Slovakia refuses to sign WHO pandemic accord

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico recently declared that the country will not ratify a pandemic treaty now being drafted by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Fico announced his commitment during a conference on November 17th, attended by members and delegates of the Slovenská Sociálna Demokracia (SMER) Party, of which Fico is the chairman. Fico assumed the role of Slovakia’s prime minister for the third time on October 25th, following SMER’s triumph in the September election.

In his speech, Fico strongly criticized the media and the previous government for implementing vaccine mandates during the pandemic.

“If someone had a different opinion on vaccination against COVID, they were dangerous for society,” Fico told the over 400 attendees. “The media wrote openly, I’m quoting now: that ‘everyone unvaccinated should squeal in pain like a pig.’ In addition, you have to use police force if someone rejects ‘the law of the needle.’ 

“And today it turns out that our free perspective on past vaccination and the government’s measures to fight against COVID, grossly violating human rights, was correct and justified. One study after another confirms the scandalous consequences of mass vaccination with untested experimental vaccines.”

The prime minister criticized his predecessor Ľudovít Ódor for his handling of COVID-19, specifically mentioning “meaningless purchases” of vaccines. He hinted at the possibility of an official investigation into this matter.

“Yes, I can confirm as chairman of the party and I also confirm it as the prime minister, that I will support the efforts of some politicians from the new government coalition to politically assess what was the government fooling around between 2020 and 2021, and also have a look at the financial side of extensive, often completely meaningless, purchases of medical devices and vaccines.”

Slovakia Prime Minister Robert Fico

“Furthermore, I want to emphasize that SMER – Slovenská Sociálna Demokracia – firmly opposes any measures that would enhance the authority of the World Health Organization at the cost of the autonomy of individual nations in handling global health crises,” he added confidently.

Fico further stated that, in accordance with the Constitution of Slovakia, the National Council of the Slovak Republic, which is the legislative body of Slovakia, must provide its assent for the country to join the pandemic treaty.

“And I do not believe that the sovereign Slovak parties will express such approval. The SMER Party and its MPs certainly won’t,” he vowed.

Discussions commenced last year over the WHO’s pandemic treaty, which has raised concerns among many regarding the potential requirement for member states to relinquish their sovereignty to the WHO during a pandemic. The last round of negotiations took place from In December, with the anticipated presentation of the final text expected this May .

However, several scholars contend that the epidemic does not necessitate the surrender of sovereignty. The main objective of it, however, is to establish a strong connection between countries and the concept of One Health.

The One Health approach to healthcare asserts that climate change is the primary determinant of human health. Warmer climates have the potential to contribute to tick infestations, which in turn can introduce dangerous diseases such as Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF). The alteration of weather patterns has the potential to facilitate the transmission of avian flu.

Hence, the One Health agenda of the WHO asserts that in order to address pandemic diseases, which are transmitted from animals to humans, it is imperative to consider human health within the framework of animals and the environment, sometimes referred to as the “human-animal-environment interface.”

One Health, a concept strongly supported by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), places a certain level of emphasis on “climate change” above human health. If the climate is the primary factor influencing the well-being of all organisms, then any actions taken to protect the climate can be considered reasonable. A zoonotic outbreak, thus, has the potential to pave the way for climate requirements such as lockdowns and compulsory vaccines as measures to halt the transmission.

The WHO has lately collaborated with the Rockefeller Foundation to investigate the concept of “climate pandemics.” In addition, it formed a partnership in June with the European Commission to collaborate on the development of global vaccine passports, while pharmaceutical companies advocate for “climate vaccinations.”

The WHO’s pandemic treaty is underpinned by the concept of One Health.

The accord draft states that the Parties acknowledge the fact that most emerging infectious diseases and pandemics are caused by zoonotic pathogens. They pledge to support and carry out a One Health approach that is consistent, integrated, coordinated, and collaborative among all relevant individuals and organizations, utilizing existing instruments and initiatives.

The treaty mandates that countries must tackle the factors that contribute to the occurrence and recurrence of diseases at the interface between humans, animals, and the environment. These factors include, but are not limited to, climate change, changes in land use, the trafficking of wildlife, desertification, and antibiotic resistance.

The agreement emphasizes the importance of countries committing to enhancing cooperation with other relevant instruments that tackle the causes of pandemics, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation, and increased risks at the human-animal-environment interface resulting from human activities.

Governments must ensure the coordination of One Health-related initiatives with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), collectively known as the One Health Quadripartite.

One Health is already being incorporated into US legislation. In December 2022, Congress discreetly approved the Advancing Emergency Preparedness Through One Health Act (HR 2061/S 681), which mandates the creation of a One Health program. The chiefs of federal agencies, including the CDC, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, and others, have been directed to provide a One Health Framework plan to Congress within a year.

The Act stipulates that the primary objective of the One Health Program is to proactively mitigate zoonotic illnesses, necessitating a heightened emphasis on the environment and agriculture. The sponsors of the bill express concern about the potential impact of zoonotic disease outbreaks on egg supplies, which could subsequently impair the manufacture of vaccines.

“Public health preparedness depends on agriculture in a variety of ways,” reads the bill. “For example, a wide range of vaccines, including those for influenza, yellow fever, rabies, and measles-mumps-rubella (MMR), are primarily cultivated in poultry eggs. Egg shortages resulting from zoonotic disease outbreaks could impose serious risks to vaccine manufacturing efforts.”

It is unsurprising that Ambassador Pamela Hamamoto, the US lead negotiator for the WHO’s Pandemic Accord, has expressed the Biden administration’s dedication to the pact.

Hamamoto stated that the United States is firmly dedicated to the Pandemic Accord, which will play a significant role in the long-term global health framework.