Security concerns due to civil unrest in host country Panama led to the postponement of COP10. Photo credit: WHO FCTC
The Tenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) and the Third session of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP3) to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products is postponed to 2024.
Civil unrest in Panama, the host country of COP10 and MOP3, since late October which saw citizens protesting the state’s approval of a law endorsing the government’s contract with a mining company, led officials to cancel the two meetings that were scheduled for November 20-30 with more than 1,500 people expected to attend the conferences.
Major roads have been blocked, access to vital utilities has been cut off, and there are currently significant shortages of basic goods, according to local media, indicating that the protests are becoming more and more violent. Within five days of the protests, 37 police officers had been injured, as well as 51 business facilities, 15 government institutions, and 37 vehicles vandalized, according to a situation report by the Red Cross Society of Panama.
The WHO FCTC Secretariat said in a statement the postponed meetings “are expected to be held in Panama, as early as possible in 2024, at dates to be confirmed.”