??10 WHO FRAMEWORK CONVENTION "Gal's ON TOBACCO CONTROL 2095-2015 Tel. direct: +41 22 791 3926 His Excellency E-mail: oopfcto@who.int MI Nguyen Tan Dung In reply please Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic refer to: 0f Vlet Nam No. 1, Hoang Hoa Tham Street Your reference: Ba Dinh District Hanoi Viet Nam 14 October 2015 Your Excellency, I have the honor to congratulate Viet Nam on its recent achievements in implementing the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) under your leadership. The adoption of a strong Tobacco Control Law in 2012, the recent application of pictorial health warnings on tobacco products and the establishment of the Viet Nam Tobacco Control Fund, demonstrate your Govemment?s strong commitment to a reduction in tobacco use and will ultimately bring enormous bene?ts to the health of the people of Viet Nam, especially the younger generation. I would also be grateful for your consideration of another matter that has raised concern among some Parties. It has been drawn to our attention that Viet Nam is among the Parties that nominated representatives of the tobacco industry to their delegations for both the ?fth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) in 2012 and the sixth session of the COP in 2014. There is real concern that the inclusion of tobacco industry representatives in a COP delegation including employees of state-owned tobacco companies may render it unable to play a full part in discussions with other Parties to agree strong tobacco control measures. CC: - His Excellency, Dr Vu Duc Dam, Deputy Prime Minister - Government Of?ce Minister of Foreign Affairs - Minister of Health - Minister of Industry and Trade - Permanent Mission of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam to the United Nations Of?ce and other international organizations in Geneva Convention Secretariat World Health Organization - 20, avenue Appia - CH-1211 Geneva 27- Switzerland Tel +41 22791 5043 Fax ?11227915830 E-mail: fclesecretariat@who.int Page 2 You may well know that as a Party to the WHO FCTC, Viet Nam has a legal obligation to implement the provisions of the Convention. I refer to Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC, which obliges all Parties to protect public health policy from the interference of the tobacco industry. Furthermore, the Guidelines on Article 5.3, adopted by the Conference of the Parties, say that: ?Parties should ensure that representatives of State-owned tobacco industry do not form part of delegations to any meetings of the Conference of the Parties, its subsidiary bodies or any other bodies established pursuant to decisions of the Conference of the Parties.? As you may be aware, the sixth session of the Conference of the Parties discussed the issue of transparency among Party delegations and mandated the Bureau elected by the COP to propose improvements. As a result, the Bureau discussed this matter at its recent meeting on 5 7 October 2015. On behalf of the Convention Secretariat, I respectfully request your kind support in ensuring that representatives of the tobacco industry, or agencies representing the industry?s interests, should no longer be nominated to the Viet Nam delegation for future COPs or for meetings of its subsidiary bodies. This will greatly contribute to the successful conduct of future meetings of COPs and its subsidiary bodies and will also demonstrate Viet Nam?s continuing commitment to the implementation of the WHO FCTC. This is especially important at a time when Viet Nam is preparing to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which establishes WHO FCTC implementation as a target under Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to assist in this or any other matter. The Convention Secretariat is fully committed to supporting your efforts to implement the Convention and so promote the health and wellbeing of the Vietnamese people. Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurance of my highest consideration. Dr Vera Luiza da Costa Silva Head of the Convention Secretariat WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control