Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear colleagues and friends,
We gather today to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the entry into force of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.
This was the first protocol to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) and was adopted by consensus on 12 November 2012 at the fifth session of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO FCTC. It entered into force on 25 September 2018, following the deposit of the 40th instrument of ratification and currently has 68 Parties – with Poland’s accession to the treaty only four days ago.
This still-young treaty has the ambitious objective of eliminating all forms of illicit trade in tobacco products.
The Protocol covers important matters concerning offenses, with provisions on liability, prosecutions and sanctions, payment seizures, and special investigative techniques, as well as the disposal and destruction of confiscated products.
It also addresses the crucial issue of international cooperation, with measures on information sharing, technical and law enforcement cooperation, AND mutual legal and administrative assistance, among others.
The Protocol particularly aims to secure the supply chain of tobacco products through the implementation of provisions that cover licensing, due diligence, record keeping, and security and preventive measures, as well as measures in relation to Internet- and telecommunication-based sales, duty-free sales, and free zones and international transit.
But the measure widely considered to be the “heart” of the Protocol is the establishment of a global tracking and tracing regime, comprising national and/or regional tracking and tracing systems and a global information-sharing focal point, the GSP.
Today it is our pleasure to present the GSP, a system that will be accessible to all Parties to the Protocol for the purposes of further securing the supply chain, and to assist in the investigation of illicit trade in tobacco products.
Developed by the Convention Secretariat in collaboration with the United Nations Computing Center, and under the guidance of the Bureau of the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol and the Working Group on Tracking and Tracing, this new tool will enable Parties to make inquiries and receive relevant information from other Parties, so strengthening international cooperation.
I encourage Parties to the Protocol to make good use of the GSP in their joint efforts to fight against illicit trade in tobacco products.
Thank you very much.