Instruments of Global Health Governance at the World Health Organization

Abstract

This chapter will examine the types of normative instruments, such as recommendations, international agreements (including conventions) and regulations produced by the WHO. It will consider the extent to which such agreements are capable of being implemented through various means including international legal sanctions. However, the degree to which any instrument can be imposed on States or others, as a “hard” legal sanctions as opposed to its application through “soft” moral force and public opinion can obscure important political and legal consideration involved with international instruments. Accordingly, this section aims also to provide readers with a sense of how negotiators and policymakers assess the various instruments and select from amongst them.