Honourable Minister of Health and Wellness,
Distinguished delegates,
Representatives of government,
Dear colleagues from CARICOM and from other international intergovernmental organizations,
Dear friends from nongovernmental organizations,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the Multisectoral Workshop for WHO FCTC Parties in the Caribbean Region to Promote the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to the Ministry of Health and Wellness of Jamaica, the government and the people of Jamaica for hosting this important workshop in this beautiful city of Montego Bay, and for having facilitated all conditions allowing us to meet here today.
Furthermore, I would like to thank the WHO Regional Office for the Americas, the PAHO/WHO Country Office in Jamaica and other relevant PAHO/WHO country offices for the excellent cooperation in the preparation and joint organization of this workshop.
Distinguished participants,
We are here to discuss the illicit trade in tobacco products. This phenomenon poses a serious threat to public health because it increases access to – often cheaper – tobacco products, thus fuelling the tobacco epidemic and undermining tobacco control policies. It also causes substantial losses in government revenues, and at the same time, contributes to the funding of international criminal activities.
To fight illicit trade, Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) adopted, on 12 November 2012, the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, as the first protocol, derived from Article 15 of the WHO FCTC.
To date, the Protocol counts 56 Parties, including 6 Parties from the WHO Region of the Americas (Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panama and Uruguay) but none from the Caribbean states that are Parties to the WHO FCTC.
The Protocol provides tools for preventing and controlling illicit trade by securing the supply chain, including by establishing an international tracking and tracing system, through dissuasive law enforcement and a suite of measures to enable international cooperation.
During the workshop, we will elaborate on all these elements of this new international treaty; however, I also hope to learn from your experiences at country level and of cooperation in the region.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am delighted to welcome over 60 participants from 13 countries, from different ministries and departments including health, foreign affairs, justice, finance and customs; colleagues from the World Customs Organization (WCO) and CARICOM; and civil society representatives, who are attending this important workshop. After all, tobacco control, including the fight to eliminate illicit trade in tobacco, requires a multisectoral approach, and I am looking forward to hearing your diverse points of view during this workshop.
Honourable Minister of Health and Wellness,
Your presence here today is testimony to the importance of tobacco control for you personally, the Ministry of Health and Wellness you lead, and for the Government of Jamaica. Thank you so much for honouring this opening ceremony with your presence.
I would like to recognize and encourage Jamaica for its ongoing efforts to become the first Party to the Protocol in the Caribbean region.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Let us work together during the three coming days to build a solid foundation to eliminate illicit trade in tobacco products in our countries and region.
The Convention Secretariat stands ready to support your efforts, together with the WHO Regional Office for the Americas and its country offices.
I wish you all fruitful discussions.
Thank you very much.