The Deadline for PABS Submissions is August 10, 2025

The negotiations for the Pandemic Treaty are ongoing. It is highly likely that your representatives do not have a clue. They are certainly NOT seeking your input. Wake them up and demand answers!

James Roguski

Aug 04, 2025

Sabelo says it all, very clearly:

COMING SOON:

https://apps.who.int/gb/igwg/e/e_igwg2-initial-text-proposals.html

If you live in the United States and think that these negotiations do not concern you, think again.

While the United States government is not directly participating in these negotiations, over 400 “relevant stakeholders” are participating and ultimately the PABS System, if adopted, will involve the entire global Pharmaceutical Hospital Emergency Industrial Complex.

For people in the United States, I advise that you do NOT send the letter below to Congress. Instead, share this article far and wide, especially with everyone you know who resides in the many nations around the world to alert them to take immediate action regarding these negotiations.

Download the letter HERE

or simply copy the text below, edit it as you see fit and then send it to your government representatives.

[Your Name / Organisation]
[Your Address]
[Email / Contact Info]
[Date]

To:
Honourable Members of Parliament
[Country]

RE: Urgent Parliamentary Intervention on WHO Pandemic Agreement and PABS Annex — Demand Full Disclosure and Emergency Sittings – 10 August 2025 Deadline

Dear Honourable Member

I write to you at this critical juncture to register grave concern over the ongoing process of the WHO Pandemic Agreement and its related Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) Annex, which is being negotiated under the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) as mandated by Resolution WHA78.1 (2025).

You are no doubt aware that all WHO Member States have been called upon to submit their initial proposals for the PABS Annex by 10 August 2025. This Annex, described in Article 12 of the Agreement, has far-reaching implications for national sovereignty, access to health resources, the regulation of traditional and naturopathic medicine, and the equitable use of Afrika’s biological heritage.

This annex will have profound implications for Afrikan sovereignty, the future of traditional and naturopathic medicine, bio-surveillance, and the distribution of health-related benefits arising from pathogen sharing.

Yet this critical process is taking place:

Without public knowledge of what our executive intends to submit,
Without parliamentary debate, and
Without any public participation, despite the far-reaching nature of the agreement.

We therefore urgently call on Parliament to:

Demand immediate public disclosure by the Executive of:
- The text proposal that the country intends to submit (or has already submitted) to the WHO by the 10 August 2025 deadline; and
- Any draft positions or negotiating instructions communicated to the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG).

Convene emergency parliamentary sittings before 10 August 2025 to:
- Deliberate on the content and implications of the national proposal;
- Consult the public and stakeholders, including traditional health practitioners and civil society;

Coordinate with regional and continental peers, including through the Pan-African Parliament and national legislatures, to advance a unified Afrikan position that safeguards our sovereignty, dignity, and right to self-determined public health policies.

The Time for Parliament to Act Is Now

Honourable Members, this process is moving ahead without parliamentary scrutiny, in violation of democratic norms and, in many countries, constitutional provisions that require public consultation on international agreements.

The 10 August 2025 submission deadline is imminent. Parliament must act now to avoid being presented with a fait accompli. Afrikan countries cannot afford to enter binding international obligations negotiated behind closed doors and absent the voices of our people.

I (We) therefore call upon Parliament, as the voted representatives and supposed voice of the people, to act without delay to:

Demand from the Executive full and immediate public disclosure of:
- What it has already submitted to the WHO (if anything), or intends to submit before 10 August 2025;
- Any draft positions or negotiating instructions communicated to the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG).
- The content, basis, and authority of any proposed text or position;
- Disclosure of the identities of the state negotiators, their expertise and criteria used to select them to represent the nation;
- Any prior consultations or instructions provided to state negotiators;
- Disclosure of the identities and expertise of the people who have been consulted or instructing the state negotiators;

Convene emergency parliamentary sittings or committee sessions before the 10 August deadline to:
- Consider and debate the national position;
- Hear from traditional and naturopathic health practitioners, scientists, civil society, and communities whose rights and knowledge systems are directly affected;
- Determine whether the proposed position aligns with the country’s constitutional values, sovereignty, and the will of the people.
- Adopt a resolution reflecting the will of the people on whether to support, amend, or reject the proposed position.

