Resolution 59/1. Our joint commitment to effectively addressing and countering the world drug problem (UNGASS Outcome Document)

Preamble
  • Development/SDGs

We welcome the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,7 and we note that efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and to effectively address the world drug problem are complementary and mutually reinforcing;
  • Development/SDGs

Operational recommendations on demand reduction and related measures, including prevention and treatment, as well as other health-related issues
  • Harm reduction

1. We reiterate our commitment to promote the health, welfare and wellbeing of all individuals, families, communities and society as a whole, and facilitate healthy lifestyles through effective, comprehensive, scientific evidence based demand reduction initiatives at all levels, covering, in accordance with national legislation and the three international drug control conventions, prevention, early intervention, treatment, care, recovery, rehabilitation and social reintegration measures, as well as initiatives and measures aimed at minimizing the adverse public health and social consequences of drug abuse
  • Harm reduction

4. (g) Mainstream a gender perspective into and ensure the involvement of women in all stages of the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of drug policies and programmes, develop and disseminate gender-sensitive and age-appropriate measures that take into account the specific needs and circumstances faced by women and girls with regard to the world drug problem and, as States parties, implement the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;15
  • Civil society engagement

1. (k) Promote and strengthen regional and international cooperation in developing and implementing treatment-related initiatives, enhance technical assistance and capacity-building and ensure non-discriminatory access to a broad range of interventions, including psychosocial, behavioural and medication-assisted treatment, as appropriate and in accordance with national legislation, as well as to 7 E/CN.7/2016/L.12/Rev.1 rehabilitation, social reintegration and recovery-support programmes, including access to such services in prisons and after imprisonment, giving special attention to the specific needs of women, children and youth in this regard
  • Harm reduction

1. (m) Promote the inclusion in national drug policies, in accordance with national legislation and as appropriate, of elements for the prevention and treatment of drug overdose, in particular opioid overdose, including the use of opioid receptor antagonists such as naloxone to reduce drug-related mortality
  • Harm reduction

1. (o) Invite relevant national authorities to consider, in accordance with their national legislation and the three international drug control conventions, including into national prevention, treatment, care, recovery, rehabilitation and social reintegration measures and programmes, in the context of comprehensive and balanced drug demand reduction efforts, effective measures aimed at minimizing the adverse public health and social consequences of drug abuse, including, appropriate medication-assisted therapy programmes, injecting equipment programmes as well as antiretroviral therapy and other relevant interventions that prevent the transmission of HIV, viral hepatitis and other blood-borne diseases associated with drug use, as well as consider ensuring access to such interventions including in treatment and outreach services, prisons and other custodial settings, and promoting in that regard the use, as appropriate, of the WHO, UNODC and UNAIDS Technical Guide for Countries to Set Targets for Universal Access to HIV Prevention, Treatment and Care for Injecting Drug Users
  • Harm reduction

1. (q) Intensify, as appropriate, the meaningful participation of and support and training for civil society organizations and entities involved in drug-related health and social treatment services, in accordance with national legislation and in the framework of integrated and coordinated national drug policies, and encourage efforts by civil society and the private sector to develop support networks for prevention and treatment, care, recovery, rehabilitation and social reintegration in a balanced and inclusive manner
  • Civil society engagement

Operational recommendations on ensuring the availability of and access to controlled substances exclusively for medical and scientific purposes, while preventing their diversion
  • Access to controlled medicines

2. We reiterate our strong commitment to improving access to controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes by appropriately addressing existing barriers in this regard, including those related to legislation, regulatory systems, health-care systems, affordability, the training of health-care professionals, education, awareness-raising, estimates, assessment and reporting, benchmarks for consumption of substances under control, and international cooperation and coordination, while concurrently preventing their diversion, abuse and trafficking, and we recommend the following measures
  • Access to controlled medicines

2. (a) Consider reviewing, within the framework of national legal systems, domestic legislation and regulatory and administrative mechanisms, as well as procedures including domestic distribution channels, with the aim of simplifying and streamlining those processes and removing unduly restrictive regulations and impediments, where they exist, to ensure access to controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes, including for the relief of pain and suffering, as required by the three international drug control conventions and defined by national legislation, while preventing their diversion, abuse and trafficking, and encourage the exchange of information, lessons learned and best practices in designing and implementing regulatory, financial, educational, administrative and other related measures
  • Access to controlled medicines

