OPEN LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER OF HEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE, UNION OF INDIA

OPEN LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER OF HEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE, UNION OF INDIA

19^th May, 2024, Kolkata.

To To

Shri Narendra Modi Shri Mansukh Mandviya

Hon’ble Prime Minister Hon’ble Minister of Health & Family Welfare

Union of India Union of India

To To

Dr. Pramod Kumar Mishra Shri Apurva Chandra

Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Secretary to the MoHFW

Union of India Union of India

Cc : Hon’ble Members of Loksabha and Rajyasabha, Union of India

Subject : WHO Pandemic Agreement and Amendments to IHR 2005 to be adopted at the 77^thWorld Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland from 27th May to 1st June, 2024

Sir,

This letter stems from serious apprehension relating a high-priority event of global consequences which is believed to gravely affect the sovereignty of Union of India. As we all remain busy with the Loksabha elections, the government representatives of Union of India along with representatives from other member nations of World Health Organisation will be voting at the 77^th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland from 27^th May to 1^st June, 2024 for the global adoption of the Draft WHO Pandemic Agreement (Annexure 1). Certain amendments to the International Health Regulations 2005 (IHR 2005) are also likely to be added. WHO Pandemic Treaty, which is most likely to be adopted at the World Health Assembly would be a legally binding agreement for all member nations. Under the Treaty the countries would need to design their health policies strictly as per WHO guidelines and abide by all the health mandates released by WHO, a transnational entity. Kindly note that this, in principle, is in direct violation of the basic idea of a beneficent public health system where decisions are always taken concurrently by the Centre and the State. Any centralised decision-making body for public health (which functions in an absolute top-down approach) ignores the local genetic, climatic, food habit variations and thus leads to a health planning not conducive to public good. With the treaty coming into force, in case of an outbreak (or even the threat of) of any infectious disease, the Union of India and its member states would be legally bound to impose treatment protocols, lockdowns, mass vaccinations, vaccine passports, or any other mandate released by the World Health Organisation. The Treaty requires all member nations to allocate funds for pandemic preparedness on a regular basis and gives WHO the authoritative power to intervene in matters of national health budget allocations. The Union of India would thus become permanently ‘accountable’ to a transnational body WHO regarding its national health policy. All this is in sheer violation of the sovereignty of our country and also the basic principles of public health.

If the Pandemic Treaty is adopted, the WHO will have sole and extensive power to declare Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEIC) for any potential or real threat for extended areas, be the threats are biological, climatic or environmental. The WHO in future would be able to do so without proper convincing proof and be in a decisive position to command all public health measures and treatment protocols to be imposed on the people without informed consent (which violates the Nuremberg Code).

The Treaty is also going to strike discord with the One Health policy adopted in our country. The Treaty would adversely affect the balance set in our health budget allocations for combating malnutrition and for pandemic preparedness. Permanently allocating funds for Pandemic Preparedness from our slim health budget may adversely affect the policies adopted by our government to reduce malnutrition, child and infant mortality, child wasting, anaemia, etc which are of paramount concern in a country like ours.

A transnational body like WHO is going to emerge as the overriding authority regarding public health across the globe. The draft of the context, purpose and action areas of this Treaty are described in Annexure 2 where WHO clearly states that the Treaty would function as a ‘framework convention’ on Pandemic Preparedness and Response where the member nations need to “support global coordination through a stronger WHO, as ‘the directing and coordinating authority on international health work’, including for pandemic preparedness and response”.

The future powers of WHO would then also include the official censorship of information, including free speech—views in disagreement with any official narrative put forward by the WHO —and the WHO would be accountable to no national parliament or be limited by any constitutional safeguards.

The WHO released a Zero Draft of the WHO CA+ (this ‘pandemic treaty’ is now officially known as an ‘Accord’) with 38 Articles on 1st February 2023 and, subsequently, another draft with 41 Articles on 2nd June 2023. The Accord marks a fundamental change in how the WHO would function in future. The draft clearly indicates that the WHO seeks sweeping powers under its director general regarding public health emergencies, public health policies and health budget of every member nation. The Accord facilitates a dictatorship role for the WHO as it moves to acquire unfettered power for an indefinite time period.

The signatories of this Treaty would make clear that, under the proposed accord, the WHO can, at will, call a pandemic, declare a PHEIC and then dictate the national governments to detain their citizens, restrict their free movement, compel them to have vaccine passports (forced testing and vaccination) and tighten media censorship.

Two instruments, the Accord itself and the Amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005, are designed to operate in parallel to give draconian powers to the WHO. Both texts irremediably entail the transfer to the WHO of the power to threaten health freedom, thereby representing a fundamental threat to national, medical and corporal autonomy.

The WHO is a transnational body without any constitutional checks and barriers, which may not and cannot be appointed to such a dictatorial position. The recent turn of events regarding pharma giant Astrazeneca admitting in an UK court about the adverse effects of its Covid-19 vaccine has sent chills down the spines of all conscious individuals who have taken doses of Covishield vaccine under the guidance of WHO and our national panel of experts. Numerous adverse effects of Covaxin have also hit the news recently. The skyrocketing number of sudden cases of heart attack among youngsters and sportspersons has shocked many individuals and this matter was also discussed in the Rajya Sabha on 08.12.2023. Since our Union Government has already stayed itself clear off the liabilities of any adverse effects of these vaccines (vide affidavits dated 26.06.2021, 13.01.2022 & writ petition 607 of 2021 filed at the Supreme Court), even the idea of a vaccine passport raises a lot of questions in the mind of any conscious common man. The connection of electoral bonds and trusts with spurious/ untested drugs like Remdesivir, etc sold during the Covid pandemic have also been exposed at the national level. Under these circumstances, many people in our country and elsewhere are extremely skeptical about the idea of a transnational entity like WHO being bestowed the supreme power of regulating health policies and mandating treatment protocols.

If adopted at the 77th World Health Assembly in May 2024 by a simple majority vote, the ‘Pandemic Treaty’ will come into force within 12 months for all countries, unless a country proactively files rejections or reservations within a 10-month period.

Questions about the WHO Pandemic Treaty have been raised in the Rajya Sabha on 02.02.2024 and in parliaments of United States of America, United Kingdom, Japan and Europian Union. An independent body of experts from India have also written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the World Health Organisation. In Japan, people have taken to the streets protesting against the Pandemic Treaty. A good number of people across India is also raising their dissenting voices. Our organisation Peoples’s Alliance for Public Health (PAPH alias JanSwasthya Morcha) have been organising awareness campaign about the WHO Pandemic Treaty since our inception in 2022.

We, the members of People’s Alliance for Public Health (PAPH alias JanSwasthya Morcha), earnestly request you to go through the Draft of the WHO Pandemic Treaty and other supportive documents attached as Annexure. Please raise this issue within the Ministry and also the appropriate national authority. As the matter is related to National Security, it requires urgent attention of all. Even if the WHO Pandemic Treaty and Amendments to IHR 2005 are adopted at the 77^thWorld Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland from 27th May to 1st June, 2024 , our country still has the chance to revoke its decision of agreement with the Treaty within a period of ten months. Let us all work in unison and see that the Treaty does not come into effect for the Union of India.

Thank You,

Yours Sincerely,

Amartya Gaurab Mukhuty

PRESIDENT SECRETARY

On behalf of

All members of JanaSwasthya Morcha or People’s Alliance for Public Health (PAPH)

32/9 Chandi Ghosh Road

Kolkata 700040

Contact No. : 7449707011