Background
WHO FCTC
Adopted by the World Health Assembly on 21 May 2003 and entered into force on 27 February 2005, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is the first international treaty negotiated under the auspices of WHO.
With 174 parties today, which covers 87.4% of world population, the WHO FCTC has since become one of the most rapidly and widely embraced treaties in United Nations history.
The WHO FCTC was developed in response to the globalization of the tobacco epidemic and is an evidence-based treaty that reaffirms the right of all people to the highest standard of health. The Convention represents a milestone for the promotion of public health and provides new legal dimensions for international health cooperation.
The objective of the WHO FCTC and its protocols and guidelines is to protect present and future generations from the devastating health, social, environmental and economic consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke by providing a framework for tobacco control measures to be implemented by the Parties at the national, regional and international levels in order to reduce continually and substantially the prevalence of tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke.
The main provisions of the WHO FCTC include:
Reduction of demand for tobacco (Articles 6–14)
(Covering: price and tax measures; protection from exposure to tobacco smoke; regulation of the contents of tobacco products and of tobacco product disclosures; packaging and labelling of tobacco products; education, communication, training and public awareness; tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; and measures concerning tobacco dependence and cessation.)
Reduction of the supply of tobacco (Articles 15–17)
(Covering: illicit trade in tobacco products; sales to and by minors; and provision of support for economically viable alternative activities.)
The Convention also covers other important areas, such as: liability; protection of public health policies with respect to tobacco control from the interests of the tobacco industry; protection of the environment; national coordinating mechanisms; international cooperation, reporting and exchange of information; and institutional arrangements (Articles 5 and 18–26).
Governing body
The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the governing body of the WHO FCTC and is comprised of all Parties to the Convention. It keeps under regular review the implementation of the Convention and takes the decisions necessary to promote its effective implementation, and may also adopt protocols, annexes and amendments to the Convention. The work of the COP is governed by its Rules of Procedure. The COP elects,at each regular session, a President and five Vice-Presidents. These officers, each representing a WHO Region, constitute the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties.
|
First session |
COP 1 |
6–17 February 2006, Geneva, Switzerland |
|
Second session |
COP 2 |
30 June–6 July 2007, Bangkok, Thailand |
|
Third session |
COP 3 |
17–22 November 2008, Durban, South Africa |
|
Fourth session |
COP 4 |
15–20 November 2010, Punta del Este, Uruguay |
|
Fifth Session |
COP 5 |
12-17 November, Seoul, South Korea |
Starting from COP3, the regular sessions of COP are held at two-year intervals.
Subsidiary bodies and implementation tools
The WHO FCTC recognizes that the Conference of the Parties (COP) may adopt protocols and guidelines to assist with the implementation of the Convention.
Working groups and Guidelines
The COP also established several working groups with the mandate to elaborate guidelines and recommendations for the implementation of different treaty provisions.
Guidelines for the implementation of several articles have already been adopted by the COP. Work on additional guidelines is being undertaken by working groups established by the COP.
|
Working groups on WHO FCTC Articles |
Status |
|
|
Art. 5.3 |
Protection of public health policies with respect to tobacco control from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry |
Work completed and guidelines adopted at COP 3 |
|
Art. 8 |
Protection from exposure to tobacco smoke |
Work completed and guidelines adopted at COP 2 |
|
Art. 11 |
Packaging and labelling of tobacco products |
Work completed and guidelines adopted at COP 3 |
|
Art. 12 |
Education, communication, training and public awareness |
Work completed and guidelines adopted at COP 4 |
|
Art. 13 |
Tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship |
Guidelines, recommendations on key elements of a protocol and recommendations on other possible measures adopted by COP3 |
|
Art. 14 |
Demand reduction measures concerning tobacco dependence and cessation |
Work completed and guidelines adopted at COP 4 |
|
Art. 9 & 10 |
Regulation of the contents of tobacco products and regulation of tobacco product disclosures) |
partial guidelines adopted at COP 4, mandate of the |
|
Art. 17 & 18 |
Economically sustainable alternatives to tobacco growing) |
Progress report presented to COP4 and mandate of the working group continued by COP4. |
|
Art. 6 |
Price and tax measures to reduce the demand for tobacco) |
Progress report or draft guidelines to be submitted to the Conference of the Parties. |
Intergovernmental Negotiating Body and Protocols
According to Article 33 of the WHO FCTC, the COP may adopt protocols to the Convention. Only Parties to the Convention may be Parties to a protocol. Any protocol to the Convention shall be binding only on the Parties to the protocol in question.
At its second session held in July 2007 in Bangkok, the Conference of the Parties (COP) decided to establish an Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB), open to all Parties, to draft and negotiate a protocol on illicit trade in tobacco products. The protocol would build upon and complement the provisions of Article 15 of the WHO FCTC.
Five sessions have been held since 2008 in Geneva, Switzerland. Like COP, the INB elects a President and five Vice-Presidents. These officers, each representing a WHO Region, constitute the Bureau of the INB and the Convention Secretariat support INB work.
|
First session |
INB-ITP 1 |
11-16 February 2008, Geneva, Switzerland |
|
Second session |
INB-ITP 2 |
20–25 October 2008, Geneva, Switzerland |
|
Third session |
INB-ITP 3 |
28 June-5 July 2009, Geneva, Switzerland |
|
Fourth session |
INB-ITP 4 |
14-21 March 2010, Geneva, Switzerland |
|
Fifth Session |
INB-ITP 5 |
29 March – 4 April 2012, Geneva, Switzerland |
Convention Secretariat
The WHO FCTC Secretariat serves the Conference of the Parties and its subsidiary bodies. It supports Parties in fulfilling their obligations under the Convention and translates the decisions of the Conference of the Parties into programme activities. The Secretariat cooperates in its work with relevant departments of WHO and other international organizations and bodies.
Each Party is required to submit to the Conference of the Parties, through the Convention Secretariat, periodic reports every two years on its implementation of the Convention. Based on these reports, the Convention Secretariat prepares global summary reports on the implementation of the Convention for consideration by the Conference of the Parties.