Szalay: Rejection of IHR Revision Sasko's Concession to Kotlar, Slovakia Loses

Bratislava, 11 March (TASR) - The proposal to reject the updated International Health Regulations (IHR) is a political concession to disinformation peddlers that weakens Slovakia's position in the international health system, stated opposition MP Tomas Szalay (SaS) on Wednesday. Szalay warned that the Health Ministry's proposal that Slovakia should reject the 2024 revision of the International Health Regulations of the World Health Organization contradicts expert recommendations. He added that the regulations mainly concern mechanisms for cooperation between countries. The SaS party has therefore called on the health minister to reconsider the decision. "This is a clear concession to Peter Kotlar, the government's proxy for investigating COVID-19 pandemic management, as well as to disinformation peddlers and people who question scientific knowledge. Such a decision also weakens Slovakia's position in the international community," said Szalay. He underlined that the regulations mainly govern the exchange of epidemiological information between countries and coordination during health crises. "These rules bolster cooperation during pandemics so that countries can exchange information and receive material or technical assistance in time. They were created based on lessons learned from the COVID pandemic so that we can be better prepared in the future," he explained. Szalay noted that Health Minister Kamil Sasko has defended the proposal by referring to legal concerns about whether some provisions comply with the principle of sovereignty. However, the MP argued that these concerns are misleading. "Even if Slovakia joined these rules, they would first have to be approved in our national legislation. Nobody is imposing anything on us," he said. He also recalled that experts have been discussing the issue for months. "The International Health Regulations have been on the table for more than 18 months. The Health Ministry discussed them via the pandemic commission, whose meetings I personally attended. The vote among experts was clear — roughly 38 to 2 in favour of adopting the rules. Those in favour included doctors, academics and professors. Only the justice and culture ministries were against," said Szalay. According to Szalay, it is paradoxical that a minister who refers to expert opinions is submitting a proposal to the government that directly contradicts them. "If there are reservations about certain provisions, the solution isn't to reject the entire system. Slovakia can apply reservations to individual points whose meaning is unclear to us. That is a reasonable solution that would not deprive us of the benefits of international cooperation," he emphasised. mf/df