Summarised by Centrist
The Trump administration has formally rejected a World Health Organisation agreement that critics say would hand too much power to unelected officials during health emergencies.
“Nations who accept the new regulations are signing over their power… to an unelected international organisation that could order lockdowns, travel restrictions, or any other measures that it sees fit,” US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said.
“It doesn’t even need to declare an emergency,” he added.
The US had until this month to opt out or risk being bound by the changes, even though Trump pulled the country out of the WHO earlier this year.
“We will put Americans first in all our actions, and we will not tolerate international policies that infringe on Americans’ speech, privacy, or personal liberties,” the Trump administration’s statement said.
Lawrence Gostin from the WHO’s Collaborating Center argued the regulations are about sharing information quickly and do not threaten US sovereignty.
The WHO has not commented publicly.
The original IHR rules date back to 2005, but the 2024 amendments added new powers and a pandemic-specific emergency category. WHO members also recently passed a broader pandemic agreement, which the US did not join.
Trump’s earlier executive order made it clear that no WHO pandemic treaty or rule change would carry any legal force in the US.
