G20 Wants Worldwide Vaccination Passport (Worthy News In-Depth)

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

NUSA DUA, INDONESIA (Worthy News) – The leaders from the Group of 20 (G20) have agreed to adopt global vaccine passports to “facilitate” all international travel, a move that critics say will increase government control over people’s lives.

The declaration following their two-day summit last week in Bali, Indonesia, was significant as the G20 composes the world’s largest economies comprising over 66 percent of the world’s population.

The G20 clarified that the digital health certificate would adhere to World Health Organization (WHO) standards.

It suggested that only a person vaccinated or tested according to WHO rules could travel internationally, a practice already implemented by several nations.

The G20 includes Argentina, Australia, Britain, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Turkey, United States and European Union.

Klaus Schwab, who leads the World Economic Forum, also attended the gathering.

In a statement seen by Worthy News, the G20 leaders said they “acknowledge the importance of shared technical standards and verification methods, under the framework of the [International Health Regulations] IHR.”

STANDARDIZED PASSPORT

The standardized passport would “facilitate seamless international travel, interoperability, and recognizing digital solutions and non-digital solutions, including proof of vaccinations,” the G20 declaration said.

The G20 Bali Leaders’ Declaration, signed by leaders from all the countries, stressed that the leaders “support continued international dialogue and collaboration on the establishment of trusted global digital health networks.”

These networks “should capitalize and build on the success of the existing standard and digital COVID-19 certificates.”

The vaccine passports could be paper or a digital code or an application on mobile devices such as smartphones that record and displays the user’s health information, including COVID-19 vaccination status.

Digital health passports would involve a scannable code similar to an airline boarding pass, which was already rolled out in many countries during the coronavirus pandemic.

Then so-called “tracking and tracing apps” could monitor the user’s movement and interactions with others. The app would even issue a warning if the user moves outside the quarantine zone, similar to systems already used in Communist-run China.

In a separate updated document, the G20 vowed to: “Endeavour to move towards interoperability of systems including mechanisms that validate proof of vaccination.” It claimed it would be “respecting the sovereignty of national health policies and relevant national regulations such as personal data protection and data-sharing.”

CRITICS CONCERNED

However, critics condemned the move, including those in the United States, long seen as the leader of the free world.

Advocacy groups warned that if allowed, the health or vaccine passports would eventually track every aspect of Americans’ lives.

They say that would violate the U.S. Constitution and other legislation, such as the Americans With Disabilities Act, as everyone’s medical records would be a part of a worldwide database.

“Digital health or vaccine passports, along with tracking and tracing apps, present a serious threat to freedom. Vaccine passports and tracking apps are about collecting data and control,” said Mat Staver, the founder and chairman of the U.S.-based Liberty Counsel
, a religious liberty group.

“The vaccine passport is being promoted worldwide to limit a person’s ability to leave home, work, shop, dine, travel, attend a public event, or even worship. COVID [illness] is being used to advance this dangerous threat to freedom. We must never accept vaccine passports or tracking apps as the new normal. The implications for freedom are significant,” Staver said.

Across the sea, anchors of the conservative-leaning British broadcaster GB News agreed. They posted a video to the social networking site Twitter about the power the WHO would have over people’s lives. One anchor even asked, “Where will it end?”

The question wasn’t answered by delegates attending the G20 summit hosted by Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim nation.

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