Setting Priorities for UNGASS 2016

Réunion inter-session du CND

The CND intersessional meeting's objective was to prepare the topics to be debated during the United Nations Special Session on Drugs, in 2016

The UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), meets normally two times a year in order to adopt decisions and resolutions. In order to provide policy guidance to the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) during the rest of the year, inter-sessional meetings of CND are regularly convened.On 23rd October 2014, the sixth inter-sessional meeting of the CND took place in Vienna. The main topics discussed in this encounter evolved around the preparation and the format of the upcoming UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS) to be held in 2016.

The proposed agenda for the UNGASS shed light on the key aspects that will be considered in relation to drugs: health, crime, human rights, development, science and technology and youth. While many countries agreed on the proposed items, Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador came with their own suggestions on how to organize UNGASS. In fact, these countries proposed to move away from the topics proposed and to hold a general debate on the drug control framework.

For its part, the EU spoke as a single voice through the Italian representative Counselor Sean Coppola, supporting the civil society role, defending the human rights and the reintegration of drugs users in the society. 

The inter-sessional meeting approved the dates for next CND that will be organized between 9th and 15th of March 2015.

Parallel to the inter-sessional meeting, the representatives of the civil society in this forum, the Vienna Committee on Drugs (abbreviated as VNGOC), organized an NGO briefing session for member states´ delegates. These briefings are intended to bring the voices of NGOs that work on a grass-root level in the field of drugs to the member states. On this occasion, the focus was put on the work done by NGOs in Asia.  

Dianova International was present at this encounter, represented by Mr. Michele Bellasich.