Welcome to the United Nations
I. INTRODUCTION
This contribution is submitted on behalf of the H.E. Mrs. Bente Angell-Hansen (Norway), the Chair of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) at its 60th session, and has been prepared in close coordination with the Extended Bureau of the Commission, in response to a letter from the President of the Economic and Social Council inviting the Commission to provide substantive inputs to the 2017 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, which will convene under the auspices of ECOSOC at UN headquarters in New York from 10 to 19 July 2017, on the theme “Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world”.
This contribution also includes information on the action taken by the Commission at its 60th anniversary session, held from 13 to 17 March 2017 and attended by over 1700 participants, representing nearly 130 Member States as well as representatives of UN entities and specialized agencies, regional organizations and a broad spectrum of non-governmental organizations.
I.1. Background
The special session of the General Assembly on the world drug problem (UNGASS), held from 19 to 21 April 2016, for which the CND led the preparatory process, took place at a historical juncture and highlighted the important linkages between the 2030 Agenda and the work of the Commission.
In the UNGASS outcome document, entitled “Our joint commitment to effectively addressing and countering the world drug problem2, negotiated by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and adopted by the General Assembly, Member States welcomed the 2030 Agenda and noted that efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and to effectively address the world drug problem were complementary and mutually reinforcing.3 As the policymaking body of the United Nations with prime responsibility for drug control matters, the CND was encouraged to contribute to the global follow-up and support the thematic review of progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, within its mandates, bearing in mind the integrated nature of the Goals as well as the interlinkages between them and to make that information available to the high-level political forum through the appropriate institutional framework, taking into account General Assembly resolution 70/1.
Following the adoption of the UNGASS outcome document and further to operative paragraph 9 of the outcome document, the CND has initiated in autumn 2016 an intensive follow-up process, based on the principles of comprehensiveness and inclusiveness. A core part of that immediate follow-up process were the thematic discussions held in October 2016 and in January 2017 on each of the seven thematic areas of the outcome document, focusing on the implementation of the operational recommendations and thereby promoting a comprehensive, integrated, balanced approach to the international drug problem. Supported by H.E. Ambassador Moitinho de Almeida, the CND Facilitator for post-UNGASS matters, the Commission has been discussing how to operationalize the recommendations contained in the UNGASS outcome document, including by providing guidance and support to UNODC and working in cooperation with all other relevant stakeholders, in supporting the implementation of these recommendations. In this context, the contribution of the Commission to the implementation of the SDGs is being highlighted. More information can be found on the following website: www.ungass2016.org.
At its 60th session, the Commission further unanimously adopted a resolution entitled “Preparations for the 62nd session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in 2019”6, tabled by the Chair on behalf of the Commission, by which the Commission, among other things, charted a course to 2019, deciding to hold a series of intersessional meetings between now and 2019; to hold a ministerial segment during the 62nd session of the CND in 2019; to encourage relevant United Nations entities, international financial institutions and relevant regional organizations to make available relevant information to the Commission for it to enhance coherence within the United Nations system and to encourage the active participation of civil society in its work in accordance with the rules of procedure of the functional commissions of the Economic and Social Council and with the established practice of the Commission. In addition, Member States reiterated that the efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and to effectively address and counter the world drug problem were complementary and mutually reinforcing, underlined that the Commission on Narcotic Drugs should contribute to the global follow-up and support the thematic review of progress on the Sustainable Development Goals related to its mandate, and in this regard decided to continue to provide input to the high-level political forum on sustainable development, including by providing relevant data, whereby implementation of the recommendations contained in the outcome document of the thirtieth special session of the General Assembly may contribute to the attainment of the related Sustainable Development Goals.
In line with the comprehensive and inclusive approach taken in the follow-up to the UNGASS, the Commission adopted at its 60th session a resolution entitled “Intensifying coordination and cooperation among United Nations entities and relevant domestic sectors, including the health, education and criminal justice sectors, to address and counter the world drug problem”8, recognizing that addressing and countering the world drug problem remained a common and shared responsibility that required effective and increased international cooperation and demanded an integrated, scientific, evidence-based, multidisciplinary, mutually reinforcing and balanced approach.
