Jamaica Signs Tobacco Control Treaty

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, K.D. Knight signed a Framework Convention on Tobacco Control at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York on Wednesday (Sept. 24), as part of a UN treaty event.
The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control was adopted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on May 21, and is designed to reduce the devastating health and economic impacts of tobacco. This agreement also establishes guidelines whereby countries can pass legislation for the effective control of tobacco.
Minister Knight also deposited two instruments of ratification: “Instrument of Accession for the Montreal Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and the Instrument of Accession for the Beijing Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
This means that Jamaica will continue to play its part in effecting measures to further protect the environment by ensuring that the ozone layer is not depleted.
The Foreign Affairs Minister was accompanied by Ambassador Stafford Neil, Jamaica’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and Ambassador Raymond Wolfe, Under-Secretary, Multilateral Affairs Department – Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade.
The UN Department of Public Information estimates that approximately 500 treaties will be deposited with the United Nations Secretary-General, and while action can be taken on any of them, special emphasis will be placed on agreements regarding the safety of United Nations personnel, transnational organized crime, terrorism, tobacco control and torture.