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NGOs Urge Nations of the World to Reject Cowboy Diplomacy of US in Talks on First Public Health Treaty New Infact Report Exposes US History of Undermining International, Environmental, Human Rights, Disarmament and Health Agreements FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACTS: GENEVA --Three days into the final round of negotiations on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), members of the Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT) are urging nations to reject the cowboy diplomacy tactics of the US. The release of a new Infact report-Cowboy Diplomacy: How the US Undermines International Environmental, Human Rights, Disarmament and Health Agreements-is fueling the call. According to the report, there is a clear pattern in recent history of the US negotiating down to the lowest common denominator, then failing to support environmental, human rights and other treaties. Throughout the FCTC talks, the US has been sharply criticized for protecting the interests of tobacco giant Philip Morris at the expense of public health. The release of Cowboy Diplomacy is intensifying pressure on the Bush administration regarding its position on the FCTC at a time when concerns about US unilateralism are particularly high. "The US has increasingly isolated itself from the global community on issues of enormous humanitarian and environmental consequence. In the face of tobacco's staggering death toll, we are calling on the US to stop blocking progress on the FCTC," says Kathryn Mulvey of Infact (US), a NATT member. Cowboy Diplomacy examines the US role in the following international agreements: the Kyoto Protocol, Persistent Organic Pollutants Treaty, Basel Convention, Biosafety Protocol, Convention on the Rights of the Child, Protocol to the Biological Weapons Convention, and Landmine Ban Treaty. Lessons drawn have strong implications for FCTC negotiators. The example of the Convention on the Rights of the Child is particularly telling. Much of the Convention was built around the US Constitution and Bill of Rights. However, the US and Somalia are the only countries that remain outside that Convention. While challenging the role of the US in the FCTC process, NATT members are also praising the leadership of the countries pushing for a strong FCTC in the face of intense pressure. On the opening day of this round of talks, cries rang out from every WHO region for a comprehensive ban on advertising, promotion and sponsorship, while the majority of those countries represented through interventions strongly prioritized health over trade. "When the majority of countries are united, opposition from the US can be overcome. Too often when the US has succeeded in watering down treaties, it fails to ratify them anyway. It is far better to have a strong Convention without US participation than a weak agreement with the same end result. We are looking to African, Southeast Asian, Middle Eastern and Pacific Islands countries to lead the way," says Muyunda Ililonga of Zambian Consumers Association, a NATT member. NGOs are also warning FCTC negotiators to remain vigilant to the dirty tricks of tobacco transnationals. Internal tobacco industry documents, made public for the first time in an Infact paper released last week, reveal that Big Tobacco has targeted certain African and Latin American countries in its attempts to subvert the treaty. Under the terms of a 1998 settlement with the US State of Minnesota, tobacco corporations are required to disclose documents related to US tobacco litigation. This responsibility includes maintaining until 2008 a website, onto which new documents are uploaded regularly. Damning documents loaded within the last few months, including memos from as recently as 1999, expose new details of Philip Morris's plan to thwart the FCTC. "The tobacco giants will stop at nothing in their attempts to derail the FCTC. But Philip Morris, BAT, and Japan Tobacco have formidable opponents in the courageous leadership of many of the countries negotiating this treaty. The next ten days are decisive. We will be monitoring the talks closely, and are hopeful for a treaty that lives up to its promise," says Akinbode Oluwafemi of Environmental Rights Action (Nigeria), a NATT member. ### Since 1977, Infact has been exposing life-threatening abuses of transnational corporations and organizing successful grassroots campaigns to hold corporations accountable to consumers and society at large. Infact is an NGO in Official Relations with the World Health Organization (WHO). The Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT) includes 75 NGOs from more than 50 countries working for a strong, enforceable Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. NATT members at INB6 include: Center for Alternative Development Initiatives (Philippines), Consumers Association of Malawi, ConsumerVOICE (India), Environmental Rights Action (Nigeria), Infact (US), National Council Against Smoking (South Africa), Sindicato Medico del Uruguay, and Zambian Consumers Association.
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