Date and place of the eighth regular session of the Conference of the Parties

Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Seventh session Delhi, India, 7−12 November 2016 Provisional agenda item 8 FCTC/COP/7/35 9 August 2016 66 Date and place of the eighth regular session of the Conference of the Parties INTRODUCTION 1. In accordance with Rules 3 and 4 of its Rules of Procedure (ROP), the Conference of the Parties (COP) shall decide on the date and duration of its next regular session, which shall be held at the seat of the Secretariat unless the COP decides otherwise. 2. Should the COP decide to hold it elsewhere, the host country would need to cover any additional expenses, including the travel costs of staff to support the Conference. A host agreement would be required to specify the details. 3. In addition, and pursuant to Rule 4.1 of the ROP, it will also be recalled that after the third session, regular sessions of the COP shall be held every two years. PROPOSED DATES OF THE EIGHTH SESSION OF THE COP 4. Options for the date and duration of the eighth regular session of the COP (COP8) were considered by the Bureau of the COP, elected by COP6, at its third meeting in accordance with its mandate 1 . 5. The Bureau of the COP recommends that the COP selects one of the following options for its eighth regular session, based on the availability of the Geneva International Conference Centre (CICG) at the time of writing this document and assuming a meeting of 5.5 days from Monday to Saturday lunchtime: (A) 26 November–1 December 2018; or (B) 1–6 October 2018. 6. In accordance with Article 33.1 of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products (the Protocol), the first session of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP1) will be convened “immediately before or after the next regular session of the COP following the entry into force of the Protocol”. 1 See decision FCTC/COP5(20), available at http://www.who.int/fctc/publications FCTC/COP/7/35 2 Therefore, possible dates for MOP1 should be considered in conjunction with the date and venue of COP8. 7. Option A would allow a three-day MOP1 to be held immediately after COP8 from 3–5 December 2018. 8. Option B would only allow COP8 to be held at CICG, because there are insufficient meeting rooms available to hold MOP1 from 8–10 October 2018. It would also be difficult to find an alternative venue in Geneva for MOP1 on these dates. ACTION BY THE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES 9. The COP is invited to decide the date and place of its eighth session, taking into the account the possibility of holding MOP1 and the availability of the venue in Geneva. = = =