The International Tobacco Growers’ Association (Itga) expressed disappointment over the plan of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC) to ban appointed and elected officials from participating in the Conference of Parties (CoP7).
In an open letter, the Itga called on United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to intervene on its behalf by exercising his authority as the head of the UN to look into this, and ensure that FCTC conforms with its obligations under the UN Charter.
“The Itga hereby kindly and respectfully requests that you exercise your authority as secretary-general of the United Nations and guardian of the UN Charter, to ensure that the FCTC fulfills its obligations under the charter and operates in an inclusive and transparent manner,” Itga President François van der Merwe and CEO Antonio Abrunhosa wrote in a letter to Ban dated September 21.
They pointed out the group’s “deep concern” over the plan of the WHO-FCTC to ban dozens of “appointed and elected officials” from executive, legislative and judicial branches representing tobacco-growing countries from participation in the next CoP7 of the WHO-FCTC, which will be held in India this November.
They believe this is in direct contravention of Article 2 of the UN Charter, which states that “[t]he
organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its members.”
The Itga said that under the UN Charter, sovereign countries have a right to choose their own representatives at the UN without facing the threat of exclusion or intimidation from a UN agency.
The 24 member-countries of Itga, which was organized in 1984, are South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Croatia, South Korea, the US, the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Malawi, Mexico, Pakistan, Kenya, the Dominican Republic, Thailand, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Van der Merwe claimed that the FCTC also breached Article 8 of the UN Charter, which states that it “shall place no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs.”
They added that Article 43 of the Vienna Convention on the Representation of States in their Relations with International Organizations expressly stated that, in respect of international organs and meetings, “the sending state may freely appoint the members of the delegation”. The Itga said the FCTC has already banned tobacco farmers, tobacco manufacturers, respected international law-enforcement agencies, such as Interpol, the media and general public, from previous CoP meetings and is now applying this undemocratic approach to sovereign nation-states.