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The United Nations General Assembly on Monday adopted a political declaration on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, despite opposition from three countries.
The declaration was approved by 153 votes in favour, with Argentina, Israel and the United States voting against it. New Zealand and Paraguay abstained.
The text had been scheduled for adoption by consensus at a high-level meeting on September 25. However, objections from the United States and several other countries prevented a consensus agreement, sending the issue back to the General Assembly for a vote.
Chile’s representative underscored the need for international cooperation, saying that “no country, no matter how big it might be or how prepared it might be, can alone address a threat that knows no borders”.
The declaration is political and non-binding. It calls for stronger national, regional and international cooperation based on science, equity and respect for human rights. It also welcomes the landmark adoption of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Pandemic Agreement last year.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed the outcome, describing it as a strong commitment by UN member states to continue working together on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
“The world has come a long way since COVID-19. We urge countries to now fulfil the commitments they have made, especially to finalize negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system (PABS) annex, so the WHO Pandemic Agreement can be opened for signature, begin the process of ratification and enter into force as international law,” he said.
The Pandemic Agreement cannot be opened for signature until member states complete negotiations on its annex covering pathogen access and benefit-sharing.
The proposed system would govern how countries share pathogen samples and genetic data, while ensuring that countries contributing such resources receive a share of the resulting benefits, including vaccines, treatments and diagnostic tools.
Negotiations have stalled amid disagreements between developing countries and some high-income European nations, alongside the United States.
The World Health Assembly, which brings together the WHO’s 194 member states, is scheduled to resume discussions on the annex next May.
The US representative had previously objected to what was described as “divisive ideologies that lack definitional consensus”, as well as references in the declaration to the ongoing negotiations on the annex.
Alongside the pandemic declaration, the 193-member General Assembly considered several other items on Monday’s agenda.
These included draft resolutions concerning the UN Declaration on Sea Level Rise and a political declaration marking the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action against racism.
Separately, the WHO on Monday launched a five-year strategy for its Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, aiming to enable countries to detect emerging health threats within 24 hours.
Established in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the hub seeks to strengthen countries’ ability to identify and assess new health threats rapidly. The objective is to help contain outbreaks before they develop into epidemics or spread across borders.
The strategy aims to improve the use of data, information-sharing and collaboration among countries and health organisations to strengthen global preparedness for future epidemics and pandemics. Source: UN News