COP10: Petition to hold tobacco industry accountable for harmful activities

In anticipation of the upcoming Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC COP10), which will be held in Panama in November, Corporate Accountability and the Make Big Tobacco Pay coalition are inviting stakeholders involved in the fight against tobacco use to sign a petition calling on country delegates to the FCTC to promote policies to hold the tobacco industry accountable for its harmful actions.

Since the 1990s, Corporate Accountability has played a leading role in campaigns to hold transnational corporations accountable and to support and assist populations affected by these companies by leading campaigns in four major areas: food, water, climate and tobacco.

In addition to the 8 million deaths worldwide each year, the tobacco industry's activities also have a significant economic impact: the cost of smoking amounts to $1.85 trillion, primarily in health-related costs. This is equivalent to 1.8 billion of the world's annual gross domestic product, and nearly 40 billion of these costs are borne by countries in the global south. There are also environmental costs associated with deforestation and water depletion due to tobacco cultivation and processing, as well as costs associated with pollution caused by the consumption of tobacco products themselves. Tobacco production emits and consumes more than 80 million tons of CO2 equivalent per year.

Holding the tobacco industry accountable for damages is a treaty obligation

The signatories call on the 181 countries that are parties to the treaty to take action in this area of the treaty at the upcoming COP10. Article 19 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCCLAT) provides that the tobacco industry is held liable for damages caused by its activities. It thus provides that the Parties agree " to consider taking legislative measures or promoting existing laws in relation to liability and to provide mutual legal assistance in any legal proceedings relating to liability, as appropriate and by mutual agreement "Forcing the tobacco industry to face the harmful consequences of its activities and products through dissuasive sanctions or through tax mechanisms to finance the compensation of damages is a direct contribution to the fight against the tobacco epidemic.

The WHO FCTC recognizes the potential for holding this industry accountable, and the governments of the approximately 180 countries that have ratified the treaty have committed to pursuing this approach. This approach is particularly relevant to international and bilateral cooperation.

The signatories of the petition therefore call on governments to:

• Advance measures relating to the liability of this industry at the 10th Conference of the Parties to the treaty;
• Provide more funding to the WHO FCTC secretariat so that it can:

- provide technical assistance on this subject to requesting countries;

- structure and implement better frameworks for international cooperation, such as international liability regimes;

• Implement Article 19 of the WHO FCTC and advance accountability by collaborating with local civil society organizations, academics, and legal experts, including by taking legal action against tobacco manufacturers and imposing strong and dissuasive penalties.

Petition link: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/organizational-sign-on-letter-make-big-tobacco-pay

Keywords: Corporate Accountability, COP10, Article 19, FCTC, WHO, interference, lobby, petition

AE