Intergovernmental Negotiating Body on a Protocol on Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products

15th February 2008
closing session

Agenda item 6 :
Presentation of the note of the Chairperson “Drafting and negotiation of a protocol on illicit trade in tobacco products”:
A note of the Chairperson was distributed to the Delegations at the beginning of the meeting.
During its presentation, the Chairperson stressed that this document was not official and was not intended to commit the Parties. It must be considered a personal view of the discussions that had taken place during the first session of the INB on a Protocol on the illicit trade in tobacco products. This document gives only an idea of the results of the session and the orientation of the negotiations.
A formal summary report will be prepared by the Secretariat.

Discussion :
The presentation of the note was followed by the intervention of Ecuador, Maldives, Democratic Republic of Congo, Brazil, Namibia and Djibouti.
During his speech, the delegate of the Maldives (member of the SEAR) stressed the existence of different views and interests concerning the drafting of the Protocol. He expressed the hope that the Protocol will be balanced and based on a real operability.

Agenda item 7: discussed the 14th February

Agenda item 8: closure of the Session
The Chairperson opened the floor to the delegations to express the final remarks.

Party States :
As party States, Austria, India, Mali Ecuador, Oman, Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, Micronesia, Paraguay, China, Japan, Benin, Jamaica, Palau, Turkey, Philippines, Malaysia, Uruguay, New Zealand, Australia, Saudi Arabia took the floor.
All the Delegations expressed their satisfaction about the proceedings of the session and the results achieved so far. They thanked the Chairperson, the Secretariat and the group of expert for their contribution, stressing the quality of the debates.
Recognizing the challenge to translate the points discussed in legal terms, all the Delegations stressed the importance to draft a strong Protocol able to include all the different positions articulated during this first session. To foster the negotiations, many Delegations asked to the Chairperson to provide a draft version of the Protocol as soon as possible (Austria and India hopes that the document will be ready in May/June).

Observer States :
No observer States took the floor.

International organizations :
Concerning the international organization, only the World Customs Organization (WCO) took the floor welcoming the results of the session.

Non-Governmental Organizations :
For the NGO’s, Corporate Accountability International and Alliance took the floor.
CAI said that the priority of the Protocol was the protection of public health, so, concerning the economic interests in the Tobacco industry, the delegate stressed that the parties should have been resilient to eventual exterior pressure.

Conclusions of the Chairperson

The Chairperson expressed its satisfaction for the work done during the session, stressing that it was only the start of a long negotiation to draft the Protocol.
The second session will take place in Geneva in October, between the 22 and the 25. The dates have been chosen by vote by the different regions: SEAR, Micronesia, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Arab countries. One month earlier, the secretariat will give the final report to the different governments.