US rejects UN pandemic preparedness declaration

What the United States rejected

The Trump administration rejected a nonbinding United Nations declaration pledging international cooperation to improve pandemic preparedness and prevention.

The declaration was a shared policy statement, not a binding legal agreement. Rejecting it means the United States did not endorse the UN declaration, but the decision did not involve withdrawing from a treaty or refusing a legal obligation created by the statement.

The declaration addressed three connected areas: preventing pandemics, preparing for future outbreaks and coordinating across countries. The stated US action applied to the declaration containing those commitments. The specific portions that prompted the US and EU objections were not identified.

The CDC’s role at the UN meeting

Erica Schwartz, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, spoke Friday at a high-level United Nations meeting focused on pandemic preparedness. Her speech placed the administration’s position before officials gathered to discuss the international statement.

It also puts the administration alongside the European Union in objecting to portions of the text, although both participated in the broader UN meeting where pandemic preparedness was under discussion.

The next steps will depend on whether UN participants revise the declaration, issue additional language or move forward with the statement despite the objections. Further statements from the administration or the CDC could clarify which provisions led the United States to reject the declaration.