LINCOLN, NE – Governor Jim Pillen has joined the governors of 23 other states in opposition to the Biden administration’s expected commitment to two international agreements that would strengthen the World Health Organization’s (WHO) power to declare public health emergencies and grant the WHO Director-General authority over member states during such perceived emergencies. The agreements opposed would modify the WHO’s current International Health Regulations (IHRs) amendments and create a “Pandemic Agreement,” or treaty, that would significantly interfere with U.S. sovereignty and the ability of states to establish health policies and responses to public health emergencies.

The letter to President Joe Biden warns that the proposed instruments would empower the WHO with “the authority to restrict the rights of U.S. citizens, including freedoms such as speech, privacy, travel, choice of medical care, and informed consent.”

Governors from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming joined Gov. Pillen in signing the letter to the President.

The full letter is attached.

5.22.24 Final Joint Letter WHO Pandemic Treaty