Letter: ‘We The People have seen during the pandemic how recommendations were quickly enforced as laws’

Washougal resident Mike Johnson encourages area residents to tell their legislator about the concern for the ‘need for a more binding pandemic treaty’

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the author alone and do not reflect the editorial position of ClarkCountyToday.com

In May of 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) held an annual meeting of the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland. They negotiated amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR; last amended in 2005) proposing more than 300 changes. Riding on the wave of government power that was exercised during the COVID-19 pandemic, they also discussed the need for a more binding pandemic treaty and authority was granted by the director general to draft a Pandemic Preparedness and Response Treaty.

Since the 2022 annual meeting, both “instruments” were negotiated by representatives from among the 194 countries that are party to the IHR. Amendments to the IHR were designed to grant sweeping authority to the WHO’s director general, Tedros Ghebreyesus, an Ethiopian national, formerly accused of war crimes, and close friend of CCP Secretary General Xi Jinping.

In May 2024, Amendments to the IHR were “adopted” even though WHO disclosure rules and a proper voting process were not used. The IHR now allows the Director General (Tedros) to declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), and that it will come with response “recommendations” they claim would not cause member states to do anything specific. Informed Choice Washington’s concern, as with many other member U.N. nations, is that these agreements/treaties/pacts/accords would violate a member nation’s sovereignty when the unelected Secretary of the WHO would declare an emergency and that the U.S. and states would then be compelled to create local laws & policies – in effect ceding sovereignty to an outside organization. We The People have seen during the pandemic how ‘recommendations’ were quickly enforced as laws.

Are you ready for the WHO and UN to tell the U.S. and Washington State what to do if a health emergency is declared again? Did you think the lockdowns and restrictions issued by your Governor (as influenced by external groups) were effective or overdone? Don’t forget the thousands of jobs and businesses that were needlessly lost during the COVID pandemic.

Health emergency plans are in place in all 50 states and federally. We don’t need the WHO telling our governments what to do in this regard – yet the current Biden administration is encouraging these rules to go into effect. In fact, the U.S., under the Biden administration was one of the original countries to suggest IHR amendments to grant additional power to these international organizations. For international treaties, two thirds of the U.S. Senate are constitutionally required to approve them. The current administration is attempting to bypass this essential check and balance by going along with the WHO and U.N. using labels such as “rules” and “pacts.”

Although the PPR treaty was not adopted in 2024, it will again be brought forward at the May 2025 meeting of the WHA which, in every draft version, would threaten U.S. sovereignty when a nearby member state or U.N. secretary declares an emergency.

Senator Ron Johnson (Wisconsin) and 48 U.S. Senators sent a letter to Joe Biden demanding that he not use executive authority to bypass Senate approval on these treaty instruments.

Earlier this year, 24 U.S. state’s governors submitted a joint letter to President Biden stating their intent to “stand united in opposition to two proposed instruments currently under negotiation that would purport to grant the World Health Organization powers over the United States and its people.” They were referring to the IHR amendments, and the PPR treaty.

Twenty-two states attorneys general issued a letter to President Biden, explaining why they are rejecting this authority where federal powers are driven by an outside body, and that they not allow their citizens to be subject to the orders of the WHO, in part because the WHO are unelected and unaccountable.

Further, 16 U.S. states have crafted legislation that will effectively preempt any authority by the WHO within their respective borders. One such bill (Senate Bill 133 in Louisiana) was passed into law by Governor Jeff Landry. This new law excludes any rule, regulation, fee, tax, policy or mandate by the World Health Organization, the United Nations and the World Economic Forum from having an effect in their state.

Section 1 of Louisiana’s Act 395 (the crux of Senate Bill 133) reads:

Jurisdiction of certain international organizations

The World Health Organization, United Nations, and the World Economic Forum shall have no jurisdiction or power within the State of Louisiana. No rule, regulation, fee, tax, policy or mandate of any kind of the World Health Organization, United Nations, and the World Economic Forum shall be enforced or implemented by the State of Louisiana, or any agency, department, board, commission, political subdivision, governmental entity of the state, parish, municipality, or any other political entity.

Neither Washington Senators, Governor nor the Attorney General have signed on to the above letters declaring opposition to these International Treaties.

What can you do? Tell your legislator about this concern and ask them to sponsor a similar bill.

Mike Johnson
Washougal