Resolution 56/6 Intensifying the efforts to achieve the targets of the 2011 Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS among people who use drugs, in particular the target to reduce HIV transmission among people who inject drugs by 50 per cent by 2015

Reiterating the commitments of the United Nations Millennium Declaration 29 and the Millennium Development Goals, in particular the target under goal 6 of halting and beginning to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015,
  • Harm reduction
  • Development/SDGs

Reiterating the commitments made in the Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS: Intensifying Our Efforts to Eliminate HIV and AIDS, adopted by the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session, particularly the commitment to work towards reducing transmission of HIV among people who inject drugs by 50 per cent by 2015,
  • Harm reduction

1. Urges Member States to strengthen their efforts to ensure continued political commitment to combating HIV/AIDS among people who use drugs, in particular people who inject drugs, and to strive to achieve the target set in the Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS: Intensifying Our Efforts to Eliminate HIV and AIDS35 to reduce HIV transmission among people who inject drugs by 50 per cent by 2015
  • Harm reduction

2. Requests the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to continue its leadership and guidance, to significantly expand its work with relevant civil society groups in order to address the gap in access to services for people living with or affected by HIV, including people who use drugs, in particular people who inject drugs, to tackle the issues of stigmatization and discrimination and to support increased capacity and resources for the provision of comprehensive prevention programmes and treatment, care and related support services, including for co-occurring common mental health disorders, in full compliance with the international drug control conventions and in accordance with national legislation, taking into account all relevant General Assembly resolutions;
  • Civil society engagement

3. Also requests the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, as the convening agency of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) for reducing HIV transmission among people who use drugs, in particular people who inject drugs, including those in prisons, to work with the other co-sponsors of UNAIDS, especially the World Health Organization and the UNAIDS secretariat, to implement, as appropriate, the WHO, UNODC, UNAIDS Technical Guide for Countries to Set Targets for Universal Access to HIV Prevention, Treatment and Care for Injecting Drug Users: 2012 Revision
  • Harm reduction

5. Requests Member States to ensure, in full compliance with the international drug control conventions and national legislation, that adequate access for people who use drugs, in particular people who inject drugs, to the nine interventions mentioned in the Technical Guide referred to above is provided, as appropriate, without stigma or discrimination and while ensuring gender equality
  • Harm reduction

Reiterating the commitments of the United Nations Millennium Declaration 29 and the Millennium Development Goals, in particular the target under goal 6 of halting and beginning to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015,
  • Harm reduction
  • Development/SDGs
Reiterating the commitments made in the Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS: Intensifying Our Efforts to Eliminate HIV and AIDS, adopted by the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session, particularly the commitment to work towards reducing transmission of HIV among people who inject drugs by 50 per cent by 2015,
  • Harm reduction

1. Urges Member States to strengthen their efforts to ensure continued political commitment to combating HIV/AIDS among people who use drugs, in particular people who inject drugs, and to strive to achieve the target set in the Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS: Intensifying Our Efforts to Eliminate HIV and AIDS35 to reduce HIV transmission among people who inject drugs by 50 per cent by 2015
  • Harm reduction

2. Requests the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to continue its leadership and guidance, to significantly expand its work with relevant civil society groups in order to address the gap in access to services for people living with or affected by HIV, including people who use drugs, in particular people who inject drugs, to tackle the issues of stigmatization and discrimination and to support increased capacity and resources for the provision of comprehensive prevention programmes and treatment, care and related support services, including for co-occurring common mental health disorders, in full compliance with the international drug control conventions and in accordance with national legislation, taking into account all relevant General Assembly resolutions;
  • Civil society engagement

3. Also requests the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, as the convening agency of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) for reducing HIV transmission among people who use drugs, in particular people who inject drugs, including those in prisons, to work with the other co-sponsors of UNAIDS, especially the World Health Organization and the UNAIDS secretariat, to implement, as appropriate, the WHO, UNODC, UNAIDS Technical Guide for Countries to Set Targets for Universal Access to HIV Prevention, Treatment and Care for Injecting Drug Users: 2012 Revision
  • Harm reduction

5. Requests Member States to ensure, in full compliance with the international drug control conventions and national legislation, that adequate access for people who use drugs, in particular people who inject drugs, to the nine interventions mentioned in the Technical Guide referred to above is provided, as appropriate, without stigma or discrimination and while ensuring gender equality
  • Harm reduction

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When adopted, Resolution 56/6 had the strongest language to date on HIV and injecting from the CND and was a benchmark for improvements moving forward.

Paragraph 5 was an innovation as it called upon Member States to implement the nine core interventions on HIV and injecting drug use contained in the WHO/UNODC/UNAIDS technical guide.

In previous resolutions, referred to in the preamble, this had focused on UNODC’s work on the technical guide, not implementation by Member States. Res 53/9 had been the first reference to the Technical Guide in a CND resolution.

The language on the Technical Guide in 56/6 is stronger than the 2011 Political Declaration on HIV

  • Harm reduction