2. (d) Address, at the national and international levels, issues related to the affordability of controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes, while ensuring their quality, safety and efficacy, including limited financial resources and problems in sourcing with regard to these substances, including in cooperation, as appropriate, with the private sector through, inter alia and where needed, expanding the national coverage of distribution networks to rural areas, addressing the link with government regulations, licences and taxation and allowing appropriately trained and qualified professionals to prescribe, dispense and administer controlled medicines based on their general professional licence, as well as, where appropriate, the manufacture of generic pharmaceutical preparations that are bioequivalent and cost-effective
  • Access to controlled medicines

2. (f) Develop national supply management systems for controlled substances that comprise selection, quantification, procurement, storage, distribution and use, strengthen the capacity of competent national authorities to adequately estimate and assess the need for controlled substances and paying special attention to essential medicines, as defined by national legislation, taking due note of the Guide on Estimating Requirements for Substances under International Control,10 and enhance domestic data-collection mechanisms in order to present the International Narcotics Control Board with estimates on the consumption of drugs used for medical and scientific purposes
  • Access to controlled medicines

Operational recommendations on cross-cutting issues: drugs and human rights, youth, children, women and communities
  • Human rights
  • Civil society engagement
  • Flexibilities in the UN drug conventions
  • Alternatives to punishment
  • Proportionality of sentencing

4. We reiterate our commitment to respecting, protecting and promoting all human rights, fundamental freedoms and the inherent dignity of all individuals and the rule of law in the development and implementation of drug policies, and we recommend the following measures
  • Human rights

4. (a) Enhance the knowledge of policy-makers and the capacity, as appropriate, of relevant national authorities on various aspects of the world drug problem in order to ensure that national drug policies, as part of a comprehensive, integrated and balanced approach, fully respect all human rights and fundamental freedoms and protect the health, safety and well-being of individuals, families, vulnerable members of society, communities and society as a whole, and to that end encourage cooperation with and among the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the International Narcotics Control Board, the World Health Organization and other relevant United Nations entities, within their respective mandates, including those relevant to the above-mentioned issues, and relevant regional and international organizations, as well as with civil society and the private sector, as appropriate
  • Human rights
  • Civil society engagement

4. (b) Ensure non-discriminatory access to health, care and social services in prevention, primary care and treatment programmes, including those offered to persons in prison or pre-trial detention, which are to be on a level equal to those available in the community, and ensure that women, including detained women, have access to adequate health services and counselling, including those particularly needed during pregnancy
  • Human rights

4. (c) Promote effective supervision of drug treatment and rehabilitation facilities by competent domestic authorities to ensure adequate quality of drug treatment and rehabilitation services and to prevent any possible acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in accordance with domestic legislation and applicable international law;
  • Human rights

4. (f) Implement age-appropriate practical measures, tailored to the specific needs of children, youth and other vulnerable members of society, in the legislative, administrative, social, economic, cultural and educational sectors, including measures to provide them with opportunities for healthy and self-sustained lives, in order to prevent their abuse of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, and address their involvement, use and exploitation in the illicit cultivation of crops, production, manufacturing and trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and other forms of drug-related crime, including urban crime, youth and gang-related violence and crime, fulfilling the obligations as States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and taking into account the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (the Riyadh Guidelines)
  • Human rights

4. (h) Consider, on a voluntary basis, when furnishing information to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs pursuant to the three international drug control conventions and relevant Commission resolutions, the inclusion of information concerning, inter alia, the promotion of human rights and the health, safety and welfare of all individuals, communities and society in the context of their domestic implementation of these conventions, including recent developments, best practices and challenges
  • Human rights

4. (i) Ensure that measures to prevent the illicit cultivation of and to eradicate plants containing narcotic and psychotropic substances respect fundamental human rights, take due account of traditional licit uses, where there is historic evidence of such use, and of the protection of the environment, in accordance with the three international drug control conventions, and also take into account, as appropriate and in accordance with national legislation, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
  • Human rights

