WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC)

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What's new?

The Conference of the Parties (COP) (those countries that have acceded to, ratified or adopted the WHO FCTC) will hold its first meeting in Geneva on 6-17 February 2006. The COP will discuss important issues such as financing of treaty activities, the WHO FCTC Secretariat, reporting requirements and systems and, possibly, protocols to the treaty.

In order to participate as voting members of the COP, countries must become Parties to the WHO FCTC at least 90 days prior to the meeting, or by November 8, 2005.

More information available soon at this link

What is the WHO FCTC?

The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is the first international public health treaty negotiated under WHO auspices. The WHO FCTC, which was negotiated over four years and came into force on 27 February 2005, was developed in the recognition that a global strategy was needed to confront a global epidemic that countries cannot address through domestic legislation alone.

The WHO FCTC contains guidelines and requirements for the implementation of the most cost-effective tobacco control measures available. Key provisions that parties to the WHO FCTC will be required to implement include:

• A comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion to be implemented within five years;
• Strong health warnings on tobacco packaging that cover at least 30% (and ideally 50%) of the principal display areas within three years;
• Protection from secondhand smoke in all indoor workplaces and public places and in public transportation; and
• Measures to reduce the smuggling of tobacco products.

The treaty also addresses a number of other issues, including the disclosure and regulation of ingredients in tobacco products, sale of tobacco products by or to minors, treatment for tobacco addiction, research and exchange of information among countries and promoting public awareness.

The WHO FCTC provides for the convening of the Conference of the Parties (COP), comprised of all parties to the treaty, within a year of its entry into force. The first session of the COP will take place in Geneva on February 6-17, 2006 and will discuss important issues such as treaty financing, the functioning of the Secretariat, requirements for monitoring and reporting, and possible protocols to the treaty. In order to take part in this first session of the COP, countries must have ratified the Convention at least 90 days before the start of the session (November 8, 2005).

To download the text of the treaty, please visit the following link.

Becoming a Party to the WHO FCTC: Ratification, Acceptance, Approval, Formal Confirmation and Accession

The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) was adopted by the World Health Assembly on May 21, 2003 and was open for signature from June 16, 2003 until June 29, 2004 during which 168 countries signed the treaty. Signature indicates a good faith intention by a country to ratify the WHO FCTC and a political commitment not to undermine the objectives of the treaty. However, signature does not bind countries to the obligations of the WHO FCTC. In order for a country to be legally obligated to implement the provisions of the WHO FCTC countries must become parties to the treaty. They can do so through ratification, acceptance, approval, formal confirmation or accession.

Most countries that have become parties to the WHO FCTC did so through ratification, a legal action indicating a country’s consent to be bound by the terms of the treaty. Acceptance and approval following signature are other processes by which countries can become parties to the WHO FCTC and have the same legal effect as ratification. Formal confirmation is a process open to regional economic integration organizations (for example, the European Union) to become parties to the WHO FCTC and also has the same legal effect as ratification. However, members of an international organization that has become a party do not themselves become parties by virtue of this act.

Ratification (or acceptance, approval or formal confirmation) is an option only for countries that have signed the WHO FCTC. Countries and regional economic integration organizations that have not signed the WHO FCTC can become parties through the one-step process of accession, which has the same legal effect as ratification.

All of these processes require a country’s head of state, head of government or other legally authorized government representative to deposit an instrument of ratification or legal equivalent with the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN Headquarters in New York), which serves as the Depositary for the Convention. The acceptance by the UN of the deposit of the instrument of ratification – not the approval of ratification at national level -- establishes that a country is a party to the WHO FCTC and thus bound by the treaty’s obligations.

The WHO FCTC entered into force on February 27, 2005, 90 days following November 29, 2004, the date that the Depositary accepted the 40th instrument of ratification or legal equivalent. Therefore, the WHO FCTC entered into force on February 27, 2005 for all countries that became parties to the WHO FCTC on or before November 29, 2004. For all other countries, the WHO FCTC enters into force 90 days following the date they became a party to the treaty.

For more detailed information on these processes please see:

Summary of UN Treaty Handbook adapted for the WHO FCTC
UN Treaty Handbook
UN Treaty Reference Guide

Signatories and Ratifications in the Americas (Last update: 08 Nov 2005)

More information about the process of ratification of the FCTC around the world

Country	Signature Date	Ratification, Acceptance (A), Approval (AA), Formal confirmation(c), Accession (a)
Antigua and Barbuda	28 June 2004
Argentina	25 September 2003
Bahamas	29 June 2004
Barbados	28 June 2004	3 November 2005
Belize	26 September 2003
Bolivia	27 February 2004	15 September 2005
Brazil	16 June 2003	3 November 2005
Canada	15 July 2003	26 November 2004
Chile	25 September 2003	13 June 2005
Colombia
Costa Rica	3 July 2003
Cuba	29 June 2004
Dominica	29 June 2004
Dominican Republic
Ecuador	22 March 2004
El Salvador	18 March 2004
Grenada	29 June 2004
Guatemala	25 September 2003
Guyana		15 September 2005 (a)
Haiti	23 July 2003
Honduras	18 June 2004	16 February 2005
Jamaica	24 September 2003	7 July 2005
Mexico	12 August 2003	28 May 2004
Nicaragua	7 June 2004
Panama	26 September 2003	16 August 2004
Paraguay	16 June 2003
Peru	21 April 2004	30 November 2004
Saint Kitts and Nevis	29 June 2004
Saint Lucia	29 June 2004	7 November 2005
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	14 June 2004
Suriname	24 June 2004
Trinidad and Tobago	27 August 2003	19 August 2004
United States of America	10 May 2004
Uruguay	19 June 2003	9 September 2004
Venezuela	22 September 2003

 

More Information

• Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG)
• WHO Tobacco Free Initiative
• Framework Convention Alliance