Commission on Narcotic Drugs: Report on the fifty-eighth session (E/CN.7/2015/15)

15. Support was expressed for the proposal of holding a three-day special session and the organization of interactive, high-level round tables in parallel with the general debate, with the involvement of all stakeholders, including the scientific community and civil society.

16. Many speakers expressed appreciation for efforts undertaken by the Commission to ensure an inclusive preparatory process for the special session and emphasized the importance of the effective involvement in that process of all relevant United Nations agencies and bodies, relevant intergovernmental organizations, the scientific community, national parliaments and civil society. The importance of actively and meaningfully engaging civil society was highlighted and the establishment of and contributions by the civil society task force and the scientific network were welcomed.

19. The need for an evidence-based, balanced, integrated and multidisciplinary approach in relation to supply and demand reduction strategies, in full compliance with the three international drug control conventions, the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international law, was highlighted.

20. Several speakers mentioned the importance of discussing the proportionality of sentences and alternatives to incarceration and, in a wider framework, the importance of the promotion of drug policies based on respect for human dignity, liberty, democracy, equality, solidarity, the rule of law and human rights. (…) Several speakers reaffirmed their opposition to the use of the death penalty in all circumstances, including for drug-related offences.

20 (b) Member States mentioned that they should continue to assess the implementation of the commitments adopted in the Political Declaration and Plan of Action on International Cooperation towards an Integrated and Balanced Strategy to Counter the World Drug Problem in order to enhance progress towards effectively addressing the challenges posed by the world drug problem in the coming years, with the full assistance of relevant international agencies and in cooperation with civil society, including non-governmental organizations, and the private sector;

22. The importance of ensuring the adequate availability of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances for medical and scientific purposes, while preventing their diversion and abuse, was emphasized by many speakers.

23. It was underlined that the international community should undertake efforts to prevent the adverse effects of drug-related violence on societies and communities. The need to address poverty, unemployment and social marginalization in the context of sustainable alternative development programmes was stressed.

24. Several speakers drew attention to integrated and sustainable crop control strategies and highlighted the importance of alternative development programmes, including preventive alternative development programmes, as part of the broader economic development agenda. The need to strengthen regional and international cooperation to support alternative development programmes, while taking into account the United Nations Guiding Principles on Alternative Development, was highlighted by a number of speakers.

C. Interactive discussions on high-level segments to be held during the special session of the General Assembly on the world drug problem to be held in 2016

Speakers emphasized that a wide and comprehensive range of effective strategies for drug prevention, early intervention and treatment existed and that action needed to be taken at all levels by Governments, international organizations and civil society to expand the coverage, quality, monitoring and evaluation of their programmes.

Several speakers emphasized the importance of cooperation in addressing drug-related issues at the regional and international levels, and of partnerships with the private sector and civil society.

The importance of ensuring adequate availability of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances for medical and scientific purposes, while preventing their diversion, was highlighted.

Several speakers recognized that there was a high degree of discrepancy between high-income countries on the one hand and low- and middle-income countries on the other in terms of the availability of narcotic drugs and psychoactive substances for medical and scientific purposes, including for pain management and palliative care, and noted that such availability was an obligation for Governments under the three international drug control conventions and international human rights standards and norms, and as part of a balanced approach to supply and demand reduction. Particular reference was made by some speakers to the currently inadequate availability of psychotropic substances controlled under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 that were used for the treatment of serious diseases. It was noted that adequate availability must be balanced with measures to prevent the misuse, abuse and diversion of such substances.

Some speakers noted that, in order to reduce HIV and hepatitis C infection rates among injecting drug users, harm reduction programmes, in particular needle and syringe programmes, opioid substitution treatment, voluntary HIV counselling and testing and antiretroviral therapy, should be implemented. Some speakers also noted the need to develop and implement evidence-based measures to address HIV and hepatitis C among non-injecting stimulant (cocaine, crack and amphetamine-type stimulants) users.

