The World Health Organization's proposed new pandemic preparedness and response treaty has sparked debate and concern among citizens and legislators alike. Despite a petition with over 156,000 signatures urging the UK government not to sign any international treaty proposed by the WHO without a public referendum, talks on the treaty continue.

The proposed treaty would give the WHO significant authority over defining a pandemic, how it interacts with existing regulations, and key international principles that will guide the treaty. This concerning trend raises serious issues about the future of democracy and individual liberty. Citizens must remain vigilant and hold their governments accountable to ensure that a supranational body such as the WHO does not undermine their rights and liberties.

The WHO's proposed post-pandemic treaty is an unprecedented power grab that threatens our fundamental principles of freedom and personal responsibility. It would empower the WHO to declare global health emergencies, compel countries to share information and resources and establish new layers of international bureaucracy that could be used to circumvent national sovereignty and democratic institutions.

However, the dangers of this treaty do not stop there. It would also give the WHO significant authority over what constitutes "disinformation" and what constitutes "settled science." The scientific method does not work like this. Open inquiry, debate, and empirical evidence are the foundations of scientific discovery. It is not based on the views of a handful of unelected bureaucrats.

Scientific inquiry should be open and transparent, and the best way to discover the truth is through free and open debate in which all ideas are scrutinised and critiqued. This is how we advance and broaden our understanding of the world.

However, the post-pandemic treaty would empower the WHO to silence dissenting voices and label them as "disinformation." This is intolerable. We cannot allow unelected bureaucrats to determine what constitutes "settled science." This is a clear violation of our freedom and individual liberty principles. Andrew Bridgen (MP) raised serious concerns about the World Health Organization's proposed post-pandemic treaty and its potential to infringe on individual rights and democratic accountability in a recent tense exchange with Penny Mordaunt.

Instead of addressing Bridgen's legitimate concerns, Mordaunt used the occasion to attack his character, accusing him of promoting "outrageous conspiracy theories" on social media and in Parliament. Mordaunt is clearly more interested in playing politics and belittling her colleague than in engaging in a serious discussion about the implications of the proposed treaty. It's yet another instance of politicians putting their own interests ahead of that of the public.

The WHO's toxic and illiberal post-pandemic treaty is a clear threat to our fundamental principles of liberty and personal responsibility. It would grant unelected bureaucrats unprecedented authority to declare global health emergencies, compel countries to share information and resources, and determine what is and isn't "settled science."

This is not how science works, and it is not how a free and open society should operate. As libertarians, we must oppose this treaty and fight for our libertarian principles of liberty, personal responsibility, and open inquiry.