China News Service, July 8 (Xinhua) According to foreign media reports, several US media quoted US government officials as saying that the US government has officially notified the United Nations on the 6th and decided to withdraw from the World Health Organization. A spokesman for UN Secretary General Guterres also confirmed the news on the 7th.
Since the beginning of this year, US President Trump has continued to "problem" to the WHO and has been criticized by many parties. This latest decision also attracted dissatisfaction, and some officials said that this will make the US epidemic response "fall into isolation." Biden, the US Democratic presidential candidate, even said that if he wins the November election, the United States will rejoin the WHO.
Data Map: US President Trump.
Notice to withdraw from the group, the US side decided to take effect in 2021
The United Nations Secretary-General’s spokesperson Diyarik said, “On July 6, 2020, the United States notified the Secretary-General that as the depositary of the 1946 Constitution of the World Health Organization, the United States withdrew from World Health on July 6, 2021. organization."
The United Nations stated that the United States has been a party to the Constitution of the World Health Organization since June 21, 1948, and has also proposed certain conditions for its final withdrawal from WHO. The above conditions include one year's notice and full payment of the assessed financial obligations. The UN Secretary-General "is verifying with the WHO whether the US meets all the conditions for withdrawal."
The Associated Press said that the United States is the largest sponsor of WHO, providing more than 400 million US dollars to the organization every year. At present, the WHO's arrears of WHO dues are about US$200 million.
Elizabeth Cousins, chairman and chief executive of the United Nations Foundation, said the US government's move was "short-sighted, unnecessary, and very dangerous." She said that WHO is the only organization capable of leading and coordinating the global response to the new crown epidemic. The withdrawal of the United States will undermine global efforts to combat the new crown virus and "put everyone in danger."
Global Health Council President Pace said: "From health experts to national leaders and frontline heroes, thousands of people are saying'the world needs WHO'", "In this global pandemic, there is no A feasible alternative to WHO."
Data picture: Biden, the US Democratic presidential candidate. China News Agency reporter Chen Meng
Many criticisms, Biden said he wanted to "rejoin WHO"
Trump's move immediately attracted criticism within the United States.
Democrats in the US Congress called the decision "to abandon the role of the United States as a global leader." Speaker of the US House of Representatives Pelosi said Trump's move was "a truly unconscious act." Democrat Robert Menendez, vice chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that this would not protect the lives or interests of Americans and would isolate the US epidemic response.
US Democratic presidential candidate Biden wrote on his personal social media account on the 7th: "When the United States is committed to strengthening global health, Americans will be safer. On my first day as president, (United States) will rejoin the WHO ."
Screenshot of Biden's personal social media account of the US Democratic presidential candidate.
According to reports, although the Trump administration has submitted an application for withdrawal, the formal withdrawal of the United States will take a year. Some people say that if Trump loses in the US election in November, the decision may be reversed.
A UN official said on the 7th: "No matter what you do now, it can be reversed in the next year, because this is not the final result."
Has there been a clue? Trump's repeated attacks on WHO five times
As early as February of this year, the Trump administration intended to drastically reduce the funding provided by the United States to WHO. The White House’s federal government budget report for the fiscal year 2021 submitted to Congress shows that the United States will reduce the financial support provided to WHO in 2021 from the previous year’s $123 million to $58 million.
On April 14th, Trump announced that the United States suspended the payment of dues to the organization on the grounds that WHO failed to respond to the new crown epidemic. This decision attracted widespread opposition at home and abroad, including the European allies of the United States.
On May 18, Trump even “leashed” a letter to the WHO Director-General Tan Desai on social media, “threatening” if the organization is not committed to making “substantial” within the next 30 days. Improvement”, the United States will stop paying its dues and reconsider whether to stay in WHO.