Scholarship@WashULaw

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2021

Publication Title

Washington University Global Studies Law Review

Abstract

This Essay explores possible reforms to the World Health Organization (WHO) considering its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also suggests using existing mechanisms to enforce the WHO Constitution and the International Health Regulations (IHR). The Essay focuses on three aspects of global health governance: (1) how nationalism of powerful States renders pandemic control difficult given the “weakest-link public goods” character of global health emergencies; (2) how legal and practice reforms might nonetheless strengthen and fortify the WHO’s response; and (3) how existing provisions of the WHO Constitution and the IHR might be enforced through the dispute resolution clauses in these instruments using principles of State Responsibility. Though successive reforms have been proposed to the WHO in response to previous health crises, growing nationalism in the United States and China has impeded their implementation. International law and existing provisions of the WHO Constitution and the IHR offer some relief, but face obstacles in their effective enforcement. Paradoxically, meaningful reform may be both desirable and yet difficult to achieve in the current geopolitical context, even with the election of a committed multilateralist U.S. President. Until that changes, States will need to use existing legal frameworks creatively, including formal dispute settlement provisions as well as informal pathways to invigorate treaty provisions and hold each other to account. Civil society organizations, including networks of health professionals and scientists, will also need to continue to press international organizations and national systems to adhere to global norms. This Essay is part of a comprehensive project studying the global response to COVID-19.

Keywords

Vaccine Nationalism, Nationalism, Pandemic, World Health Organization (WHO), International Law, WHO Constitution, International Dispute Resolution, Global Governance, International Health Law, COVID-19

Publication Citation

Leila Nadya Sadat, Pandemic Nationalism, COVID-19, and International Law, 20 Wash. U. Global Stud. L. Rev. 561 (2021)

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