Global Call to Action on the World Drug Problem

Global Call to Action on the World Drug Problem We, the undersigned Member States of the United Nations, reaffirm our commitment to effectively address and counter the world drug problem. We reaffirm our commitment to implement the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances, the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. We reaffirm our Joint Commitment to effectively addressing and countering the world drug problem, the outcome of the UN General Assembly’s 2016 Special Session on the World Drug Problem, which addressed new realities and was built on the foundation of the 2009 Political Declaration and Plan of Action. We reaffirm our commitment to the work of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) as the policymaking body of the United Nations with prime responsibility for drug control matters, and our support and appreciation for the efforts of the United Nations, in particular the UN Secretary General, and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as the leading entity of the UN system on international drug control policy, and further reaffirms the treaty-mandated roles of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) and the World Health Organization (WHO). We reaffirm our determination to tackle the world drug problem in full conformity with international law, including the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with full respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States. We recognize the world drug problem presents evolving challenges, including newly emerging synthetic drugs, which we commit to address and counter through a comprehensive, scientific evidence-based approach, and we note the links between drug trafficking, corruption, and other forms of organized crime, and, in some cases, terrorism. We recognize the need for the international drug-control system to adequately respond to dangerous emerging synthetic drugs in a timely manner, and we encourage the CND to act urgently to accelerate the scheduling rate of these dangerous drugs. We further pledge to develop national action plans based on a four-pronged strategy: (1) reduce demand for illicit drugs through education, awareness, and prevention of abuse; (2) expand treatment efforts to save lives and promote recovery; (3) strengthen international cooperation across judicial, law enforcement, and health sectors; and (4) cut off the supply of illicit drugs by stopping their production, whether through cultivation or manufacture, and flow across borders. We encourage the CND and each signatory Member State to provide updates on progress made, lessons learned, and best practices at the Sixty-Second Session of the CND in March 2019.