[Intl-tobacco] PUBLIC HEARINGS ON FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON TOBACCO CONTROL: GENEVA, 12-13 OCTOBER 2000 (fwd)

[Robert Weissman]

PUBLIC HEARINGS ON FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON TOBACCO CONTROL: GENEVA, 12-13=
=20
OCTOBER 2000

The World Health Organization (WHO) is organizing two days of public
hearings on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) on 12 and
13 October in Geneva, Switzerland. The hearings come just two days before
the start of formal negotiations on the FCTC, the parameters of which were
set forth in Resolutions WHA52.18 and WHA53.16 which were adopted by
consensus by the World Health Assembly in 1999 and 2000 respectively. =20
Registration is now open to attend these hearings, either as a journalist
or as a participant.

WHERE: The two-day hearings, which will run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., will be
held at Geneva's International Conference Centre (CICG).

WHEN: 12-13 October 2000

HOW TO REGISTER AS A JOURNALIST: Send proof of journalist=92s credentials
to:  Office of the Spokesperson (SPO)

World Health Organization

20 Avenue Appia

1211 Geneva 27

Switzerland

e-mail: hartlg@who.int

HOW TO PARTICIPATE AS AN INTERESTED PARTY:

Pre-Hearing Submissions

WHO will receive comments on the FCTC from all interested institutions in
any of the six official United Nations languages, i.e., Arabic, Chinese,
English, French, Russian and Spanish. The deadline for receiving
submissions is the close of business (Geneva time) on 31 August 2000.
Submissions should be sent to fctchearings@who.int or posted to TFI, WHO,
20 Avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland. Submissions must not exceed
5 pages (standard size paper and type), including attachments. Private
sector and non-governmental organizations and institutions may submit
these. Organizations and institutions will be limited to one submission.
Each submission must clearly identify:  The organisational or
institutional submitter

The scope of activities or mandate of the organization

The organization=92s interest in the FCTC process

Source of funding of the commenting/submitting organization.

WHO must receive all submissions by the deadline, which will not be
extended under any circumstances.

Testifying at the Hearings

A panel comprising three members of TFI=92s Policy and Strategy Advisory
Committee (PSAC) will moderate the proceedings. PSAC was established by
the Director-General of WHO to provide advice; its members are
international tobacco control experts. Opportunities to speak are limited
to institutions or organizations that have made written submissions. Each
speaker may speak for up to a maximum of five minutes. Speakers may:

Provide a synopsis of their written testimony

Add to their written testimony

Comment on other people=92s testimony For planning and organization
purposes, please state clearly, at the time of the original submission, if
you wish to testify in person in the hearings in Geneva. Speakers should
hand a hard copy of their statement to the Secretariat of the Hearings
before they speak to facilitate interpretation into other languages and
for future reference.

For those not able to attend in person, testimony may be videotaped and,
time permitting, these videos will be shown during the Hearings. If
possible, videos should, be submitted in PAL format and a transcript
should be provided.  Subsequent Submissions by All Previous Submitters

All submitters (i.e. all those organizations and institutions that have
made submissions by the close of business [Geneva time] 31 August 2000)
may file submissions in reply to presentations after the hearings. The
submissions must reach WHO by the close of business (Geneva time) 27
October 2000, and must not exceed 3 pages.  For further information from
WHO, journalists can contact Mr Gregory Hartl WHO Spokesperson, WHO,
Geneva, tel (+41 22) 791 4458 fax (+41 22)  791 4858. E-mail:
hartlg@who.int.