A number of speakers made reference to the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS: Intensifying Our Efforts to Eliminate HIV and AIDS, in which Member States had made a commitment to working towards reducing transmission of HIV among people who inject drugs by 50 per cent by 2015, and underlined that that target was likely to be missed. The importance of the role of UNODC as a convening agency of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in supporting countries in the post-2015 era with regard to reducing HIV transmission among people who use drugs and people in prisons was stressed.

It was stressed that individuals with drug use disorders required quality, widely available and accessible drug prevention, treatment and rehabilitation programmes, as well as access to health care and to evidence-based HIV prevention programmes. The importance of measures to prevent negative health and social consequences, based on scientific evidence, was noted as well.

In the context of criminal justice measures, the importance of proportionality of sentencing and of alternatives to sanctions and imprisonment for non-violent drug-related offences was stressed. A number of speakers mentioned that the stigmatization and punishment of drug users had negative effects and that alternatives to criminal justice sanctions should be used to promote their recovery, social reintegration and treatment.

In that regard, some speakers reaffirmed their opposition to the use of the death penalty, including for drug-related offences.

Several speakers reaffirmed their opposition to the use of the death penalty in all circumstances, including for drug-related offences…

Some speakers stressed that innovative drug control policies and new legislation were needed to address the specific and changing realities of the drug control situation, which differed between regions, and advocated for an open discussion on approaches that included the decriminalization of drug use and other efforts to reduce potential negative consequences of current policies.

The successful implementation of sentencing reform resulting in both decreased levels of incarceration and crime was mentioned, and the need for proportionality of punishment was stressed. In that regard, some speakers reaffirmed their opposition to the use of the death penalty, including for drug-related offences.

In the context of criminal justice measures, the importance of proportionality of sentencing and of alternatives to sanctions and imprisonment for non-violent drug-related offences was stressed.

Speakers highlighted the importance of and their commitment to human rights, such as the right to life and health, in addressing the world drug problem.

The importance of enhancing cooperation to address drug-related issues at the regional and international levels was stressed, as was the importance of partnerships with the private sector and civil society.

International cooperation, including South-South cooperation, and the engagement of all relevant stakeholders, intergovernmental organizations, civil society, local communities, national and local governments and the private sector were critical for ensuring successful alternative development programmes.

The need to address obstacles to development and underlying socioeconomic issues,  such as poverty, violence and social exclusion, by providing, inter alia, equal employment and education opportunities, was mentioned. It was noted that sustainable development and human rights issues should be given due consideration at the special session of the General Assembly on the world drug problem to be held in 2016. A reference to the right to development was also made.

It was noted that alternative development efforts had yielded good results, based on the principle of shared responsibility, supported by strong cooperation at the international level, including through the sharing of best practices and lessons learned. The importance of addressing the challenges faced by farmers following the eradication of crops was highlighted. The need to address the root causes of criminality linked to the manufacture and trafficking of drugs was also mentioned, as was the importance of strengthening development and stability in source and transit countries through enhanced partnerships.

The importance of placing the human being at the centre of drug control policies was emphasized. Reference was made to new challenges, such as the increase in consumption levels, as well as to the need to focus on alternative development, including preventive alternative development, and to improve the lives of people in areas affected by illicit drug cultivation.

Speakers highlighted the importance and added value of the special session of the General Assembly on the world drug problem to be held in 2016 in further assessing and advancing the issue of alternative development on the international agenda by promoting success stories relating to alternative development and viewing it from a development perspective. Speakers reiterated the importance of incorporating alternative development into the post-2015 development agenda and into sustainable development goals.

A number of speakers highlighted that alternative development should be included in broader national development strategies and national drug control strategies. Several speakers stressed that alternative development required a long-term sustainable integrated comprehensive approach, including the provision and improvement of infrastructure, roads, electricity, water and access to land, health, education and markets. The need to improve the capacity of States to implement alternative development programmes was noted.

Several speakers highlighted the importance of market access and of establishing market links for alternative development products, stressing that the products needed to be of quality and competitive.

The importance of preventive alternative development and the need to share best practices and lessons learned on alternative development were highlighted.

Several speakers highlighted the importance of assessing the impact of alternative development not only through illicit crop cultivation estimates, but also through human development indicators, thus ensuring that alternative development was measured from the socioeconomic perspective of improving livelihoods.

