
US Supports COVID Accord, but Won’t Compromise National Security

WASHINGTON — The United States supports an international effort to reach an accord based on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, but will resist an agreement that in any way undermines U.S. sovereignty or national security, the State Department said on Wednesday.
The position comes in the wake of the latest meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body at the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
Ambassador Pamela Hamamoto served as the lead negotiator for the U.S. delegation at a session at which participants continued to try and hash out an agreement establishing clear, agreed upon roles and responsibilities should a global pandemic break out again in the future.
Specifically, the goal of the negotiating body is to achieve an accord that would build capacity, reduce the threat posed by zoonotic disease, enable rapid and more equitable responses, and establish sustainable financing, governance and accountability to break the cycle of pandemic panic and neglect.
The panel hopes to have an agreement in place by the conclusion of its next meeting in May 2024, but “much work remains to be done … to ensure the text meets these complex needs and is ultimately implementable for the United States,” the State Department said.
“While the United States is deeply committed to a process that should result in shared commitments and shared responsibilities among nations, we are also aware of concerns by some that these negotiations could result in diminished U.S. sovereignty,” the department’s statement said. “The United States will not support any measure at the World Health Organization, including in these negotiations, that in any way undermines our sovereignty or security.”
It went on to say that “any accord resulting from these negotiations would be designed to increase the transparency and effectiveness of cooperation among nations during global pandemics and would in no way empower the World Health Organization or any other international body to impose, direct or oversee national actions.”
“COVID-19 served as a stark reminder that infectious diseases do not stop at our borders. In order to protect Americans from current and future health threats, we must ensure that the lessons of COVID-19 and other infectious disease threats are reflected in a clear strategy rooted in global engagement,” the department continued, but it added the only accord acceptable to the United States is one that “will not compromise the ability of American citizens to make their own health care decisions.”
Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue
In The News
Health
Voting
Diplomacy
ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris was greeted by schoolchildren, dancers and drummers as she arrived Sunday in... Read More
ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris was greeted by schoolchildren, dancers and drummers as she arrived Sunday in Ghana for the start of a weeklong visit to Africa intended to deepen U.S. relationships amid global competition over the continent’s future. "We are looking forward to this trip... Read More
WASHINGTON — Assistant Secretary Geoffrey Pyatt, of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Energy Resources, will tour a U.S.-supported electric... Read More
WASHINGTON — Assistant Secretary Geoffrey Pyatt, of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Energy Resources, will tour a U.S.-supported electric vehicle lab as part of a humanitarian visit to Pakistan this week. Pyatt’s visit comes in the wake of a devastating monsoon season in the South... Read More
WASHINGTON — The United States supports an international effort to reach an accord based on lessons learned from the COVID-19... Read More
WASHINGTON — The United States supports an international effort to reach an accord based on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, but will resist an agreement that in any way undermines U.S. sovereignty or national security, the State Department said on Wednesday. The position comes in... Read More
WASHINGTON — A month after Syria experienced the first of two earthquakes in the early hours of Feb. 6, and... Read More
WASHINGTON — A month after Syria experienced the first of two earthquakes in the early hours of Feb. 6, and as it continues to experience aftershocks that further compound the country’s devastation after more than a decade of civil war, experts joined the D.C.-based Brookings Institution... Read More
WASHINGTON — Despite not wanting “to broaden this war [in Ukraine] or create wider conflagration,” the United States does have... Read More
WASHINGTON — Despite not wanting “to broaden this war [in Ukraine] or create wider conflagration,” the United States does have to “factor in the possibility of escalation,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told The Atlantic during an interview closing in on the one-year anniversary of the... Read More
WASHINGTON — Appearing remotely, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković joined the D.C.-based Atlantic Council to celebrate Croatia’s incorporation into the... Read More
WASHINGTON — Appearing remotely, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković joined the D.C.-based Atlantic Council to celebrate Croatia’s incorporation into the Eurozone and Schengen Area and explain how his nation’s journey toward European integration could inspire Ukraine and Western Balkan countries with EU candidate status. “EU membership... Read More