3. Affirm Parliament’s oversight and constitutional authority over all treaty-making and international commitments, including the WHO Pandemic Agreement and any related financial or regulatory mechanisms described in Article 18.

Establish a parliamentary oversight mechanism over the country’s engagement with the WHO Pandemic Agreement, including any future decisions on ratification, implementation, or amendments.

Take initiative in mobilising continental cooperation, through national legislatures, regional bodies, and the Pan-African Parliament, to resist any imposition of global health governance frameworks that undermine Afrika’s agency, Indigenous knowledge systems, and our right to self-determined development.

Coordinate with regional and continental peers, including through the Pan-African Parliament and national legislatures, to advance a unified Afrikan position that safeguards our sovereignty, dignity, and right to self-determined public health policies.

Afrika Cannot Afford Silent Legislatures

Parliaments across Afrika have a constitutional and moral duty to prevent our countries from entering binding international frameworks negotiated in executive backrooms, without the people’s mandate and outside of democratic processes.

This moment requires principled leadership. It requires vigilance. And it requires action.

Given the urgency of the 10 August deadline, we respectfully request an urgent public response and commitment to these demands.

Let it not be said that when sovereignty was up for negotiation, Parliament kept silent.

Yours in principled solidarity and defence of the people,

[Your Name / Organisation / Constituency]
[Contact Details]

THE PANDEMIC AGREEMENT

Below is the decision made by the 78th World Health Assembly to adopt the “Pandemic Agreement”

https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA78/A78_10Add1-en.pdf

Below is the “Pandemic Agreement” that was adopted by the 78th World Health Assembly. The “Pandemic Agreement” cannot be signed by any nation until the “PABS instrument” that is mentioned in Article 12 has been negotiated and successfully adopted by the World Health Assembly.

https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA78/A78_10-en.pdf

DOWNLOAD THE “PANDEMIC AGREEMENT” AND READ THE ENTIRE DOCUMENT, BUT BE SURE TO READ ARTICLE 12 REGARDING THE PATHOGEN ACCESS AND BENEFIT SHARING (PABS) SYSTEM

