“WHO Pact undermines Swiss sovereignty”

Parliamentary interpellation by National Councillor Franz Grüter

(25 October 2023) (sv) The “WHO International Health Regulations” (IHR) are currently being revised with the exclusion of the Swiss Parliament and the public and are to be adopted by the “World Health Assembly” in May 2024. A Swiss negotiating delegation is also involved.

Whereas the IHR previously contained WHO recommendations, they are now to become binding – the self-determination of all 194 WHO member states would thus be abolished in the fight against diseases. Protests against the danger of granting the WHO supranational powers are growing worldwide.

On the government side, the protection of the population against infectious diseases is the task of the “Federal Office of Public Health” (FOPH), a division of the Department of the Interior under Federal Councillor Alain Berset. There is close international cooperation, regulated by the current IHR (2005). At the time, the Federal Council approved these without reservation. The “Epidemics Act”, revised in 2016, takes the IHR into account and regulates its implementation in Switzerland.

The Swiss National Councillor Franz Grüter submitted a parliamentary interpellation on 18 September 2023. With crucial questions, he demands information from the Federal Council on this important matter.

Submitted text:

The planned “WHO Pact” (International Health Regulations [IHR]) has far-reaching consequences for Switzerland. Since December 2022, around 300 proposed amendments have been submitted to the WHO from 96 member states. These proposed amendments are of particular importance for a direct democracy like Switzerland. It is a matter of ensuring that the cantons and the electorate, as the supreme sovereign, are not simply undermined with reference to international regulations.

For this reason, I kindly request the Federal Council to answer the following questions:

• What has the Federal Council done in the negotiations to ensure effective protection of fundamental rights under the IHR?
• What control and safeguard mechanism are envisaged to ensure that fundamental rights in Switzerland are also effectively protected in times of pandemics?
• What independent checks and balances mechanism is envisaged in the IHR to ensure that the justification for pandemic emergency law can be reviewed as quickly as possible or on a regular basis?
• How does the Federal Council ensure that unjustified pandemic and emergency regimes can be ended as quickly as possible and that they do not damage our country for longer than is absolutely necessary?
• What independent control and checks and balances mechanism is envisaged in the IHR so that WHO recommendations and directives are reviewed as quickly as possible or regularly regarding their cost/benefit ratio?
• How does the Federal Council ensure that unnecessary, unsafe, or harmful WHO recommendations or directives can be terminated quickly?
• Does the Federal Council intend to work towards an “after-action review” of the WHO and an independent, critical, and timely review of the key issues for improving its pandemic management (such as unjustified lockdown and access restrictions for the entire country; isolation for hundreds of thousands of healthy citizens; vaccination recommendations and vaccination pressure for the entire healthy population)?
• How dangerous was Covid-19 really, i.e.: How many people have died predominantly due to SARS-CoV-2 (without first illness according to WHO guidelines) or were hospitalised for this very reason (not for any other reasons)?

Source: https://www.parlament.ch/de/ratsbetrieb/suche-curia-vista/geschaeft?AffairId=20234012

(Translation “Swiss Standpoint”)