Joint Ministerial Statement of 2014

Call for continued cooperation between Member States, the International Narcotics Control Board and the World Health Organization to ensure the adequate availability of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances under international control, including opiates, for medical and scientific purposes, while concurrently preventing their diversion into illicit channels, pursuant to the international drug control conventions, and to provide recommendations on the scheduling of substances

1. Recognize that drug addiction is a health problem and that many Member States have adopted national drug strategies with drug demand reduction components that include primary prevention, early intervention, treatment, care, rehabilitation, recovery and social reintegration measures, as well as measures aimed at minimizing the public health and social consequences of drug abuse, in accordance with national legislation and the three international drug control conventions, and aimed at monitoring and researching the drug situation, and encourage Member States that have not yet done so to consider the development, adoption and effective implementation of such strategies, in accordance with national policies and legislation, as well as their timely evaluation, review and strengthening, as appropriate

2. Note that some Member States, within their national drug control strategies, are expanding access to prevention, treatment, diagnosis, care and support services relating to HIV/AIDS and other blood-borne diseases for people who inject drugs, and also note that those States that have implemented the interventions outlined in the WHO, UNODC, UNAIDS Technical Guide and, in accordance with the fundamental principles of their domestic legal systems and national legislation, have remarkably reduced the number of HIV infections, with some countries approaching the elimination of injecting drug use-related transmission of HIV;

3. Also note that various Member States, within their legal frameworks and in accordance with the three international drug control conventions, as well as other relevant international laws, have implemented comprehensive drug demand reduction programmes for offenders, particularly children, and have also provided, within their national strategies, a broad range of alternatives to conviction and punishment in appropriate drug-related cases of a minor nature or in cases in which the person who abuses drugs has committed an offence as outlined in the relevant provisions of the international drug control conventions;

6. Consider as main challenges in addressing the illicit demand for narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances the need to increase focus on, in conformity with the three international drug control conventions and the fundamental principles of domestic legal systems and national legislation of Member States, drug-related health effects, taking into account the specific challenges faced by vulnerable groups, such as children, adolescents, vulnerable youth, women, including pregnant women, people with medical and psychiatric co-morbidities, ethnic minorities and socially marginalized individuals, and to further promote and strengthen effective national drug control strategies based on scientific evidence, with components for drug demand reduction that include primary prevention, early intervention, treatment, care, rehabilitation, recovery and social reintegration, as well as measures aimed at minimizing the public health and social consequences of drug abuse

• Harm reduction

14. Note with concern that the availability of internationally controlled drugs for medical and scientific purposes, particularly for the relief of pain and for palliative care, remains low to non-existent in many countries of the world, and highlight the need for Member States, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the International Narcotics Control Board, in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Health Organization, as appropriate, to address that situation by promoting measures to ensure their availability and accessibility for medical and scientific purposes, in accordance with national legislation, while simultaneously preventing their diversion, abuse and trafficking, in order to realize the aims of the three international drug control conventions;

15. Welcome the important role played by civil society, in particular non-governmental organizations, in addressing the world drug problem, note with appreciation their important contribution to the review process, and also note that representatives of affected populations and civil society entities, where appropriate, should be enabled to play a participatory role in the formulation and implementation of drug demand and supply reduction policy;

29. Encourage Member States to monitor trends emerging in some regions in the import, export and distribution of some synthetic opioid analgesics not under international control, in particular tramadol, which is used in many countries for the effective treatment of moderate to severe pain, to monitor patterns in the non-medical use and misuse of those substances within their national borders and to continue, together with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the World Health Organization and the International Narcotics Control Board and other relevant organizations, sharing and exchanging information on those emerging trends and patterns through bilateral and multilateral channels, while considering appropriate measures in accordance with national legislation aimed at preventing and reducing the non-medical use and misuse, the supply from illicit sources and the diversion of those substances, while ensuring their availability for medical and scientific purposes;

32. Stress the need to further strengthen international cooperation and the need for enhanced development-oriented approaches that implement measures for rural development, strengthen local governance and institutions, improve access to legal markets and infrastructure, promote the participation of local communities, and consider the participation of multilateral and bilateral development agencies in the design and implementation of policies and programmes for alternative development, including preventive alternative development, as appropriate, in accordance with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Alternative Development;