation of the basic tenets of democracy and can be compared to the separate new pandemic treaty.”
The Biden document also says if a nation with a potential outbreak refuses the WHO’s officer of “collaboration,” the UN agency would then be free to tell the world what info it has, without “taking into account the views of the State Party concerned,” even if that information came from “undisclosed” sources, who can remain in the dark.
The WHO is expected to take up Biden’s amendments this week, when it gathers for the UN’s World Health Assembly.
In recent reports about this issue on its website, the conservative, Orlando-based Liberty Counsel noted that the Biden amendments authorize the WHO director “to declare health emergencies at will and can be used to justify ostracism and economic or financial actions against the targeted nation by other nations aligned with WHO or who wish to harm and control the accused nation.”
The Liberty Counsel also pointed out that Biden did not define the term “public health emergency,” which means it could be invoked by the WHO to promote policies about guns, climate change, or other so-called “emergencies.”
In a statement, Liberty Counsel Chairman Mat Staver said, “The proposed amendments would give the WHO global jurisdiction over the United States to declare health emergencies. We have already seen the lawless abuse of power under Joe Biden by the Centers for Disease Control, which the courts have fortunately blocked. Americans would have very little recourse against the WHO. The WHO has sovereign immunity, and an international court in The Hague would not consider the constitutional rights of Americans. America must not give up its sovereignty to the WHO. These amendments must be withdrawn immediately.”
Editors Note: Talk to your doctor or clinic about your health and the latest information on the COVID-19 vaccine.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Free Press.
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