Resisting the UN’s ‘Our Common Agenda’ and the Expansion of WHO Authority

This policy tip sheet examines how the United Nations’ “Our Common Agenda” initiative seeks to expand global governance, particularly by strengthening the authority of the World Health Organization. It explains that the agenda frames a wide range of issues—such as climate regulation, digital governance, global finance, migration, and public health—as challenges requiring centralized international solutions. Although described in terms of sustainability, equality, and collective security, the initiative would shift significant decision-making power from national governments to international bodies that are not directly accountable to citizens.

The document uses the World Health Organization as a primary example of this trend, detailing how the International Health Regulations already give the WHO substantial authority to declare health emergencies and influence national responses. These powers include the ability to prompt medical examinations, vaccination requirements for travelers, and quarantine measures. The tip sheet warns that the proposals within “Our Common Agenda” would go even further by creating new funding mechanisms, oversight boards, and evaluation systems that could pressure nations—particularly the United States—to conform their domestic health policies to international expectations.

Finally, the report argues that expanding WHO authority under the UN’s agenda poses significant risks to national sovereignty and democratic accountability. Permanent international funding structures and global emergency frameworks could allow unelected officials to shape domestic policy decisions traditionally made by elected representatives. The document concludes by urging policymakers to resist efforts that entrench global control and to ensure that any international cooperation remains subordinate to constitutional governance and national self-determination.

(Click here to read the full Policy Tip Sheet.)