“In law, we have a distinction between must and should. There is a 'should' obligation under Article 8,” said Habibi. “It is highly encouraged, it is good practice, it is moral to do so. But is it a strict legal requirement? Potentially, one could argue that there is freedom here.”

But, in light of what the world experienced during Covid-19, “one could see how this was a lapse in judgment,” added Habibi, who is also a member of the Ottawa Center for Health Law Policy and Ethics.

No enforcement tools

Even if Russia did not comply with the requirements laid out by the rules, there is little the WHO can do.

“We are the secretariat of the member states, and we implement your wishes,” Abdirahman Mahamud, director of health emergency alert and response operations at the WHO, told members of the European Parliament last week.

“Whether it’s related to WHO implementing or policing the [International Health Regulations], we don’t have that power. IHR relies on the verification from the member state,” he said.

One thing the WHO can do is “publicly call out” countries that don't comply with the treaties, said Gostin — as it did in statements laying out the timelines and unanswered questions.