The United Nations Security Council and Global Health Threats

Abstract

Abstract covid-19 has prompted a range of new suggestions to reform the existing international system. One recommendation garnering political support has been to create a new Global Health Threats Council, comprised of heads of state, to facilitate sustained political commitment and investment in pandemic preparedness and response. A question that currently remains unanswered, however, is how and where this new body aligns to existing governance arrangements. Some observers have suggested the new body should report the United Nations Security Council on the basis it is charged with maintaining international peace and security. This paper evaluates the UN Security Council’s engagement with health crises over recent decades to consider the legal, political, and practical feasibility of the body assuming a larger role in responding to future disease events, and the appropriateness of the proposed Global Health Threats Council falling under the authority of the UN’s principal organ for international security.