General Assembly adopts pandemic declaration by 153 votes to three, with the United States against

The General Assembly on Monday adopted a political declaration on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. The vote was 153 in favour to three against, with two abstentions. The three votes against came from Argentina, Israel and the United States. New Zealand and Paraguay abstained, according to UN News, the UN's own news service.

The text was meant to be approved by consensus at a high-level meeting on 25 September. UN News reports that objections from the United States and a few other States blocked that, and the issue went back to the Assembly for a vote.

The declaration is political and non-binding. UN News says it calls for stronger national, regional and international cooperation, guided by science, equity and respect for human rights. It also welcomes last year's adoption of the World Health Organization (WHO) Pandemic Agreement.

UN News says the US representative had previously cited “divisive ideologies that lack definitional consensus” as well as the declaration's references to the continuing annex negotiations. The source items do not give the reasons Argentina or Israel voted no. They also do not say why New Zealand and Paraguay abstained.

Chile's representative gave what UN News called one prevailing view. He said that “no country, no matter how big it might be or how prepared it might be, can alone address a threat that knows no borders.”

The annex dispute sits behind the vote. The WHO Pandemic Agreement cannot be opened for signature until Member States complete an annex on pathogen access and benefit-sharing. This is the system by which countries would share samples and genetic data. Those that do so would receive a share of any resulting vaccines, treatments and diagnostics. UN News reports that talks have stalled amid a standoff between developing countries and some high-income European nations together with the United States. The World Health Assembly, which comprises the WHO's 194 members, is due to return to the annex next May.

The WHO chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, responded to the adoption. He said: “WHO welcomes this strong commitment by UN Member States to continue working together on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.” He urged countries to fulfil their commitments, “especially to finalize negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system (PABS) annex”. The WHO is a UN agency, and UN News is the UN reporting on its own bodies.

The 193-member Assembly had other items on its agenda on Monday. They included draft resolutions on the UN Declaration on Sea Level Rise and on a political declaration marking the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the anti-racism Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. The source does not report the outcome of those items.

On the same day, the WHO launched a five-year strategy for its Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence. The goal is to detect emerging health threats within 24 hours.