WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION EXECUTIVE BOARD 114th Session Provisional agenda item 6.4 EB114/12 8 April 2004
Nongovernmental organizations: reconsideration of two applications for admission into official relations with WHO 1. The report of the Executive Board’s Standing Committee on Nongovernmental Organizations to the Board at its 113th session contained, inter alia, a recommendation to admit into official relations with WHO the International Council of Grocery Manufacturers Associations and the Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the EU.1 2. During its consideration of this recommendation at its 113th session, the Executive Board requested2 supplementary information about the nongovernmental organizations for consideration at its 114th session. Accordingly, the responses from the Council and the Confederation are reproduced, without attachments, at Annexes 1 and 2, respectively. Copies of the attachments are available upon request. 3. Also during the discussion in the Board in January 2004, particular reference was made to obtaining more information on any possible links of the nongovernmental organizations concerned with the tobacco industry. The letters from the two organizations indicate their policies on tobacco. 4. In addition, it should be noted that membership of each nongovernmental organization consists of national organizations, which in turn are constituted by a large number of individual companies. Ownership of these companies is a matter that it is impractical to study in depth, but in its work on both tobacco and food the Secretariat has taken into account the fact that one of the major food companies that is a member in some of these national organizations is substantially owned by a company that also wholly owns a major tobacco company. That has not, however, led the Secretariat to avoid interacting when required with the food company concerned.
ACTION BY THE EXECUTIVE BOARD 5. The Executive Board is invited to consider the information provided by the International Council of Grocery Manufacturers Associations and the Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the EU, and to decide whether to admit them into official relations with WHO.
1 2
See document EB113/23. Document EB113/2004/REC/2, summary record of the tenth meeting, section 5.