Thank you for giving me the floor.
Dear Chair,
First of all, thank you and the WHO for allowing us to speak as part of the WHO Secretariat. Thank you to WHO member States for acknowledging the work of the Convention Secretariat in supporting the treaty implementation.
Tobacco continues to be a worldwide epidemic and it requires a considered and effective international response. While the implementation of the treaty should be multisectoral in nature, its public health outcomes prompts the leadership of the health sector. However, since the Convention Secretariat was established in 2007, tobacco control has not been a visible agenda item of the World Health Assembly. This might convey the unfortunate message that implementation of the treaty is no longer a priority in the health agenda, since the Convention fails to receive the attention it deserves.
To ensure that the WHO FCTC reaches its full potential as a legally binding instrument, we should raise awareness onthe treaty implementationby creating a mechanism for the exchange of information between the Conference on the Parties and the World Health Assembly. Let's make sure that the delegations who attend the WHA - who are usually decision makers who do not attend COPs - are informed about the global threats and responses to curb the tobacco epidemic and that they return to their capitals knowing that without implementing the treaty, the global target for NCDs and SDGs will not be met.
Let's convince non-Parties to the treaty of the benefits of becoming Parties to the single public health treaty in the 21st century.
The Convention Secretariat also believes that a high level briefing by the World Health Assemblyon resolutions addressing topics related to the Convention would ensure that the world’s foremost body on tobacco control - the COP – would be able to contribute more directly in relation to the UN global agenda.
The Convention Secretariat welcomes the draft resolution and is pleased to inform this Committee that the seventh session of the COP, to be held in Delhi from 7-12 November this year, will discuss this topic as a separate agenda item. We welcome Parties to attend COP7 and to make sure high level delegates ensure that the tobacco treaty is translated into national actions.
I thank you for your attention.