4. (j) Encourage the development, adoption and implementation, with due regard to national, constitutional, legal and administrative systems, of alternative or additional measures with regard to conviction or punishment in cases of an appropriate nature, in accordance with the three international drug control conventions and taking into account, as appropriate, relevant United Nations standards and rules, such as the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non Custodial Measures (the Tokyo Rules)
  • Flexibilities in the UN drug conventions
  • Alternatives to punishment

4. (l) Promote proportionate national sentencing policies, practices and guidelines for drug-related offences whereby the severity of penalties is proportionate to the gravity of offences and whereby both mitigating and aggravating factors are taken into account, including the circumstances enumerated in article 3 of the 1988 Convention and other relevant and applicable international law, and in accordance with national legislation
  • Proportionality of sentencing

4. (o) Promote and implement effective criminal justice responses to drug-related crimes to bring perpetrators to justice that ensure legal guarantees and due process safeguards pertaining to criminal justice proceedings, including practical measures to uphold the prohibition of arbitrary arrest and detention and of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and to eliminate impunity, in accordance with relevant and applicable international law and taking into account United Nations standards and norms on crime prevention and criminal justice, and ensure timely access to legal aid and the right to a fair trial
  • Human rights

Operational recommendations on cross-cutting issues in addressing and countering the world drug problem: evolving reality, trends and existing circumstances, emerging and persistent challenges and threats, including new psychoactive substances, in conformity with the three international drug control conventions and other relevant international instruments
  • Development/SDGs

5. (v) Intensify efforts in the context of long-term and sustainable development programmes to address the most pressing drug-related socioeconomic factors, including unemployment and social marginalization, conducive to their subsequent exploitation by criminal organizations involved in drug-related crime;
  • Development/SDGs

Operational recommendations on alternative development; regional, interregional and international cooperation on development-oriented balanced drug control policy; addressing socioeconomic issues
  • Alternative development
  • Development/SDGs
  • Civil society engagement

7. We reiterate our commitment to addressing drug-related socioeconomic issues related to the illicit cultivation of narcotic plants and the illicit manufacture and production and trafficking of drugs through the implementation of long-term, comprehensive and sustainable development-oriented and balanced drug control policies and programmes, including alternative development and, as appropriate, preventive alternative development programmes, which are part of sustainable crop control strategies, and we recommend the following measures:
  • Alternative development
  • Development/SDGs

7. (a) Target the illicit cultivation of crops used for the illicit production and manufacture of drugs and address related factors by implementing comprehensive strategies aimed at alleviating poverty and strengthening the rule of law, accountable, effective and inclusive institutions and public services and institutional frameworks, as appropriate, and by promoting sustainable development aimed at enhancing the welfare of the affected and vulnerable population through licit alternatives
  • Development/SDGs

7. (b) Encourage the promotion of inclusive economic growth and support initiatives that contribute to poverty eradication and the sustainability of social and economic development, develop measures for rural development, improving infrastructure and social inclusion and protection, addressing the consequences of illicit crop cultivation and the manufacture and production of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances on the environment, with the incorporation and participation of local communities, and consider taking voluntary measures to promote products stemming from alternative development, including preventive alternative development, as appropriate, to gain access to markets, consistent with applicable multilateral trade rules and with national and international law, within the framework of comprehensive and balanced drug control strategies
  • Alternative development
  • Development/SDGs
  • Civil society engagement

7. (d) Consider elaborating and implementing comprehensive and sustainable alternative development programmes, including preventive alternative development, as appropriate, that support sustainable crop control strategies to prevent and significantly, durably and measurably reduce illicit crop cultivation and other illicit drug-related activities, ensuring the empowerment, ownership and responsibility of affected local communities, including farmers and their cooperatives, by taking into account the vulnerabilities and specific needs of communities affected by or at risk of illicit cultivation, in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Development Programme and other relevant international organizations, bearing in mind national and regional development policies and action plans, with a view to contributing to the building of peaceful, inclusive and just societies, consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals and in compliance with relevant and applicable international and national law
  • Alternative development
  • Development/SDGs