Some speakers highlighted that alternative development must be designed with a human-centred approach in order to involve communities in all phases of project implementation.

Some speakers stressed the importance of ensuring the proper sequencing of alternative development, eradication and law enforcement activities when designing actions to combat illicit crop cultivation.

Several speakers stressed that poverty, lack of livelihood opportunities, vulnerability, lack of government presence, insecurity and lack of access to land were some of the key factors that fostered illicit crop cultivation. Those factors needed to be addressed in a comprehensive manner.

45. (…) Some speakers mentioned the need for defining robust indicators and for ensuring that the Office’s programmes were based on respect for human rights and the rule of law. The importance of cooperating with other entities of the United Nations system and civil society was also mentioned.

62. The different patterns in the emergence and persistence of new psychoactive substances at the global level, the striking heterogeneity at the country level regarding the number and types of new psychoactive substances, and their fast-changing characteristics continued to pose challenges to the evaluation and risk assessment of substances for possible scheduling recommendations. By December 2014, more than 540 new psychoactive substances in 95 countries and territories had been reported to UNODC by Member States. It was recognized that it was not feasible and probably not necessary to address all such substances at the same time and that there was a need to prioritize the most harmful, persistent and prevalent substances for control under the international drug control conventions, where such control would not adversely affect their availability or medical use.

• Access to controlled medicines

70. The observer for WHO noted that, following a notification under article 2, paragraph 1, of the 1971 Convention by the Government of China concerning the proposed recommendation for international control of ketamine, the Expert Committee on Drug Dependence had critically reviewed that substance, following the previous critical reviews of ketamine at its 35th and 34th meetings and the pre-review undertaken at its 33rd meeting. The information provided by China in itsnotification to the Secretary-General had been brought to the Expert Committee’s attention. The Expert Committee’s assessment was that ketamine “was widely used as an anaesthetic in human and veterinary medicine, and was included in the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines and the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines for Children, as well as in many national lists of essential medicines”. The Expert Committee had found that there was compelling evidence about the prominent place of ketamine as an anaesthetic in developing countries and crisis situations. While the Expert Committee acknowledged the concerns raised by some countries and United Nations organizations, it stated that ketamine abuse currently did not appear to pose enough of a public health risk on a global scale to warrant scheduling, and recommended “that ketamine not be placed under international control at this time. Countries with serious abuse problems may decide to introduce or maintain control measures, but should ensure ready access to ketamine for surgery and anaesthesia for human and veterinary care”.

85. A number of speakers expressed support for the Board’s call for Member States to implement the provisions of the international drug control conventions while taking into consideration respect for international human rights obligations. Several speakers reaffirmed their firm opposition to the use of the death penalty in all cases and under all circumstances.

89. Several speakers highlighted the importance of ensuring the availability of internationally controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes. It was noted that regulatory, attitudinal, knowledge-related, economic and procurement-related issues were some of the factors that had an impact on the supply and demand sides of the world drug problem. It was noted that in cases where statistics usually collected by the Board were cited, the source of the information should be specified.

90. The need to address the imbalances in the availability of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances at the global level, including for pain management and palliative care, was underlined. States were reminded of their obligation under the international drug control conventions to ensure availability while preventing abuse. It was noted that, although progress had been made, much remained to be done, particularly in terms of access in low- and middle-income countries.

92. It was noted that reliable qualitative and quantitative data on manufacture, trade and consumption of psychotropic substances were the best mechanism for determining estimates and monitoring the availability of those substances for medical and scientific purposes.

140. The Commission also decided that the Board would be in charge of organizing all actions to be taken by the Commission in preparation for the special session and would address all organizational and substantive matters in an open-ended manner, in preparation for and during the special segments of Commission sessions devoted to the preparations for the special session, and that it would facilitate the participation of all States Members and observers of the United Nations, along with organs, entities and specialized agencies of the United Nations system, multilateral development banks and other relevant international and regional organizations, parliamentarians, the scientific community and civil society, in particular non-governmental organizations, in its preparations for the special session, in full compliance with Commission resolution 57/5 and General Assembly resolution 69/200.