The left loves to call any person or policy they disagree with a “threat to democracy.” Put aside the fact the United States is not a democracy but a constitutional and federal republic. The biggest threats to our form of government — and one being pushed by the Biden administration and largely ignored by Congress — are the upcoming votes on two World Health Organization (WHO) instruments that violate our representative system.

Each element of our constitutional system is at risk if the White House and Congress fail to stop the WHO's global governance scheme.

The instruments under consideration by the WHO are amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) and the concurrent Pandemic Treaty, both of which will be voted on by the World Health Assembly (made up of the 196 member states) in less than two months. The purpose of these documents is to give the WHO director-general the sole ability not only to declare public health emergencies of international concern (PHEIC) but to mandate for every nation the global response such as lockdowns, travel restrictions, mandatory testing and vaccinations, and border closures. In addition, nations will be forced to spend billions of dollars to implement this global governance framework based on the principle of “equity.”

First, this is a threat to our constitutional republic because it removes the people’s elected representatives from their decision-making roles. Our elected officials on the local, state, and federal level will no longer control when and what is considered a public health emergency or what the government response will be.

The director general will have the sole authority to make declarations not only for actual pandemics but for any issue that has the potential to affect global health. Think climate change, gun violence, food security, abortion laws, rules for transgender medical interventions, and any other so-called threat to public health. The WHO has already weighed in on the “global health risks” tied to each of these hot-button political issues. There will be no ability for citizens to vote for or against the decision-makers, undermining the very concept of representative democracy.

In addition, these documents are a threat to the constitutional protections we now enjoy. The establishment of a global surveillance state by the WHO threatens the basic privacy rights of all Americans while the requirement in these accords for nations to “combat false, misleading, misinformation or disinformation” could easily violate our First Amendment freedom of speech. Each nation will be required to share intellectual property for use by other countries, decimating our unique American patent rights. Our constitutional protections will be undermined if the WHO gets its way.

Finally, under our federal system, the regulation of health care is under the purview of the states, including regulating the licensure of doctors, pharmacies, and hospitals and determining what vaccinations are required for school attendance. We experienced this clearly during the Covid crisis, when state and local leaders had, for the most part, the ability to decide when and how businesses and schools would reopen. Under the Pandemic Treaty and accompanying IHR amendments, this authority will be stripped from the states and given to an international organization in clear violation of the 10th Amendment to the Constitution.

To add insult to the very real injury about to befall us is the fact that the White House plans to sign onto the Pandemic Treaty and IHR amendments by “executive agreement” rather than submit them to the Senate for its constitutionally mandated advice and consent. And the U.S. Senate appears willing to accept this usurpation of their power. Last March, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., offered an amendment to require a Senate vote on the Pandemic Treaty, but it failed to gain even one Democrat vote. This dereliction of duty on behalf of the Senate should not be excused.

Is there a “threat to democracy” facing our country today? Yes, indeed. It is the threat to our very constitutional republic by the World Health Organization via its proposed Pandemic Treaties and the refusal of the administration and Senate to do anything to stop it. This threat is not rhetorical but very real. And we, as Americans, must unite against it.

This article was originally published at Eagle Forum.