Political Declaration : [Of the Special Session of the General Assembly on International Drug Control]

A/RES/S-20/2View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda items 9 Review of international drug control instruments, 10 Measures to promote implementation of the international drug control treaties and to strengthen international cooperation in the fight against the illicit production, sale, demand, traffic and distribution of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and related activities, including corruption ; and proposals for new strategies, methods and practical activities in addressing the problem of drug abuse and illicit trafficking, with due regard to the gender perspective, in particular and 11 Review of the international drug control regime : strengthening United Nations machinery for drug control, published in 1998.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Programme 13	International drug control, crime and terrorism prevention and criminal justice	377

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Programme 13	International drug control, crime and terrorism prevention and criminal justice	377	—

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

What subjects does this mandate have?

16 subjects

Amphetamines Crop Eradication Declarations (Text)Designer Drugs Drug Control Drug Demand Drug Dependence Drug Production Drug Traffic Gender Equality Illicit Traffic Laundering of Funds Law Enforcement Officials Narcotic Drugs Policy Making Programmes of Action

What’s in this document?

1 operative paragraph

Adopts the Political Declaration annexed to the present resolution.

Political Declaration

Drugs destroy lives and communities, undermine sustainable human development and generate crime. Drugs affect all sectors of society in all countries; in particular, drug abuse affects the freedom and development of young people, the world's most valuable asset. Drugs are a grave threat to the health and well-being of all mankind, the independence of States, democracy, the stability of nations, the structure of all societies, and the dignity and hope of millions of people and their families; therefore:

We the States Members of the United Nations,

Concerned about the serious world drug problem,² and having assembled at the twentieth special session of the General Assembly to consider enhanced action to tackle it in a spirit of trust and cooperation,

²The illicit cultivation, production, manufacture, sale, demand, trafficking and distribution of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, including amphetamine-type stimulants, the diversion of precursors and related criminal activities.

Reaffirm our unwavering determination and commitment to overcoming the world drug problem through domestic and international strategies to reduce both the illicit supply of and the demand for drugs;

Recognize that action against the world drug problem is a common and shared responsibility requiring an integrated and balanced approach in full conformity with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law, and particularly with full respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States, non-intervention in the internal affairs of States and all human rights and fundamental freedoms. Convinced that the world drug problem must be addressed in a multilateral setting, we call upon States which have not already done so to become party to and implement fully the three international drug control conventions.³ Also, we renew our commitment to adopting and reinforcing comprehensive national legislation and strategies to give effect to the provisions of those conventions, ensuring through periodic reviews that the strategies are effective;

³The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 as amended by the 1972 Protocol (United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 976, No. 14152), the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 (ibid., vol. 1019, No. 14956) and the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988 (see Official Records of the United Nations Conference for the Adoption of a Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, Vienna, 25 November-20 December 1988, vol. I (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.94.XI.5)).

Reaffirm our support for the United Nations and its drug control organs,⁴ especially the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, as the global forum for international cooperation against the world drug problem, and resolve to strengthen the functioning and governance of these organs;

⁴The international drug control organs as defined in the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 are the Commission on Narcotic Drugs of the Economic and Social Council and the International Narcotics Control Board.

Undertake to ensure that women and men benefit equally, and without any discrimination, from strategies directed against the world drug problem, through their involvement in all stages of programmes and policy-making;

Recognize with satisfaction the progress achieved by States, both individually and working in concert, and express deep concern about the new social contexts in which the consumption of illicit drugs, particularly of amphetamine-type stimulants, is taking place;

Welcome the efforts of the wide range of people working in various fields against drug abuse and, encouraged by the behaviour of the vast majority of youth who do not consume illegal drugs, decide to give particular attention to demand reduction, notably by investing in and working with youth through formal and informal education, information activities and other preventive measures;

Affirm our determination to provide the necessary resources for treatment and rehabilitation and to enable social reintegration to restore dignity and hope to children, youth, women and men who have become drug abusers and to fight against all aspects of the world drug problem;

Call upon the United Nations system, and invite the international financial institutions, such as the World Bank and the regional development banks, to include action against the world drug problem in their programmes, taking into account the priorities of States;

Call for the establishment or strengthening of regional or subregional mechanisms, as needed, with the assistance of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme and the International Narcotics Control Board, and invite those mechanisms to share experiences and conclusions resulting from the implementation of national strategies and to report on their activities to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs;

