Statement by Corporate Accountability International at the 3rd Conference of the Parites to the FCTC - Corporate Accountability International - Challenging Abuse, Protecting People - Think Outside the Bottle


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Statement by Corporate Accountability International at the 3rd Conference of the Parites to the FCTC
Durban, South Africa November 17, 2008

Thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of Corporate Accountability International and the Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT). We are so proud to be here in Africa recognizing the important role African states have played in the FCTC process.

Around the world, governments and NGOs are reporting that tobacco industry interference poses the single greatest threat to tobacco control. Tobacco transnationals like Philip Morris International (PMI), British American Tobacco (BAT) and Japan Tobacco (JT) have used their political influence to water down or defeat tobacco control legislation.

While Big Tobacco claims to be a “stakeholder” in public health, this industry has a fundamental conflict of interest with the aims and objectives of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). There is an overwhelming consensus among health advocates and public officials that the tobacco industry should have no influence over public health policies. The FCTC, in Article 5.3, enshrines this concept in international law.

In July 2007, at the COP2 in Bangkok, Parties took the courageous step of initiating the development of guidelines on Article 5.3 of the treaty. Guidelines on Article 5.3 will show how Parties can implement their legal obligations under the FCTC. They should be adopted, in the strongest possible form, by the 3rd Conference of the Parties to the FCTC (COP3). Strong Article 5.3 guidelines will also reinforce the application of Article 13’s ad ban, Article 11’s warning labels and Article 8’s smokefree places.

We welcome the draft guidelines on the implementation of FCTC Article 5.3 (FCTC/COP/3/5). We extend our appreciation to the Key Facilitators, Partners and Secretariat for their work, and commend the progress that has been made. As COP3 begins, many elements of the draft guidelines for Article 5.3 are strong and effective and must remain so. Unfortunately, others provide insufficient protection for public health polices and must be improved before adoption.

The draft guidelines must be strengthened to:

Avoid government interaction with the tobacco industry, and set strict rules of engagement for any meetings determined to be necessary.
Ensure transparency around government interaction with the tobacco industry and around tobacco industry activities and operations.
Emphasize the tobacco industry’s fundamental conflict with public health.
Reject so-called “corporate social responsibility” by the tobacco industry
Apply civil, criminal and/or administrative penalties for non-compliance.

The following provisions must remain in the final guidelines:

Protections against conflicts of interest for those involved in setting and implementing tobacco control policies.
The prohibition on government partnership or collaboration with the tobacco industry.
The application of measures under Article 5.3 to the tobacco industry as defined in the FCTC, and also to other entities that may work to further the commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry.
The avoidance of special treatment for state-owned tobacco companies.

These provisions can and must serve as the foundation for the effective implementation of the treaty. Saving lives through the FCTC will also depend on Parties increasing their financial support and providing assistance to developing countries to meet their obligations. We look forward to working with Parties to this end. Thank you.