The United States, as a member in the United Nations, is out of step with the majority of the nation states. Our country has voted against the adoption of the U.N. Declaration on Preparing for Future Pandemics. The preamble to this Declaration calls for “cooperation, global solidarity and multilateral commitment among Member States … to implement coherent rapid and robust actions driven by science and the need to prioritize equity and the respect for human rights.” It goes on, saying that the world needs to strengthen its capacities to mitigate the impact of future pandemics.
Dr. Erica Schwartz, the new director of the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said at the U.N. session considering the Declaration, that the document “included divisive ideologies that lack definitional consensus,” adding that “the United States is not in a position to support this text in full.” At a U.N. meeting last year, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered the message that the U.S. would not sign the declaration, saying that the U.N. was exceeding its “proper role” and that it promoted abortion and “radical gender ideology.”
It seems that it is within the role of the U.N., and hardly a “divisive” or “radical” ideology, for the U.N. to seek science-driven action and to include an effort to “Mainstream gender equality into all policies and programmes … and commit to strengthening women’s full, equal, and meaningful participation in leadership and decision-making at all levels of pandemic prevention, preparedness and response and other health emergency governance.”
As a democratic society, the U.S. should be a leader in this aspiration of the U.N. rather than being a naysayer. By voting against Preparing for Future Pandemics, the U.S. has opted out of its responsibility to join with other U.N. member states to “Reaffirm the right of every human being … to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and with full respect for their dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
The New York Times has reported, “The declaration, the product of a high-level U.N. meeting on pandemic preparedness, is largely ceremonial. … But its universal endorsement would have signaled a powerful expression of global political commitment to the issue.” Pandemics are a threat to all people: women and men, young and elder, of all ethnicities and nationalities. The U.S.’s lack of support for Preparing for Future Pandemics, weakens the world-wide communal commitment necessary to overcome any future contagion.
The U.S. non-cooperation with other nations united against pandemics and advocating for universal healthcare, signals a self-serving attitude and a shirking of its obligations to cooperate with its neighbors. It is irresponsible to disrespect neighbors’ dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms. Also, it is inconsistent with the values and goals of the U.S. Constitution.
The Declaration on Preparation for Future Pandemics will be considered at a future meeting of the U.N. General Assembly. It is of major importance that the U.S. change its vote and join with its neighbor nations to vote in favor of adopting the Declaration. The vote will not only commit the U.S. to uniting with others against any future pandemic but also will ascent to the U.N. statement that “the health of people is interconnected with animal health and the environment, that is coherent, integrated, coordinated and collaborative …”
If the U.S. decides to act alone by refusing to vote in favor of the U.N Declaration, it will fail in so many ways, including neglecting the wellbeing of its own citizens and environmental health. Also, a negative vote by the U.S. will put into jeopardy the health of the people of all nations of the world. Preparing for pandemics and providing for a healthy population living in a healthy environment are the purview of all nations united in action. The United States may continue to be a part of the problem or we may become a part of the solution.
John Buttrick writes from his Vermont Folk Rocker in his Concord home, Minds Crossing.