Express deep concern about links between illicit drug production, trafficking and involvement of terrorist groups, criminals and transnational organized crime, and are resolved to strengthen our cooperation in response to those threats;

Are alarmed by the growing violence resulting from links between illicit production of and illicit trafficking in arms and drugs, and resolve to increase our cooperation in stemming illegal arms trafficking and to achieve concrete results in this field through appropriate measures;

Call upon our communities, especially families, and their political, religious, educational, cultural, sports, business and union leadership, non-governmental organizations and the media worldwide actively to promote a society free of drug abuse, especially by emphasizing and facilitating healthy, productive and fulfilling alternatives to the consumption of illicit drugs, which must not become accepted as a way of life;

Decide to devote particular attention to the emerging trends in the illicit manufacture, trafficking and consumption of synthetic drugs, and call for the establishment or strengthening by the year 2003 of national legislation and programmes giving effect to the Action Plan against Illicit Manufacture, Trafficking and Abuse of Amphetamine-type Stimulants and Their Precursors, adopted at the present session;⁵

⁵See resolution S-20/4 A.

Also decide to devote particular attention to the measures for the control of precursors, adopted at the present session,⁶ and further decide to establish the year 2008 as a target date for States, with a view to eliminating or reducing significantly the illicit manufacture, marketing and trafficking of psychotropic substances, including synthetic drugs, and the diversion of precursors;

⁶See resolution S-20/4 B.

Undertake to make special efforts against the laundering of money linked to drug trafficking and, in that context, emphasize the importance of strengthening international, regional and subregional cooperation, and recommend that States that have not yet done so adopt by the year 2003 national money-laundering legislation and programmes in accordance with relevant provisions of the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988, as well as the measures for countering money-laundering, adopted at the present session;⁷

⁷See resolution S-20/4 D.

Also undertake to promote multilateral, regional, subregional and bilateral cooperation among judicial and law enforcement authorities to deal with criminal organizations involved in drug offences and related criminal activities, in accordance with the measures to promote judicial cooperation, adopted at the present session,⁸ and encourage States to review and, where appropriate, to strengthen by the year 2003 the implementation of those measures;

⁸See resolution S-20/4 C.

Recognize that demand reduction is an indispensable pillar in the global approach to countering the world drug problem, commit ourselves to introducing into our national programmes and strategies the provisions set out in the Declaration on the Guiding Principles of Drug Demand Reduction,⁹ to working closely with the United Nations International Drug Control Programme to develop action-oriented strategies to assist in the implementation of the Declaration, and to establishing the year 2003 as a target date for new or enhanced drug demand reduction strategies and programmes set up in close collaboration with public health, social welfare and law enforcement authorities, and also commit ourselves to achieving significant and measurable results in the field of demand reduction by the year 2008;

⁹See resolution S-20/3.

Reaffirm the need for a comprehensive approach to the elimination of illicit narcotic crops in line with the Action Plan on International Cooperation on the Eradication of Illicit Drug Crops and on Alternative Development, adopted at the present session,¹⁰ stress the special importance of cooperation in alternative development, including the better integration of the most vulnerable sectors involved in the illicit drug market into legal and viable economic activities, emphasize the need for eradication programmes and law enforcement measures to counter illicit cultivation, production, manufacture and trafficking, paying special attention to the protection of the environment, and, in this regard, strongly support the work of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme in the field of alternative development;

¹⁰See resolution S-20/4 E.

Welcome the global approach by the United Nations International Drug Control Programme to the elimination of illicit crops, and commit ourselves to working closely with the Programme to develop strategies with a view to eliminating or reducing significantly the illicit cultivation of the coca bush, the cannabis plant and the opium poppy by the year 2008. We affirm our determination to mobilize international support for our efforts to achieve these goals;

Call upon all States to take into account the outcome of the present session when formulating national strategies and programmes and to report biennially to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs on their efforts to meet the above-mentioned goals and targets for the years 2003 and 2008, and request the Commission to analyse these reports in order to enhance the cooperative effort to combat the world drug problem.

These are new and serious promises which will be difficult to achieve, but we are resolved that such commitments will be met by practical action and the resources needed to ensure real and measurable results;

Together we can meet this challenge.

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