New Zealand *rejected* the May 2022 WHO Amendments just before the deadline at end November, the only national government for which there is proof this was done.
This is hugely important. However, the question as to whether the amendments were legally passed remains open, so they may turn out to be null and void for all countries.
There is a box at the top of this Health Ministry website (see it below) explaining that the May 2022 WHO amendments were rejected by the new NZ government, as promised, and there will be a future ‘national interest test’ on the amendments.
Lower down, however, the website is favorably disposed to the WHO documents. Former top NZ health official Ashley Bloomfield was promoted to become the co-chair of the IHR Amendments working group for the WHO. The NZ Health Department employees who support the WHO seem to have written this webpage in a way to minimize what the government has done and promote the WHO effort.
Nonetheless, what the NZ leadership has done is historic.
The paragraphs below are from the rest of this webpage:
The International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) define countries’ rights and obligations in handling public health events and emergencies that have the potential to cross borders. They are the principal international legal framework for preventing and controlling the spread of disease and other public health hazards between countries.
Implementing the obligations under the IHR was a key part of New Zealand’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the IHR continue to serve countries well, COVID-19 has shown us that we can strengthen and modernise the IHR to ensure the regulations are fit for purpose in future. It is in all of our interests if the IHR are strengthened to further enhance countries’ early detection, assessment, responses to and reporting of potentially significant health events.
Working Group on Amendments to the International Health Regulations
At the 75th World Health Assembly in May 2022, governments agreed to establish the Working Group on the International Health Regulations (WGIHR) to develop a package of targeted amendments to the IHR. As a first step, the WHO Director-General asked Member States in 2022 to share their proposals on how the IHR could be strengthened, and these proposals would help inform the work of the WGIHR. These proposals were subsequently reviewed by an IHR Expert Review Committee, and negotiations are now underway in Geneva.
New Zealand leadership
The WGIHR’s work is facilitated by a leadership group called a ‘Bureau’, comprising Member States from all WHO regions. New Zealand has been selected as the Bureau Member for the Western Pacific Region. Former Director-General of Health, Sir Ashley Bloomfield, is co-chairing this negotiation alongside Dr Abdullah Asiri of Saudi Arabia.
New Zealand’s position
Along with other governments, New Zealand shared its proposals for targeted amendments to the IHR with the WHO Secretariat in September 2022. These are designed to make the IHR more fit for purpose, and included ways to improve notification, risk assessment and communication mechanisms between Member States and the WHO Secretariat.
New Zealand has given the WHO Secretariat permission to publish its submission online. You can find the submission, along with those of other Member States who have consented to the WHO publishing their proposals, at Working Group on Amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005) on the World Health Organization website.
More information on New Zealand’s submission of amendments to the International Health Regulations can be accessed at New Zealand Submission to the World Health Organization Working Group on Amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005) (PDF, 146 KB).
Thank God Bloomfield no longer has any influence in NZ. He is a monster. The new regime in NZ uses the National Interest Test to assess whether such global regulations are in our best interest, which they aren't. We have already ditched The Theraputics Products Bill that would have empowered the government to control the import and use off natural suppliments and non-bigPharma medications.
Who decides if the amendments were “legally passed”?