Article 12 Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing System
1. Recognizing the sovereign right of States over their biological resources and the importance of collective action to mitigate public health risks, and underscoring the importance of promoting the rapid and timely sharing of “materials and sequence information on pathogens with pandemic potential” (hereinafter “PABS Materials and Sequence Information”) and, on an equal footing, the rapid, timely, fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the sharing and/or utilization of PABS Materials and Sequence Information for public health purposes, the Parties hereby establish a multilateral system for safe, transparent, and accountable access and benefit-sharing for PABS Materials and Sequence Information, the “WHO Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing System” (hereinafter the “PABS System”), to be developed pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Article.
2. The provisions governing the PABS System, including definitions of pathogens with pandemic potential and PABS Materials and Sequence Information, modalities, legal nature, terms and conditions, and operational dimensions, shall be developed and agreed in an instrument in accordance with Chapter III (hereinafter the “PABS Instrument”) as an annex.
The PABS Instrument shall also define the terms for the administration and coordination of the PABS System by the World Health Organization. For the purposes of the coordination and operation of the PABS System, the World Health Organization shall collaborate with relevant international organizations and relevant stakeholders. All elements of the PABS System shall come into operation simultaneously in accordance with the terms of the PABS Instrument.
3. Taking into account the differences in the use of PABS Materials and Sequence Information, the development of a safe, accountable and transparent PABS System shall address traceability measures and open access to data.
4. Having regard to Article 4.4 of the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits arising from their utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity (hereinafter the “Nagoya Protocol”), the PABS Instrument shall be consistent with, and not run counter to, the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol, recognising that nothing in this paragraph creates obligations under these instruments for non-Parties thereto.
5. The PABS Instrument referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, shall contain provisions regarding, inter alia, the following:
(a) the rapid and timely sharing of PABS Materials and Sequence Information and, on an equal footing, the rapid, timely, fair and equitable sharing of benefits, both monetary and non-monetary, including annual monetary contributions, vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics arising from the sharing and/or utilization of PABS Materials and Sequence Information for public health purposes;
(b) modalities, terms and conditions on access and benefit sharing that provide legal certainty;
(c) implementation in a manner to strengthen, facilitate and accelerate research and innovation, as well as the fair and equitable sharing and distribution of benefits;
(d) development and implementation in a manner:
(i) complementary to, and not duplicative of, the access and benefit sharing measures and obligations of the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework and other relevant international access and benefit sharing instruments, where applicable; and
(ii) to ensure that each Party reviews and, as it deems appropriate, aligns its national and/or regional access and benefit sharing measures applicable to PABS Materials and Sequence Information within the scope of the PABS Instrument, so that measures that are contrary to, or inconsistent with, or duplicative of, the PABS Instrument will not be applied upon entry into operation of all elements of the PABS System.
(e) implementation consistent with applicable international law and with applicable national and/or domestic law, regulations and standards related to risk assessment, biosafety, biosecurity and export control of pathogens, and data protection; and
(f) implementation in a manner to facilitate the manufacture and export of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics for pathogens covered by the PABS Instrument.
6. The PABS System, as set out in the Annex referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, shall provide, inter alia, that in the event of a pandemic emergency, as determined in accordance with Article 12 of the International Health Regulations (2005):
(a) each participating manufacturer shall make available to the World Health Organization, pursuant to legally binding contracts signed with the World Health Organization, rapid access targeting 20% of their real time production of safe, quality and effective vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics for the pathogen causing the pandemic emergency, provided that a minimum threshold of 10% of their real time production is made available to the World Health Organization as a donation, and the remaining percentage, with flexibility based on the nature and capacity of each participating manufacturer, is reserved at affordable prices to the World Health Organization; and
(b) the distribution of these vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics shall be on the basis of public health risk and need, with particular attention to the needs of developing countries, and the Global Supply Chain and Logistics Network referred to in Article 13 may be used to this end.
7. The PABS Instrument shall also include benefit sharing provisions, in the event of a public health emergency of international concern as determined in accordance with Article 12 of the International Health Regulations (2005), including options regarding access to safe, quality and effective vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics for the pathogen causing the public health emergency of international concern, pursuant to legally binding contracts signed by participating manufacturers with the World Health Organization.
8. The PABS Instrument shall also include additional benefit sharing provisions to be set out in legally binding contracts signed with the World Health Organization, including options for:
(a) Capacity-building and technical assistance;
(b) research and development cooperation;
(c) facilitating rapid access to available vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics with a view to responding to public health risks and events in the context of Article 13.3 of the International Health Regulations (2005);
(d) the granting of non-exclusive licences to manufacturers in developing countries, for the effective production and delivery of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics; and
(e) other forms of transfer of technology as mutually agreed, including transfer of relevant knowledge, skills and technical expertise.
9. This Article is without prejudice to consideration of other elements for the effective operationalization of the PABS System in a fair, transparent, accountable and equitable manner.
https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA78/A78_10-en.pdf

Below is a link to the information provided by the InterGovernmental Working Group (IGWG or IggWigg) that is negotiating the details of the “Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing System Instrument”:

https://apps.who.int/gb/IGWG/

The Timeline and Deliverables for the ongoing PABS IGWG negotiations are below:

https://apps.who.int/gb/IGWG/pdf_files/IGWG1/A_IGWG1_3Rev1-en.pdf