Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
1999a). Following two preparatory working groups, the first Inb in october 2000
was attended by 148 countries, while the final round of negotiations in February
2003 involved delegations from 171 countries. the demands of attendance and
participation have required expanded multi-sectoral collaboration on tobacco issues
at national level. For example, formal and informal committees have been established
and regular interministerial consultations have been held, often for the first time, in
countries as diverse as Zimbabwe, china, Brazil, thailand, and the United States
(Wipfli
et al. 2001; woelk, Mtisi, and vaughan 2000).
the leadership exercised by developing countries in pressing for a strong
Fctc rapidly emerged as a distinguishing and perhaps surprising feature of
the Fctc negotiations and a key factor in the comparative strength of the eventual
text (Hammond and Assunta 2003). Such leadership reflects decisions made both to
shape the policy agenda and to manage the demands of participating in protracted
Geneva negotiations. Delegates from the wHo's African region were the first to
participate as a regional bloc, and possible divisions between tobacco producing and
non-producing countries were avoided by the development of common positions
prior to each Inb. Such positions heightened the impact of african countries on
the negotiations (bates 2001) and the practice was subsequently adopted by other
regions, thus enabling the development of cross-regional alliances such as that
between the african and southeast asian regions.
a small number of high-income countries were broadly protective of the interests
of transnational tobacco companies, advocating a minimalist Fctc restricted to
aspirations and avoiding obligations. this group included Japan and Germany, with
the U.S. emerging as their most prominent proponent, particularly following the
election of George w. bush. Democrat representative Henry waxman highlighted the
administration's efforts to undermine Fctc negotiations via documents indicating
that, following a meeting with representatives of Philip Morris, U.S. negotiators
pursued ten of eleven requested deletions from proposed text (waxman 2002). Prior
to the final round of negotiations, a leaked memo from the U.S. embassy in riyadh
urged Saudi arabian assistance in backing U.S. efforts to manage the debate over the
relationship between trade and health, encouraging the attendance of delegates from
economic ministries to ensure that the perspective of the health department was not
unchallenged (waxman, Durbin, and Doggett
2003).
The FCTC and Civil Society
the Fctc process included efforts to increase civil society participation within an
essentially state-centric policy process, efforts that were necessarily partial and a
consistent source of tension among national delegations. the wHo generally allows
comparatively circumscribed participation in its proceedings to nongovernmental
organisations (NGOs) that have entered into 'official relations' with it, a status
achieved through a multi-year process by international health-related nGos. this
status allows such organisations to observe proceedings and to make an expository
statement at the chair's invitation, usually confined to a short period at the end of
