WHO convention to discuss media accessibility to crucial

WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control today said discussions on whether media should be differentiated from general public and allowed access to crucial meetings at the ongoing global conference will take place soon.
The statement comes after a journalist was reportedly "physically removed" from one of the sessions at the ongoing Seventh Session of the Conference of Parties (COP7) to World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) here. India is hosting the conference for the first time.
According to western media reports, journalist Drew Johnson was physically removed from the UN conference. His badge was also allegedly removed.

"I cannot comment on how the security was handled. It was made clear in the morning that the Parties (participating nations) of the convention had requested that the meeting not be open for public. As per the rules, there is no separation between media and public.
"That person (journalist) entered the room and had to be very persistently requested to leave," Stela Bialous, consultant, convention secretariat told reporters.
Commenting on the access of media to crucial international meetings, the official said, "This issue had come up before. The document 30 which talks about whether or not there should be an arrangement made where media will be treated differently and given different access than the public, will be discussed at the convention here."

"Until that point, it is up to the parties, who are part of the convention to decide what kind of meeting they want to have," she said.
Samuel Compton, Media Coordinator for the convention, said the journalist was asked a number of times to leave but he wanted to make a stand.