HELENA – Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen led a coalition of 21 other state attorneys general in sending a letter to President Biden in opposition to World Health Organization (WHO) agreements that would give the organization unprecedented and unconstitutional powers over the people of the United States.
In the letter sent Wednesday, Attorney General Knudsen raised concerns with proposed agreements that could radically amend the WHO’s existing International Health Regulations and institute a “Pandemic Agreement,” giving the organization authority over United States public health policy after failing to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for its lies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed amendments would threaten national sovereignty, undermine states’ authority, and put the freedoms granted by the Constitution to United States citizens at risk.
“Ultimately, the goal of these instruments isn’t to protect public health. It’s to cede authority to the WHO — specifically its Director-General—to restrict our citizens’ rights to freedom of speech, privacy, movement (especially travel across borders) and informed consent,” Attorney General Knudsen wrote in the letter. “We therefore oppose such accords for several important reasons.”
If the agreements are approved, the WHO would transform from an advisory, charitable organization to the world’s governor of public health. The agreements would give the WHO’s Director-General the power to unilaterally declare a “public health emergency of international concern” (PHEIC) in one or more member nations. If the Director-General is allowed to dictate PHEIC, the representatives elected by the American people would no longer set the country’s public health policies.
Additionally, the federal government does not have the authority to delegate public health decisions to an international body like the WHO. Even if the federal government had the authority, it would need approval by the U.S. Senate. The agreements would also lay the groundwork for a global surveillance infrastructure under the guise of protecting public health, but with the inherent opportunity for control, similar to the “social credit system” used in Communist China.
“The COVID-19 pandemic exposed fundamental flaws with the WHO and other public health institutions. These entities breached public trust and are unquestionably in need of reform. The proposed measures, however, would only exacerbate the WHO’s underlying problems and enable more civil liberties violations during future “emergencies.” Accordingly, we will resist any attempt to enable the WHO to directly or indirectly set public policy for our citizens,” the attorneys general conclude.
Attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia also joined Attorney General Knudsen in sending the letter to Biden.
Click here to read the letter.
