3. The Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

The Convention Secretariat is the administrative arm of the COP that supports treaty implementation by Parties. It is hosted by WHO at WHO headquarters building in Geneva. Nevertheless, the Convention Secretariat has totally separate mandates, workplans and budgets from those of WHO and its work is guided by the COP and the Bureau. 

The functions of the Convention Secretariat are clearly defined in the WHO FCTC and the ROP. In short, the overall responsibility for the work of the Convention Secretariat resides with the Head of the Convention Secretariat. 

The Convention Secretariat is organized around five teams: Office of the Head of the Convention Secretariat; Governance and International Cooperation; Reporting and Knowledge Management; Legal, Trade and the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products; and Development Assistance. The Convention Secretariat’s organigram can be seen here.

When the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products (the Protocol) enters into force, the Convention Secretariat shall be the Secretariat of this Protocol and make arrangements for sessions of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP) and any subsidiary bodies as well as working groups and other bodies established by the MOP and provide them with services as required. The ROP and the financial rules that apply to the COP shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the MOP unless the MOP decides otherwise. COP and MOP ordinary sessions will be held back to back.