Europe is trying to further isolate Russia by pressuring the European director of the World Health Organization to consider relocating a key office away from Moscow.
The 53-country WHO European area, which includes Ukraine, Russia, and the whole EU, will meet Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss a resolution condemning Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian health institutions, which might result in a WHO exodus from Moscow.
The resolution, if passed, would compel the WHO to take a stronger political stance on the conflict. The WHO has been criticized in the past for explicitly apolitical attitudes, such as its hesitancy in publicly criticising China in the early stages of the outbreak.
It comes as high-level officials visited Ukraine over the weekend, including WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Mike Ryan, the head of the WHO’s emergency programme, stated during the visit that the WHO was still documenting attacks on health-care institutions.
“Intentional attacks on health facilities are a violation of international humanitarian law and as such, based on the investigation and attribution of the attack, represent war crimes in any situation,” he stated.
Ryan further said that while the WHO documented and validated the attacks, it was up to authorities like the International Criminal Court to look into the criminal aspects.
A strongly worded resolution will be considered at the meeting of WHO members, which was proposed on April 28 by 43 nations, including the 27 EU countries. According to the framework agreement, the Russian Federation must “ensure respect for international humanitarian law, including the protection of all medical and humanitarian personnel engaged exclusively in medical functions, their means of transport and equipment, as well as hospitals and other medical facilities.”
It also asks the WHO Regional Director for Europe, Hans Kluge, to explore options “to safeguard the cooperation and technical assistance provided by the WHO European Office for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases, including the possible relocation of the said office in an area outside the Russian Federation.”
Going further, the resolution asks Kluge to “consider temporarily suspending all regional meetings in the Russian Federation.” The suspension of meetings in the region would be in effect until there is a peaceful resolution of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
Decisions at the WHO are typically reached by consensus, and a letter published by the WHO before of the meeting states that this should be the case “to the degree practicable.” If no agreement can be achieved, voting is allowed.
The health and humanitarian crises in Ukraine have reached “proportions not seen in Europe since World War II,” according to the European Alliance of Public Health. of Public Health in comments to POLITICO. According to the alliance, this has ramifications across the area, notably in Russia. As a result, EPHA demands a “immediate cessation to all military aggression and a transition to peaceful negotiations.”
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