The following statement was published by the Employers Consultative Association of Malawi to the ILO Governing body in advance of the vote regarding cooperation with the tobacco industry in the pursuit of the Organization’s social mandate:
Introduction
We are aware of the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which requires Parties to protect public health policies on tobacco control from the commercial interests of the tobacco industry. We are also aware of the ECOSOC Resolution E/2017/L.21 on the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases, which encourages UN agencies, “as appropriate and in line with their respective mandates, to develop and implement their own policies on preventing tobacco industry interference” of public health policies on tobacco control. We welcome the ILO’s decision to discuss the issue of ILO cooperation with the tobacco industry at the 331st session of the Governing Body to be held in November 2017.
