The World Health Organisation’s draft pandemic preparedness treaty is not currently acceptable to the Government, a health minister has said.
Andrew Stephenson told Parliament the Government is “firmly fighting in Britain’s interest”, adding that the WHO must “fully respect national sovereignty” in any treaty which comes forward as a result of negotiations.
But MPs have called on the Government to allow Parliament to review and vote on the treaty before the UK becomes a signatory.
The WHO has proposed a convention, agreement or other international instrument on pandemic preparedness and response, intended to “ensure communities, governments, and all sectors of society – within countries and globally – are better prepared and protected”.
The organisation’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Body will compile a draft of the accord and will submit its outcome to the 77th World Health Assembly later this month.
Facing questions in the House of Commons, Mr Stephenson said: “The current text is not acceptable to us, therefore unless the current text is changed and refined, we will not be signing up.”
