Dr Jamela Al-Raiby, WHO Representative Jordan, Dr Asmus Hammerich, Director, UHC/NMH, EMRO, Dr Jawad Al-Lawati, COP Vice-President, representing the Eastern Mediterranean Region, and Dr Kholoud Ateeq K M Al-Motawaa, MOP Vice-President, representing the Eastern Mediterranean Region.
Distinguished delegates, colleagues and friends. Good morning.
It’s a great pleasure to address you all on this important occasion as we begin the critical groundwork for the Tenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO FCTC and the Third meeting of the Parties to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.
Those meetings are now just two months away and, as you know, there is a huge amount of work to conclude so that we achieve our ambitious agendas in Panama in November.
I must also thank the Kingdom of Jordan for hosting the delegates to this meeting and make special mention of the recent statement of His Majesty King Abdullah II, urging the government to escalate its work to combat the proliferation of smoking in Jordan, especially among young people. The support of high-level respected figures like the King are enormously valuable in fighting this terrible tobacco epidemic.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Regional Director Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari for his leadership and continued commitment to tobacco control and for the establishment of the High Level Ministerial group, the first of its kind in all WHO Regions to escalate the implementation of the Convention and support achieving its targets.
This is the first in the series of regional preparatory meetings for COP10 and MOP3. The worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is (hopefully) behind us, and we can once again benefit from a close proximity meeting to fully discuss the tobacco pandemic and tailored measures to tackle it.
So, what’s on the agenda in relation to COP10? Well, we will of course be looking in detail at implementation of the WHO FCTC. We have made progress, but this is a huge task and we must keep pushing forward. We will also be discussing ways to improve the reporting system for the Convention – the aim is to simplify the process where possible, without compromising on the quality and richness of the Party reports.
We will most certainly touch on the topic of tobacco industry interference, its never-ending attempts to interfere and to damage public health initiatives, and what we can do to confront this threat. As ever, that means a focus on Article 5.3, the gold standard for all those with a genuine interest in keeping tobacco industry interference outside the discussion room, where decisions are made to protect and enhance the health of our population.
By doing so, the world also advances towards achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG Target 3.a to strengthen WHO FCTC implementation.
Parties will be able to pick up on discussions left off at COP9 related to novel and emerging tobacco products, Articles 9 and 10, and Article 13 – depiction of tobacco in entertainment media, as well as new items proposed by Parties related to Article 2.1 and Article 19.
On the resources front, we are seeking other ways to broaden funding for tobacco control. That’s the thinking behind the WHO FCTC Investment Fund and the Investment Fund to support the implementation of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products. There is a proposal to establish a single Oversight Committee for both funds, under the purview of the two separate governing bodies. This would enable management synergies between the funds.
I’m pleased to note that 19 of the 21 Member States in the Region have ratified the WHO FCTC; we look forward to seeing 100% of Member States in the Region be part of the Convention.
However, only seven Member States are so far Parties to the Protocol. I’d just like to offer a gentle reminder that we all need to accelerate the process to fight against illicit trade in tobacco products. And the first step in doing so is to join the Protocol - since its strength is the cooperation that can be established among Parties to effectively tackle this issue.
Later this month, the global information-sharing focal point will be available to Parties to the Protocol to use for the purpose of detection or investigation of illicit trade in tobacco products, further securing their supply chain. Parties are working to make it harder to smuggle tobacco products. Illicit products, which are usually cheaper, increase the availability and affordability of tobacco products, and hurt treasuries which lose important revenues.
There will be more detail offered on this and other Protocol issues at the Preparatory Meeting of the Third session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol on Thursday.
I’m speaking to a very well informed audience, I know, but I must finish up by saying two things.
First, we must accelerate implementation of the WHO FCTC and the Protocol. I realise you’ve heard this many times before, but please ask yourself, ‘What more can we do?’. It is sometimes easy to become lost in the detail of our work, and forget what the final aim is.
The objective is to prevent the death and the misery, and the terrible strain on health care systems that tobacco use creates. Every step forward in implementing our highly effective measures actually saves lives and promotes sustainable development.
As with all tobacco control efforts, it is key to ensure collaboration across different government sectors.
The Convention Secretariat has been busy building relationships with other competent international governmental bodies, such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Customs Organization (WCO) and INTERPOL, to help further our work in the Protocol. I urge you to also do the same in your respective jurisdictions to help build these cross-sector synergies.
Finally, the Convention Secretariat stands ready to work with the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean to support countries in the Region.
I wish you well in your preparatory work and look forward to seeing you in Panama.
Thank you.