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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The International Health Regulations (IHR) were
3adopted by 194 member countries of the World Health
4Organization (WHO) in 2005; and
 
5    WHEREAS, The 2005 regulations enable the WHO to declare a
6Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) if it
7decides that an infectious disease outbreak has occurred in a
8member country; this PHEIC must be declared with the consent
9of the member country, which in practice recognizes the
10sovereignty of the nations that adopted the IHR; and
 
11    WHEREAS, On January 18, 2022, President Biden, through the
12United States Department of Health and Human Services (U.S.
13DHHS), announced proposed amendments to the IHR that many
14believe would transfer U.S. sovereign authority over health
15care decisions to the WHO director-general; and
 
16    WHEREAS, The proposed IHR amendments, which unlike a
17formal global treaty are not subject to U.S. Congressional
18approval, would cede basic national public health powers to an
19international body and override our basic sovereignty to the
20WHO; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Many concerned citizens and health organizations

 

 

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1around the world believe that these proposed IHR amendments
2give the WHO unilateral authority to determine health
3emergencies and to dictate policy and response, which will
4threaten national sovereignty and lead to a centralized
5governance model of global health surveillance, management,
6and reporting; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The World Health Assembly (WHA), which is the
8decision-making body of WHO, will meet for its 75th Assembly
9in Geneva, Switzerland from May 22 through May 28 to hold
10sessions with partner agencies and WHO experts to discuss
11current and future priorities for public health issues of
12global importance; and
 
13    WHEREAS, The proposed IHR amendments are being
14fast-tracked by President Biden for consensus during the 75th
15Assembly; this is concerning because there will be no public
16citizen comment opportunities to officially sound the alarm,
17and many believe this violates the basic tenets of our
18democracy; therefore, be it
 
19    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
20HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
21we urge the U.S. DHHS to withdraw its proposed IHR amendments
22until such a time that there is sufficient input from the
23public and partner agencies; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That we affirm our national sovereignty as it
2relates to public health governance and citizens' inalienable
3rights; and be it further
 
4    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
5delivered to the President of the United States, the U.S.
6Senate Majority Leader, the U.S. Senate Minority Leader, the
7U.S. Speaker of the House, the U.S. House of Representatives
8Minority Leader, and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of
9Health and Human Services.