Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization,
Dr Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary General of the World Customs Organization,
Mr Fernando Jácome, President of the Meeting of the Parties;
Delegates and friends;
Welcome to this first day of the Second Session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.
I must start this address by thanking you, Dr Tedros, for your ongoing commitment to the Protocol. Your personal efforts were instrumental in catalysing Parties to take up the Protocol so that it entered into force in 2018, and we are all grateful for your continued support.
And, of course, we are also pleased to have the support of the World Customs Organization, as we heard through the kind words of Dr Mikuriya.
I would like to thank all Parties attending this session of the Meeting of the Parties – our second gathering, this time in a virtual setting. With the experience of last week’s session of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and the continued technical support of our WHO colleagues, we look forward to a productive session, in which the voices of Parties and stakeholders are heard loud and clear, despite the odd technical speed bump.
As I welcome fifty-nine of the Parties to the Protocol, whose strong participation today indicates their commitment to our shared goals, I would also like to welcome Ghana who recently ratified the treaty. For now, we are awaiting the treaty’s entry into force in Ghana, but we offer our hearty congratulations!
May I also express my appreciation to the States non Parties, here with us as observers along with other valued stakeholders. We certainly appreciate your support, and for those observers that are Party to the Convention, we hope to welcome you soon as Parties to the Protocol.
As we settle down to our discussions this week let us focus for a moment on the theme of our session: implementation of the Protocol. As we are all aware, this treaty supports the achievement of the objectives of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, to protect the world’s population from the devastating health, social, environmental and economic consequences of tobacco consumption.
Of course, the Protocol has an important role to play in protecting our societies and economies from the damaging impact of the illicit trade in tobacco products - an impact which helps fuel the tobacco epidemic. In order for us to achieve a healthy, tobacco-free future, we must not only contend with the harm caused by all tobacco products, we must develop controls that track and eliminate illicit trade, which can undermine the global progress we are making in implementing the WHO FCTC.
All tobacco products are harmful, killing at least 50% of users and increasing the risk of disease. But in the case of illicit trade, further damage is caused to our economies by diverting potential tax revenues, sorely needed financial support that could help Parties in their COVID-19 recovery efforts.
The Protocol also supports us on matters that have been linked to our very safety and security. It is recognised that illicit trade in tobacco products is connected to transnational organized crime, raising income for its activities. Indeed, we have many reasons to work together to strengthen the effectiveness of the Protocol.
The Protocol is still a young treaty and there is work to be done to identify priorities and engaging on how we can better achieve cross-border implementation. I am confident that our session this week will provide the guidance that we need to forge ahead in our work.
During the extended period since MOP1 in 2018, a number of reports have been prepared which will help further our work on important issues including tracking and tracing systems, and assistance and cooperation, as well as in our consideration of a strategy for mechanisms of assistance and mobilization of financial resources to deepen the implementation of the Protocol.
During this session of the MOP, there will also be discussion of an innovative investment fund plan – a potential key to help us unlock the real power of the Protocol for the future.
As we now get to work may I remind you of two salient facts that should inform our decisions and deepen our resolve to successfully implement the Protocol.
Illicit trade in tobacco products dramatically reduces government revenue. It is estimated that up to 47 billion US dollars is lost globally every year.
Moreover, we know the tobacco industry tries to mislead governments, using the illicit trade argument to oppose the adoption of highly effective tobacco control measures, like increasing tobacco taxes. Refraining from increasing taxes is not the solution. But implementation of the Protocol is. Parties should respond with a comprehensive strategy to fight illicit trade by fully taking up its provisions.
We must work together in the task of eliminating illicit trade in tobacco products. I look forward to continuing our efforts this week to develop the mechanisms and momentum we need to push forward and successfully implement this vital link to a healthy, tobacco-free future.
Thank you