The EU has high hopes that the groundwork for a future international treaty on pandemics can be laid during the special session of the World Health Assembly, which will be convened from 29 November to 1 December, but it is not certain that this will happen.
The only item on the agenda for this session is examining the merits of developing a WHO convention, agreement, or other international instrument on pandemic preparedness and response with the aim of establishing an intergovernmental process for drafting and negotiating such an international agreement or instrument taking the report by the Working Group on Strengthening WHO Preparedness and Response to Health Emergencies into account.
As early as 2020, President of the European Council Charles Michel, a supporter of global health governance, has been a strong proponent of a Treaty on Pandemic Preparedness and Response—an idea he had championed at the Global Health Summit in Rome in May 2021 (see EUROPE 12714/12).
Progress has been made since then with the support of the WHO, EU Member States, and numerous other countries, including the United Kingdom, Norway, Argentina, Egypt, Kenya, Ukraine, South Africa, and New Zealand.
Nevertheless, one unknown remains: the United States, which was still pusillanimous at the last G20 Summit (see EUROPE 12824/6, 12819/20).
“There must be a consensus in order to establish the intergovernmental body. The most difficult delegation is the United States, which generally has reservations about binding international treaties. We are hoping for a constructive approach that does not impede the other countries”, an EU official revealed on Wednesday, 24 November.
The idea is reportedly to establish this intergovernmental body in March 2022—a body that would negotiate and make proposals in 2023 for the instrument to be adopted in 2024. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)