WHO Chief Asks Government to Change Its Stance on Pandemic Agreement

Bratislava, 19 May (TASR) - World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus asked Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) by telephone on Monday to take action so that the Slovak government will change its stance and not demand a vote on the pandemic agreement that is set to be held in the evening, TASR has learnt from Fico's post on a social network. The premier reiterated that the Slovak delegation is bound by the instructions of the Slovak government to demand a vote on the pandemic agreement. The prime minister expressed his astonishment that attempts have been made to avoid the basic democratic institution of voting. "If the vote takes place, the Slovak delegation is instructed not to support the pandemic agreement because it violates the principle of the sovereignty of member states and disproportionately interferes in the sphere of human rights," stated Fico. The 78th session of the World Health Assembly is taking place in Geneva, Switzerland, between 19-27 May. The text of the pandemic agreement to better prepare for and combat pandemics has been under negotiation for several years. Among other things, the draft affirms the sovereignty of countries to address public-health issues within their own borders. The WHO chief on Monday called on member states to adopt the pandemic agreement during the WHO General Assembly in Geneva, which aims to prevent a repeat of the crisis that the world experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Fico said on Saturday (17 May) that the government had decided that Slovakia should not support the so-called pandemic agreement and that it should be put to a vote instead of being adopted by global consensus. The pandemic agreement, he said, is harmful to sovereign countries. am/df