Decision: international cooperation for implementation of the WHO FCTC, including on human rights

Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Seventh session Delhi, India, 712 November 2016 12 November 2016 66 DECISION FCTC/COP7(26) International cooperation for implementation of the WHO FCTC, including on human rights The Conference of the Parties (COP), Recognizing the persistent interference by the tobacco industry with implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) and the entry into force of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products; Emphasizing the WHO FCTC as an evidence-based treaty that reaffirms the right of all people to the highest attainable standard of health, as well as international precedents for holding transnational corporations accountable for wrongdoing; Recalling the human rights reflected in the WHO FCTC and acknowledging the relationship between tobacco use and human rights; Noting the work of the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group on Transnational Corporations and Business Enterprises with Respect to Human Rights established by resolution A/HRC/RES/26/9, and the overlap of the Council’s work with the spirit of the WHO FCTC; 1. ENCOURAGES Parties to cooperate internationally to address the issue of increased tobacco consumption that is exacerbated by transnational tobacco companies’ strategies to enter emerging-market economies, particularly in lower-income countries, by linking the human rights framework and development to tackling the global tobacco epidemic; 2. INVITES the Convention Secretariat to collaborate with existing United Nations mechanisms and processes working on issues of business and human rights in order to protect public health interests from the commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry. (Fifth plenary meeting, 12 November 2016) = = =