A Gender Perspective on Reporting and Exchange of Information

An important victory was scored at the 2nd Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC), when Governments agreed to include gender in the final reporting and exchange of information document.

Specifically, gender related questions should be taken into account when gathering and providing data and in addition, the development of indicators to measure gender sensitive policies must be adressed when elaborating the draft of the Group 2 questions and when revising the format of the questionnaire.

Below is an intervention made by Soon-Young Yoon during Thursday's plenary on behalf of the International Alliance of Women and the International Network of Women Against Tobacco.

A Gender Perspective on Reporting and Exchange of Information
Agenda item: 5.2 reporting and exchange of information

Statement by the International Alliance of Women
And the International Network of Women against Tobacco
Second Conference of the Parties of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
June 30 to July 6, 2007
Bangkok , Thailand

Distinguished delegates,

We believe that the Preamble of the FCTC referring to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is a critical foundation for the future of tobacco control because it helps establish the principles of human rights and gender equality as central to interpreting all Articles. The International Alliance of Women and the International Network of Women against Tobacco have submitted NGO shadow reports on gender and tobacco to CEDAW that monitors women’s “bill of rights.” Our reports have reviewed the performance of nearly 100 governments on gender and tobacco. Through this process, NGOs and governments as well as the CEDAW committee have gained new knowledge and awareness of the issue.

Here are recommendations based on our experiences. First, we strongly support the FCA briefing paper entitled “Reporting and exchange of information” and its recommendations that includes establishment of an independent subsidiary body of experts to oversee implementation of the FCTC and posting of government reports on the website. Political transparency is paramount and all reports should be made publicly accessible. In the case of CEDAW, these reports are available many months prior to the meeting of the experts. This allows NGOs to monitor government performance. NGO statements are also posted on the UN website, making them accessible worldwide.

Second, we call on governments to ensure the visibility of gender in all Articles of the FCTC. For example, there should be an indicator on women’s leadership such as the gender balance of national tobacco control boards. Some governments may hesitate to include gender information on the grounds that national data is not available. However, we urge them to maintain the highest standards as socio-economic indicators should never be compromised to suit the lowest common denominator. Drawing another lesson from CEDAW, we note that some of the best outcomes come from country reports that reflect both accomplishments and shortcomings. If a tobacco control program shows gaps in implementation, isn’t this the best argument for stronger political support and financial aid when delegations return home?

Finally, we recommend that the Conference of the Parties subsidiary body that monitors government reports to include an expert on gender and tobacco because this is a specialization on equal par with others such as trade and advertising. His or her presence would testify that governments are ready to take action.

Thank you.