[GA - DEFEATED] Reducing Natural Disease Reservoirs

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Reducing Natural Disease Reservoirs
Category: Health | Area of Effect: Healthcare
Proposed by: Barfleur | Onsite Topic


Whereas the spread of zoonotic diseases from non-sapient beings to sapient beings poses an extraordinary danger to public health and leaves persons in member nations at risk of death, maiming, and loss of mental faculties; and

Whereas such spread is made possible, in large part, by the existence of natural reservoirs of such diseases; and

Whereas this august body has on past occasions (see, e.g., GA#389, "Rights of the Quarantined" and GA#518, "Reducing Disease Vectors") acted to reduce the prevalence and effect of infectious diseases in areas subject to its control; and

Whereas eradication of harmful zoonotic diseases is fundamentally impossible without addressing the prevalence of such diseases in their natural reservoirs, as even a successful containment campaign among sapients would not preclude a later resurgence of a zoonotic disease: now, therefore,

The World Assembly, in this present session convened, hereby enacts as follows:
  1. In this Resolution:
    1. a "zoonotic disease" is a disease which is known to be transmitted from a non-sapient being to a sapient being and poses a substantial risk to the health or welfare of a sapient species, or of sapient populations as a whole; and
    2. a "natural reservoir" is any non-sapient being which is capable of carrying a zoonotic disease.
  2. Each member nation shall:
    1. conduct and keep current a survey of all populations of natural reservoir species in such nation and of all zoonotic diseases which have been recorded or observed in such nation, and share such survey with the World Health Authority (WHA);
    2. require all natural reservoirs kept for domestic or commercial purposes to be immunized against all relevant zoonotic diseases for which there exists an accessible immunization, and to be treated for any zoonotic disease which is found to be present in such a reservoir;
    3. effectively and conspicuously warn persons travelling to areas populated by natural reservoirs of the relative risk that the reservoirs present in such areas present for the transmission of zoonotic diseases;
    4. test all natural reservoirs which are imported to or exported from such nation for zoonotic diseases, and treat, deny entry to, or humanely destroy any reservoir found to be carrying any zoonotic disease;
    5. forbid persons infected with a zoonotic disease to live or work in close proximity to a natural reservoir which is capable of carrying that same zoonotic disease, unless the risk of such a person becoming a vector of transmission is at a de minimis level;
    6. impose regulations on the consumption for food of natural reservoirs, including the testing of such reservoirs for zoonotic diseases before sale or consumption, and a prohibition of the sale or consumption of any reservoir which tests positive for any zoonotic disease;
    7. test all persons entering such nation who have recently been present in an area populated by natural reservoirs for all zoonotic diseases which a person travelling to such area may reasonably have acquired and which are not endemic to the testing nation, and provide appropriate treatment to any person who tests positive for such a disease; and
    8. ensure that populations which rely on natural reservoirs for food or other purposes are not adversely impacted by the actions undertaken pursuant to this section, if doing so does not substantially jeopardize any such action or create a health risk beyond a de minimis level.

  3. Section 2(b) shall not apply in the case of a zoonotic disease in which the WHA has determined that the potential risk of creating more resistant, virulent, or harmful variants exceeds the benefit of reducing prevalence and transmission among natural reservoirs. In such a case, all other provisions of this Resolution shall apply.

  4. In the case of pathogen which causes a zoonotic disease and which is itself infected with a zoonotic disease, actions undertaken pursuant to section 2 shall prioritize the treatment and isolation of the zoonotic disease which is deemed by the WHA to pose the greater risk to sapient health and wellbeing. Determinations under this section shall be applied uniformly, when possible.

  5. The WHA shall:
    1. liaise with member nations and collect information on the location of natural reservoirs and the zoonotic diseases present in each member nation;
    2. provide technical assistance to nations in carrying out the mandates in section 2; and
    3. maintain a central database of all confirmed cases nonsapient-to-sapient transmission of zoonotic diseases in member nations, except that such database shall not be made publicly available and shall not contain any personally identifying information.
Note: Only votes from TNP WA nations and NPA personnel will be counted. If you do not meet these requirements, please add (non-WA) or something of that effect to your vote.
Voting Instructions:
  • Vote For if you want the Delegate to vote For the resolution.
  • Vote Against if you want the Delegate to vote Against the resolution.
  • Vote Abstain if you want the Delegate to abstain from voting on this resolution.
  • Vote Present if you are personally abstaining from this vote.
Detailed opinions with your vote are appreciated and encouraged!


ForAgainstAbstainPresent
11000
 
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IFV

Overview
This resolution seeks to identify, mitigate the spread of, and eventually eradicate zoonotic diseases or "disease which is known to be transmitted from a non-sapient being to a sapient being and poses a substantial risk to the health or welfare of a sapient species, or of sapient populations as a whole...". To do this, the resolution tasks member states to keep record of zoonotic diseases' "reservoir species" and to report those to the WA, along with several steps meant to reduce the spread of zoonotic diseases (including restrictions on the freedom of travel of infected individuals).

Recommendation
Our main issue with this resolution is that it is splitting hairs with two preceding resolutions: GA#389, "Rights of the Quarantined" and GA#518, "Reducing Disease Vectors". In particular, the differential with GA#518 is minor, largely with regards to carriers and not just transmitters. The move regarding vaccines for animal husbandry, while theoretically beneficial, is not commonly implemented on commercial grounds and the usual response (humane extermination) is usually adopted instead.

For the above reasons, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs recommends a vote Against the General Assembly Resolution at vote, "Reducing Natural Disease Reservoirs".

This IFV Recommendation was written in collaboration with our World Assembly Legislative League partners.

Our Voting Recommendation Dispatch--Please Upvote!

 
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Against

1. There is already a GA#320 “Infectious Disease Control” and other such resolutions dealing with diseases, so I see no need for a resolution that talks about zoonotic diseases.

2. The thing that threw me off the moment I saw this was the preamble. There must be the preambulatory phrase and then the rest of the sentence. “Whereas” does not count as a preambulatory phrase.
 
I think it doesn't really do anything over and above GA#320 (as mentioned above) plus GA#518 but I am open either way. Most common diseases in animal husbandry already have vaccines - at least those animals that live long enough to grow fat before being eaten, such as pigs. Chickens live for only 6-8 weeks before they get slaughtered anyway, and it's more practical to simply gas them all with carbon monoxide if an avian flu outbreak is found. The diseases that are jumping the specie barrier (say bats) tend to be either wild populations, or animals that are not frequently used as food in most countries (dogs or civets, not to say, as examples, minks in Denmark or hamsters in Hong Kong, both culled over Covid related fears).
 
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This proposal has received the requisite approvals to enter the formal queue. Barring it being withdrawn or marked illegal, it will proceed to a vote at Monday's Major Update.
 
"Reducing Natural Disease Reservoirs" was defeated 3,538 votes (22.7%) to 12,036 (77.3%).
 
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