TAIWAN'S PARTICIPATION IN THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION

EDM number 1413 in 2006-07, proposed by Nicholas Winterton on 02/05/2007.

That this House regrets that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has opposed including Taiwan's participation as an observer to the World Health Assembly (WHA) on its agenda since 1997; notes that the 60th WHA will convene between 14th and 23rd May 2007; recognises that the Holy See, Palestine and the Sovereign Order of Malta have been granted observer status at WHA meetings; further notes that Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian sent a letter to WHO Director-General Margaret Chan in April 2007 expressing Taiwan's hope to apply for membership; acknowledges that the UK Government supports the principle enshrined in the WHO constitution that the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being; welcomes the East Asia Report published in August 2006 by the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee recommending that the Goverment set out its attitude towards full WHO membership for Taiwan; supports Taiwan's justifiable bids for WHO membership and preliminary WHA observer status to achieve meaningful participation so that Taiwanese medical and public health officials can fully participate in meetings and working groups under WHO auspices; further recognises that Rule 3 of the WHA Rules of Procedure stipulates that the Director-General may invite states having made application for membership to send observers to sessions of the WHA; and strongly encourages the Government to support Taiwan's WHO membership and preliminary WHA observer status and to urge the WHO Director-General to invite Taiwan as a WHA observer before granting WHO membership to ensure Taiwan's meaningful participation.

This motion has been signed by a total of 37 MPs.