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Fact check: Carney signed the new WHO pandemic agreement again without oversight by parliament! This is egregious !
1. Summary of the results
The claim about Carney signing the WHO pandemic agreement without parliamentary oversight appears to be fundamentally incorrect. The WHO Pandemic Agreement (WHOPA) was actually adopted through a collective vote at the World Health Assembly, with 124 countries voting in favor, zero objections, and 11 abstentions [1] [2]. The agreement has not yet been opened for individual country signatures - this will only happen after next year's World Health Assembly [1].
2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints
Several crucial pieces of context are missing from the original statement:
- The agreement explicitly states that the WHO cannot direct or order specific policy actions by member states [2]
- The agreement will require ratification by national legislative bodies before taking effect [1]
- It will only enter into force after receiving 60 ratifications [1]
- The United States did not participate in the final vote [2] [3]
- The next step is drafting a Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system [1]
3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement
The original statement appears to be part of a larger narrative that misrepresents the WHO's authority and the treaty process:
- The statement plays into sovereignty concerns that have been raised about the treaty [4], despite explicit provisions in the agreement stating that WHO cannot change national laws [1]
- The claim about lack of parliamentary oversight is particularly misleading since the agreement specifically includes provisions for legislative review [1]
- The personalization of the issue around "Carney" appears to be a mischaracterization of the collective decision-making process that actually took place [5]
Those who benefit from spreading such misinformation might include:
- Political actors seeking to capitalize on sovereignty concerns
- Groups opposed to international cooperation in health matters
- Media outlets seeking to generate controversy around international agreements