Welcome to the United Nations
Submission of the President of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to the thematic review of the 2019 United Nations High Level Political Forum
The objective of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) and its Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products (the Protocol) 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 steadily and substantially the prevalence of tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke.
The inclusion of Target 3.a: Strengthen the implementation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in all countries, as appropriate was a milestone and the acknowledgment of the benefits of an implementation of the WHO FCTC for the people and the planet.
At its eighth session, the Conference of the Parties to the WHO FCTC (COP8) presented the last Progress Report on the Implementation of the WHO FCTC which confirms the advancement of the 181 Parties to the implementation of the Convention and its provisions. Parties’ reports evidence that the status of implementation of the Convention has consistently improved; however, implementation of the various articles remains uneven. Time-bound measures, such as smoke-free environments, and packaging and labeling, are among the most comprehensively implemented, while the provision on the ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship remains less regulated and difficult to enforce.
In order to track the progress in implementing target 3.a and to share experiences as a treaty body, the Convention Secretariat has been participating actively in the Inter-agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs), and has recently joined its Working Group on Interlinkages of SDG Statistics, which will allow the Convention Secretariat to contribute to the facilitation of global, regional and national SDG monitoring and analysis of the SDG indicator framework.
On 25 September 2018, the Protocol entered into force followed by the first session of its governing body, the Meeting of the Parties. The Protocol was developed in response to the growing illicit trade in tobacco products, often across borders. Illicit trade poses a serious threat to public health because it increases access to – often cheaper – tobacco products, thus adding to the tobacco epidemic and undermining tobacco control policies. This has direct impact on consumption of youth and socially disadvantaged populations. It also causes substantial losses in government revenues, and at the same time contributes to the funding of criminal activities.
Last but not least, the Convention Secretariat has joined UNDP in launching a publication entitled “The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, an accelerator for sustainable development”, which describes the linkages and contribution of the implementation of the provisions of the Convention to the achievement of the several SDG2030 goals providing a reference of the commitment of the Conference of the Parties to the global development agenda.
