A/HRC/45/12 measures, and leading scientists prevented from exercising their right to freedom of expression regarding their concerns about problematic strategies. 80 83. Protections against retaliation should apply in all public institutions, including those connected to national security, and effective and protective channels should be established for whistle-blowers to motivate remedial action.81 Participation and freedom of expression must be guaranteed and promoted, to fully ensure the right to information. 82 When the State is the only source of information, the rights to information, participation and freedom of expression are inevitably prejudiced and the best solutions are seldom, if ever, realized. F. Weak international cooperation 84. Just as States have an obligation under international human rights law to prevent transboundary pollution, they also have an obligation to prevent the spread of diseases, including COVID-19, and to prevent them from crossing their borders. Such responsibility extends to businesses and must be reflected in businesses due diligence, and has an extraterritorial dimension. As many States do not have sufficient resources to prevent exposure in pandemics such as the COVID-19 crisis, international cooperation is essential to ensure that all States have protection measures available and accessible, as a weakness in any country is a threat to all. 85. However, not only were States not taking the necessary measures in anticipation of COVID-19 spread within their borders, for many years they had been underfunding international cooperation efforts regarding public health threats, lacking international solidarity. The politically motivated attacks on WHO must be firmly denounced. All organizations can be improved, including WHO, and in due course an independent inquiry into the responses of all international bodies to the COVID-19 crisis should be undertaken. However, withdrawal of funding for WHO stands only to increase exposure to COVID-19 in low-income and some middle-income countries, with devastating results. It illustrates a complete rejection of the principle of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations by its architects and callous disregard for people in Africa, Asia and Latin America, who sadly have been disparaged for far too long, with far too few consequences. 86. Given the highly contagious nature of COVID-19 and the ease by which individuals travel worldwide, any State recording cases on its territory should have directly notified and cooperated with other States from the moment there were signs that the virus was spreading rapidly by human transmission – which could have been as early as late December 2019. In compliance with their duty to prevent, States should establish solid and coordinated international cooperation,83 acknowledging that the effectiveness of responses is resource dependent and a global issue. It is essential that countries learn from the past mistakes. The current crisis should reinforce the fact that our interconnected world requires global-level crisis management, multilateralism and strong international cooperation and solidarity. 87. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur wishes to pay tribute to and recognize the efforts of those lower-income countries that, despite financial constraints and resources, showed great commitment and preparation in tackling the pandemic and, in the name of international solidarity, have supplied trained doctors, ventilators and protective equipment to some of the wealthiest countries. 80 81 82 83 See www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-brazil/bolsonaro-fires-brazils-health-ministercalls-to-reopen-economy-idUSKBN21Y338. See www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_dialogue/---sector/documents/publication/ wcms_718048.pdf. See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25729. See the draft articles on the protection of persons in the event of disasters, draft art. 11. 19