The IHR (2005) govern international collaboration to control any events which pose a threat to public health (infectious diseases, biological or chemical agents, ionising radiation).
One of the main objectives of the IHR is to combat the global spread of infectious diseases without unnecessarily restricting the free movement of persons and goods. Each State Party must be capable of preventing and controlling the international spread of diseases, protecting its population and implementing control measures. At the same time, it is left to individual countries (including Switzerland) to decide how these obligations are to be met in practice in the specific national context.
2024 amendments
The Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated the need to improve the IHR by amending certain points. The amendments concern, for example, the strengthening of collaboration between States Parties and the World Health Organization (WHO), so that countries can be more effectively supported by the WHO in investigating new disease outbreaks. They are also designed to strengthen prevention, surveillance, preparedness and response at all levels, e.g. in relation to laboratory diagnostics or access to health services, which benefits the population.
The amendments were adopted by the World Health Assembly (WHA) on 1 June 2024. The Federal Council has decided on June 20 2025 to approve them.
At the same time, the Federal Council has decided to enter a reservation concerning measures to address misinformation and disinformation in risk communication. Switzerland will continue to assure objective, scientific risk communication and to uphold the fundamental rights enshrined in the Federal Constitution, such as freedom to express opinions, freedom of the media and academic freedom.
In addition, the Federal Council has decided that it will submit a declaration indicating that Switzerland will implement the amendments specified in the IHR concerning access to health services in accordance with the constitutional division of responsibilities between the Confederation and the cantons.
The Federal Council will communicate this decision to the WHO, together with the reservation.
Switzerland will continue to decide sovereignly on its own health policy as well as on any measures in the event of a public health emergency of international concern or a pandemic.
Review of the adjustment process
The IHR are a legally binding instrument of the WHO, originally adopted in the 1950s. They have frequently been amended and were thoroughly revised in 2005 and came into force at international level on 15 June 2007. The Epidemics Act has incorporated the IHR (2005) since 2016, and governs their application in Switzerland.
On 1 June 2024 the WHA adopted amendments to the IHR (2005) by consensus. Switzerland actively engaged in the negotiations, effectively advocating for its interests. WHO officially notified the amendments to the States Parties on 19 September 2024.
The Federal Council conducted a public consultation on the amendments running from 13 November 2024 to 27 February 2025. Almost all cantons, the majority of political parties and stakeholders, as well as the parliamentary committees, support the amendments. Taking into account the results of the consultation and the impact assessments contained in the explanatory report, the Federal Council decided at its meeting on 20 June 2025 to approve the amendments to the IHR. In addition, it took note of the corresponding consultation report. This report has been published on the website of the Federal Chancellery.
The amendments entered into force on 19 September 2025. They will also be published in the three official languages in the Systematic Compilations of Federal Legislation as well as on the Fedlex platform. The amendments are available in the six official UN languages, as well as in the German and Italian translations, at the following link: Text of the amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005) (PDF)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
The amendments concerned are intended to strengthen the IHR (2005) in the light of the findings and lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, to enable their states parties, which include Switzerland, to respond more effectively to any future international public health emergency. The amendments strengthen both the prevention and monitoring of threats to public health and the preparation of appropriate responses. They also improve the exchanges of information with the World Health Organization (WHO) and collaborations with other states.
No. These amendments to the IHR do not expand WHO’s authority in any way which would impinge on the sovereignty of its member states. Switzerland remains entirely free to determine its own public health policies. In fact, Article 3 of the IHR expressly guarantees the sovereign right of states parties to legislate and to implement legislation in pursuance of their health policies.
WHO can only make recommendations to its member states, as it did throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Such recommendations are not legally binding, however, and Switzerland is entirely free to decide whether or not to adopt them.
The Federal Council conducted a consultation on the amendments to the IHR which ran from 13 November 2024 to 27 February 2025. This saw the country’s cantons, political parties, nationwide associations of its communes, towns, cities and mountain regions, nationwide business and industry federations and further interested parties consulted and the public extensively informed. All the formal responses received by the end of the consultation period have been published on Fedlex, where the report on the results of the consultation will also be found.
Switzerland has no specific legal basis for addressing misinformation and disinformation as described in the amended IHR. In view of this, the Federal Council submitted a reservation to WHO regarding measures to address misinformation and disinformation in risk communications.
In Switzerland, in accordance with Article 9 of the Epidemics Act, it is the Federal Council’s responsibility to inform the public, authorities and experts about communicable diseases and how their spread can be prevented. It does this in various ways, such as publishing practical information on case numbers and data on the regional spread of diseases. In doing so, it also confirms that fundamental rights such as freedom of expression and media and academic freedom all remain fully assured. Switzerland will continue to ensure objective science-based risk communications.
No. The new IHR do not commit Switzerland to any new financial obligations. There will now be a new Coordinating Financial Mechanism, which is intended to promote coherence and coordination among existing financing tools. But these amendments to the IHR do not require the generation of any new funds (the avoidance of which was a key Swiss concern).
No and no. Switzerland already has the capacities needed to prevent, prepare for and respond to public health emergencies as defined in the amended IHR. So no additional resources will be required, and no changes need to be made to current legislation to adopt the amended IHR in Switzerland.
Switzerland will, however, benefit from the expansion of capacities by other IHR states parties. And the strengthening of the collaborations between the IHR states parties and WHO is in Switzerland’s interests, too. Improving the information flows among the IHR states parties will ensure prompt and early warnings of any health threats that could also affect our country.
The question of mandatory vaccination does not arise in relation to the amendments to the IHR. The WHO can already, as it did during the Covid 19 pandemic, make recommendations to member states concerning, for example, pandemic control measures. However, these are not legally binding.
In the event of a pandemic, WHO has the ability to declare a ‘public health emergency of international concern’ or PHEIC. Any such declaration will be made in accordance with the criteria that are specified in IHR Article 12. The declaration of a PHEIC does not necessarily mean, however, that a pandemic emergency has occurred. The 2015-16 Zika virus epidemic, for instance, was declared a PHEIC by WHO, but was not declared to be a special situation in Switzerland.
Under the provisions of the Epidemics Act, the declaration by WHO of a public health emergency of international concern does not automatically put Switzerland in a special situation. As is prescribed in Article 6 of the Epidemics Act, the Federal Council will always first conduct an overall assessment of the public health threat to Switzerland before a special situation is declared.
No, these are two different processes. The negotiations on amending the IHR were concluded in May 2024, and the amendments agreed were formally approved for Switzerland by the Federal Council in June 2025. These are technical modifications to the IHR, whose provisions Switzerland has been observing since the 1950s to help prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
The WHO Pandemic Agreement, by contrast, is a new agreement that is intended to strengthen international collaborations on preparing for and responding to a possible pandemic. The text of the new WHO Pandemic Agreement was approved at the 78th World Health Assembly in May 2025. The process is not yet complete, however: an annex to the new agreement covering pathogen access and benefit sharing (PABS) is now being devised, and is expected to take a further one to two years to conclude. After this, the final annex will have to be studied and processed in Switzerland, too.
