Civil society and the negotiation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Abstract

Tobacco control civil society organisations mobilised to influence countries during the negotiation of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) between 1999 and 2003. Tobacco control civil society organisations and coalitions around the world embraced the idea of an international tobacco control treaty and came together as the Framework Convention Alliance (FCA), becoming an important non-state actor within the international system of tobacco control. Archival documents and interviews demonstrate that the FCA successfully used strategies, including publication of a newsletter, shaming symbolism and media advocacy to influence policy positions of countries during the FCTC negotiation. The FCA became influential in the negotiation process, by mobilising tobacco control civil society organisations and resources with the help of the Internet, and framing the tobacco control discussion around global public health.

Keywords:

• Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)
• Framework Convention Alliance (FCA)
• World Health Organisation (WHO)
• tobacco industry
• transnational advocacy network
• international affairs

Acknowledgements

This article was produced with the support of postdoctoral fellowships from the American Legacy Foundation and the National Cancer Institute (CA-113710), and National Cancer Institute Research Grant CA-87472. The funding agencies had no involvement with the conduct of the research or the preparation of the manuscript.

Notes

1. References which constitute the ‘data’ for the paper are cited with numbers and are available online at http://repositories.cdlib.org/ctcre/tcpmi/CivilSociety_Refs