What Nations Owe Each Other Before the Next Pandemic

Think Global Health, July 13, 2022.
(2022). Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works. 2461.

6 Pages Posted: 11 Aug 2022

See all articles by Lawrence O. Gostin

Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown University - Law Center - O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law

Kevin A. Klock

Foundation for the National Institutes of Health; Georgetown University Law Center

Sam Halabi

O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law; Georgetown University - Georgetown University Medical Center

Katie Gottschalk

O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law

Katherine Ginsbach

Georgetown University - The O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law

Kashish Aneja

Georgetown University - The O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law

Date Written: July 13, 2022

Abstract

On December 1, 2021, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution establishing an Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) to determine the content and form of a new pandemic agreement. A portion of the public has advocated for a non-binding agreement while others stress that nationalism should be prevented, with steps taken to monitor and enforce national compliance. The INB has needed to grapple with how the principle of national sovereignty, and the accompanying principle of non-interference, will be addressed with respect to the agreement’s content and form, including obligations to share data, resources, and personnel, and to relinquish control over certain aspects of national coordination and response. To provide technical assistance to the World Health Organization (WHO), INB, and the public concerning this challenge, the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, a WHO Collaborating Center, and the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) convened leading authorities from every WHO region on international agreements in trade, regional integration, public health emergency preparedness, finance, biomedical science, climate change, maritime affairs, tobacco control, and human rights. Through a series of written, bilateral, and group discussions, we sought to provide the INB with a learned analysis of the stringency and stickiness of international commitments and the often nonobvious relationship between norm-setting and regime compliance to inform its dialogue. This paper is a condensed version of the outcomes of those discussions, which have utility for contemplating any new agreement under international law. The full report, National Sovereignty Implications of a Pandemic Instrument can be found at the O'Neil Institute website.

Keywords: Sovereignty; Treaty; International Law; World Health Organization; Pandemic Treaty; International Health Regulations; Convention on Biological Diversity; Vienna Convention; FCTC, PIP Framework, IFFIm, Global Health; Global Health Governance; COVID-19; Health Law and Policy

JEL Classification: K00, K32

Suggested Citation

Gostin, Lawrence O. and Klock, Kevin A. and Halabi, Sam and Gottschalk, Katie and Ginsbach, Katherine and Aneja, Kashish, What Nations Owe Each Other Before the Next Pandemic (July 13, 2022). Think Global Health, July 13, 2022.
(2022). Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works. 2461., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4184927

Lawrence O. Gostin (Contact Author)

Georgetown University - Law Center - O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law ( email )

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Kevin A. Klock

Foundation for the National Institutes of Health ( email )

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Sam Halabi

O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law ( email )

Washington, DC

Georgetown University - Georgetown University Medical Center ( email )

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Katie Gottschalk

O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law ( email )

Katherine Ginsbach

Georgetown University - The O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law ( email )

600 New Jersey Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
United States

Kashish Aneja

Georgetown University - The O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law ( email )

600 New Jersey Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
United States

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