7. (e) Strengthen subregional, regional and international cooperation to support comprehensive and sustainable alternative development programmes, including, as appropriate, preventive alternative development, as an essential part of successful prevention and crop control strategies to increase the positive outcome of such programmes, especially in the areas affected by and at risk of illicit cultivation of crops used for the production of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, taking into account the United Nations Guiding Principles on Alternative Development
  • Alternative development

7. (f) Strengthen regional and international cooperation to support sustainable alternative development programmes, including, as appropriate, preventive alternative development, in close collaboration with all relevant stakeholders at the local, national and international levels, and to develop and share best practices towards implementing the United Nations Guiding Principles on Alternative Development,22 taking into account all the lessons learned and good practices in particular by countries with extensive expertise in alternative development, and take note, inter alia, of the Second International Conference on Alternative Development
  • Alternative development

7. (g) Promote research by States, including through cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and other relevant United Nations entities and international and regional organizations, academic institutions and civil society, to better understand factors contributing to illicit crop cultivation, taking into account local and regional specificities, and to improve impact assessment of alternative development programmes, including preventive alternative development, as appropriate, with a view to increasing the effectiveness of these programmes, including through the use of relevant human development indicators, criteria related to environmental sustainability and other measurements in line with the Sustainable Development Goals;
  • Development/SDGs

7. (h) Consider strengthening a development perspective as part of comprehensive, integrated and balanced national drug policies and programmes so as to tackle the related causes and consequences of illicit cultivation, manufacture, production of and trafficking in drugs by, inter alia, addressing risk factors affecting individuals, communities and society, which may include a lack of services, infrastructure needs, drug-related violence, exclusion, marginalization and social disintegration, in order to contribute to the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies;
  • Development/SDGs

7. (i) Urge relevant international financial institutions, United Nations entities, non-governmental organizations and the private sector, as appropriate, to consider increasing their support, including through long-term and flexible funding, for the implementation of comprehensive and balanced development-oriented drug control programmes and viable economic alternatives, in particular alternative development, including, as appropriate, preventive alternative development programmes, based on identified needs and national priorities, for areas and populations affected by or vulnerable to the illicit cultivation of drug crops, with a view to its prevention, reduction and elimination, and encourage States to the extent possible to stay strongly committed to financing such programmes
  • Alternative development
  • Civil society engagement
  • Development/SDGs

7. (j) Encourage the development of viable economic alternatives, particularly for communities affected by or at risk of illicit cultivation of drug crops and other illicit drug-related activities in urban and rural areas, including through comprehensive alternative development programmes, and to this end consider development-oriented interventions, while ensuring that both men and women benefit equally from them, including through job opportunities, improved infrastructure and basic public services and, as appropriate, access and legal titles to land for farmers and local communities, which will also contribute to preventing, reducing or eliminating illicit cultivation and other drug-related activities
  • Alternative development
  • Development/SDGs

7. (k) Consider the development of sustainable urban development initiatives for those affected by illicit drug-related activities to foster public participation in crime prevention, community cohesion, protection and safety and to stimulate innovation, entrepreneurship and employment;
  • Development/SDGs

9. We resolve to take the necessary steps to implement the above-listed operational recommendations, in close partnership with the United Nations and other intergovernmental organizations and civil society, and to share with the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, as the policymaking body of the United Nations with prime responsibility for drug control matters, timely information on progress made in the implementation of these recommendations
  • Civil society engagement

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The UNGASS Outcome Document includes the strongest language to date on harm reduction in a high-level document on drugs. Although the term 'harm reduction' did not make it into the final document, it does include mention to specific harm reduction interventions including OST, NSPs and overdose prevention with naloxone.

  • Harm reduction
This is the first time that a high-level UN document includes the concept of proportionality of sentencing.

  • Proportionality of sentencing
This is the first time that the issue of 'Access to controlled medicines' is addressed in a section of its own in a UN high-level document on drugs. This is a major success of the UNGASS Outcome Document as ensuring access to controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes is one of the key objectives of the UN drug control conventions, and as so far been largely ignored.

  • Access to controlled medicines
Paragraph 9 (the last of the UNGASS Outcome Document) is particularly strong on civil society engagement, and does not include any caveat such as 'as appropriate' or 'in accordance to national legislation'.

  • Civil society engagement