The Pandemic Mitigation Project (the “Project”) advocates for the adoption of an international, legally binding Pandemic Non-Proliferation Agreement that would require countries to provide immediate notice of potential epidemic/pandemic events and grant immediate access to pre-vetted specialists to assist in identification, isolation and mitigation of the threat.
As an interim measure and proof of concept, a national commitment to a Pandemic Non-Proliferation Agreement could be achieved through Executive Order or other executive action in a particular country. Alternatively, blocs of trading partners/countries could adopt unilateral legislation to implement an informal multilateral agreement that would encourage compliance by trading partners. Either of these options would allow governments to take immediate steps to mitigate the next pandemic, free of the complexities and the time required for a much-needed comprehensive pandemic treaty. That larger effort will need considerable time and resources to accommodate complex national and international public health issues.
A Pandemic Non-Proliferation Agreement would have enforcement provisions -- expressed in the international legal instruments, national Executive Action, or unilateral legislation. At present, there is no comparable international health agreement, although unenforceable notification requirements are found in the International Health Regulations (2005) https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241580496
The scope of this effort is intentionally limited to three elements:
(1) notification;
(2) grant of access; and
(3) enforcement provisions to encourage compliance.
With effective notification and access, other elements of the global public health infrastructure, such as those provided by the World Health Organization, (WHO) and national health authorities, could be more successful with their remediation and mitigation efforts.
Historically, governments – alone -- negotiated international instruments to address uncontrollable hazards, such as those presented by nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. Those threats are the product of government initiatives, making their mitigation a government responsibility.
Naturally occurring pandemic threats are different. They are not the result of government initiative. Accordingly, the Project envisions that the private sector (e.g., airlines, aircraft manufacturers, travel and hospitality companies, health and casualty insurers) should have a role in advocating for an Agreement that would address the three elements above.
WHO has a singular role in international public health. The proposed concept-draft of a what might be contained in such a convention includes provisions that would rely on WHO for certain logistic, management and public health functions, while preserving neutrality of that organization with respect to the Convention itself. The Project anticipates that WHO would not have a role in consideration of, advocacy for, or enforcement of a convention as proposed. Those would be matters for a convention’s Signatory States.
On this site in the Documents page are:
(1) Pandemic Non-Proliferation Agreement Concept-Draft, to assist with discussion of the proposal (English and French);
(2) Argument for implementation of the proposed agreement (English) and Manifeste en vue d'une mise en exécution (French);
(3) by-laws or the “statuts” of the French non-governmental organization (French) and an English summary of same; and
(4) 'proof of concept' draft U.S. and Canadian legislation that would allow imposition of "pandemic risk-offset tariffs" on trading partners to encourage adoption of a minimum level of transparency through notification and grant of access.
For French version of proposal see also https://or www.icc-france.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/EI_119.pdf
Please use the contact link on this site to reach the Project to learn more about the initiative and how to become involved in support of this important effort.
The Project, “Pandemic Mitigation Project – L’initiative pour atténuer les pandémies”, is a non-governmental organization formed in France. It is a non-profit organization (French “association”) that does not solicit monetary contributions. The Project's European Union Transparency Register public identification number is 278847041584-96.
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