Welcome to Copwatch’s COP Live reporting on FCTCCOP11. Here we bring you our observations and impressions on day one.
COP11 participants list
This is now published on the COP11 site: https://storage.googleapis.com/who-fctc-cop11-source/Additional%20documents%20-%20Diverse/fctc-cop11-div-1-en.pdf
We haven’t had much time to look at this but notice that Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids has a whopping 31 representatives at COP11, and the European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention (ENSP) has 38.
Live stream
According to the agenda, today and the last day are the only times we can expect to see the COP11 proceedings being live streamed (or, ‘webcast’, as it is referred to on the COP11 home page). Today we saw the opening being streamed, the adoption of the agenda and also the various country statements given at agenda item 3. UPDATE – there will be more livestreaming on day 2 (Tuesday) as agenda item 3 is not finished.
Also live streamed were two side events which are not part of the agenda (though designed to influence outcomes at COP): the Ministerial roundtable (we already wrote about that here) and the Strategic Dialogue. It was easy to get these two confused, as they seemed to have the same speakers and were announced in quite different places on the COP11 site. We hope to get time to discuss those in more detail later in the week, but in the meantime please look at World Vapers Alliance’s excellent thread on X: https://x.com/vapers_alliance/status/1990409941132206241
The agenda
The agenda was adopted quickly (unlike at COP10), to audible jubilation from the officials sitting at the front. The agenda is here but consider instead looking at Clive Bates’ commentary on the annotated agenda, which includes analysis of most of the main items.
The country statements
These are termed ‘general debate statements’ in the agenda but it’s not a debate in the usual sense of the word. Delegates from various countries stood up to give an update on their progress, one after the other, but there was no discussion. We and other tobacco harm reduction advocates listened hard, as this is the only opportunity we have to hear what our governments wish to say at COP11.
We are analysing the statements now and hope to bring you more on those later in the week – but the headlines are that:
New Zealand gets today’s Copwatch award 🏅, with Serbia as the runner up 🎖️
…and we are bitterly disappointed in the UK and Japan, for not highlighting the role that safer nicotine products have played in their impressive reductions in smoking prevalence.
The Philippines didn’t stick its neck out this time either, but that’s probably the effect of the five previously awarded ‘dirty ashtrays’ (never underestimate the power of the official NGO’s at FCTC COP).
Propaganda briefings
The Global Alliance on Tobacco Control published the first of their bulletins / brainwashings this morning – see here. It’s basically a compilation of their greatest COP11 hits, an attempt to push the Parties into following their and the FCTC secretariat’s diktats. This, sitting on that page, looks to us like a warning to Parties not to step out of line:
We hope to be wrong, but fear that the ashtray will be going New Zealand’s way tomorrow.
Good COP 2.0
The conversation you can join is TPA’s Good COP 2.0, which is taking place in Geneva and streamed on YouTube. Everyone is welcome – if you are in Geneva and want to stop by just go to Hotel Royal Geneve and pick up a guest lanyard from the TPA reception desk on the first floor. Today’s speakers have included David Williams, Martin Cullip, Tikki Pangestu, Roger Bate, Clive Bates, Kurt Yeo, Juan Jose Cirion, Alberto Hernandez, Adam Hoffer, Benjamin Elks, and Carissa Düring. You can catch up on those discussions on this YouTube link.
That’s all for today!
#THRWorks
