The next session of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO FCTC and second Meeting of the Parties to the Illicit Trade Protocol were due to take place at The Hague, Netherlands.

The next session of the Conference of the Parties (COP9) to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and the second Meeting of the Parties (MOP2) to the Illicit Trade Protocol will be held virtually later this year due to the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Both meetings were due to take place at The Hague last year but cancelled due to the impact of the pandemic on international global conferences and travel.

According to a notice on the WHO FCTC website, COP9 will take place digitally from 8 to 13 November 2021 (10:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 17:00 CET) and MOP2 will run from 15 to 18 November 2021 (10:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 17:00 CET).

A statement on the WHO FCTC website read: “In light of the Covid-19 global pandemic and its impact on the conduct of global conference and travel, it is not feasible to organise an in-person meeting at The Hague, Netherlands as initially planned.”

Click here for the thoughts of new European Travel Retail Confederation Senior Counsel Ricardo Oliveira on the threat of the Illicit Trade Protocol to duty free tobacco sales.