International Cooperation Against the World Drug Problem

A/RES/57/174View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 101 International drug control, published in 2003.

What other versions does this mandate have?

18 versions · 1999–2016

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/70/182

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2016	A/RES/70/182	International cooperation against the world drug problem	7,448	79%Compare
2015	A/RES/69/201	International cooperation against the world drug problem	6,578	54%Compare
2014	A/RES/68/197	International cooperation against the world drug problem	6,129	82%Compare
2013	A/RES/67/193	International cooperation against the world drug problem	5,521	76%Compare
2012	A/RES/66/183	International cooperation against the world drug problem	4,807	69%Compare

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

14 reports · 2003–2016

Year	Symbol	Title	Mandate resolution
2016	A/71/316	International cooperation against the world drug problem report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/70/182
2015	A/70/98	International cooperation against the world drug problem report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/69/201
2014	A/69/111	International cooperation against the world drug problem report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/68/197
2013	A/68/126	International cooperation against the world drug problem report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/67/193
2012	A/67/157	International cooperation against the world drug problem report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/66/183

What’s in this document?

46 operative paragraphs

I.Respect for the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and international law in countering the world drug problem

Reaffirms that countering the world drug problem is a common and shared responsibility that must be addressed in a multilateral setting, requires an integrated and balanced approach, and must be carried out in full conformity with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law, and in particular with full respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States, the principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of States and all human rights and fundamental freedoms;

Calls upon all States to take further action to promote effective cooperation at the international and regional levels in the efforts to counter the world drug problem, on the basis of the principles of equal rights and mutual respect;

Urges all States to ratify or accede to and implement all the provisions of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 as amended by the 1972 Protocol,¹⁴ the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 197110 and the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of l988;¹⁵

¹⁴United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 976, No. 14152.

¹⁵See 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).

II.International cooperation to counter the world drug problem

Urges competent authorities, at the international, regional and national levels, to implement the outcome of the twentieth special session, within the agreed time frames, in particular the high-priority practical measures at the international, regional or national level, as indicated in the Political Declaration and related documents;¹⁶

¹⁶See resolution S-20/2, annex, as well as the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Declaration on the Guiding Principles of Drug Demand Reduction (resolution 54/132, annex), the measures to enhance international cooperation to counter the world drug problem, namely, the Action Plan against Illicit Manufacture, Trafficking and Abuse of Amphetamine-type Stimulants and Their Precursors (resolution S-20/4 A), the measures to prevent the illicit manufacture, import, export, trafficking, distribution and diversion of precursors used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances (see resolution S-20/4 B), the measures to promote judicial cooperation (resolution S-20/4 C), the measures to counter money-laundering (resolution S-20/4 D) and the Action Plan on International Cooperation on the Eradication of Illicit Drug Crops and on Alternative Development (resolution S-20/4 E).

Urges all Member States to implement the Action Plan3 for the Implementation of the Declaration on the Guiding Principles of Drug Demand Reduction4 and to strengthen their national efforts to counter the abuse of illicit drugs among their population, in particular among children and young people;

Recognizes the role of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme in developing action-oriented strategies to assist Member States to implement the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Declaration, and requests the Executive Director of the Programme to report to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs at its forty-sixth session on the follow-up to the Action Plan;

Reaffirms its resolve to continue to strengthen the United Nations machinery for international drug control, in particular the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the United Nations International Drug Control Programme and the International Narcotics Control Board, in order to enable them to fulfil their mandates, bearing in mind the recommendations contained in Economic and Social Council resolution 1999/30 of 28 July 1999 and the measures taken and recommendations adopted by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs at its forty-fourth and forty-fifth sessions aimed at the enhancement of its functioning, in particular in its resolutions 44/16 of 29 March 2001¹⁷ and 45/17 of 15 March 2002;7

¹⁷See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2001, Supplement No. 8 (E/2001/28/Rev.1), chap. I, sect. C.

Calls upon all States to adopt effective measures, including national laws and regulations, within the agreed time frame, to strengthen national judicial systems and to carry out effective drug control activities in cooperation with other States and in accordance with United Nations drug control conventions;

Calls upon the relevant United Nations bodies, the specialized agencies, the international financial institutions and other concerned intergovernmental and international organizations, within their mandates, as well as all actors of civil society, notably non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations, sports associations, the media and the private sector, to continue their close cooperation with Governments in promoting and implementing the outcome of the twentieth special session through public information campaigns, in particular with regard to efforts for drug demand reduction;

Urges Governments, the relevant United Nations bodies, the specialized agencies and other international organizations to assist and support States, upon request, in particular developing countries, with the aim of enhancing their capacity to counter illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, taking into account national plans and initiatives;

Calls upon all States to adopt and implement measures to prevent the diversion of chemicals to illicit drug manufacture, in cooperation with competent international and regional bodies and, if necessary and to the extent possible, with the private sector in each State, in accordance with the goals and targets for 2003 and 2008 set out in the Political Declaration and the resolution on the control of precursors adopted at the special session;¹⁸

¹⁸Resolution S-20/4 B.

Calls upon States, the international community, international and regional organizations, international financial institutions and regional development banks to support the implementation of the Action Plan on International Cooperation on the Eradication of Illicit Drug Crops and on Alternative Development8 by States affected by illicit crop cultivation, and the implementation of Commission on Narcotic Drugs resolution 45/14 of 15 March 2002 on the role of alternative development in drug control and development cooperation;7

Calls upon States in which cultivation and production of illicit drug crops occur to establish or reinforce, where appropriate, national mechanisms to monitor and verify illicit crops;

Recommends that Member States, in particular donor States and States in which sustainable alternative development programmes are being implemented, respect the balance and ensure the effective coordination of law enforcement and interdiction measures, eradication efforts and alternative development to achieve the goal of eliminating or reducing significantly the illicit cultivation of drug crops;

Urges States to open their markets to products that are the object of alternative development programmes and that are necessary for the creation of employment and the eradication of poverty;

Encourages States to cooperate through bilateral, regional and multilateral means to prevent illicit crop cultivation from emerging in, or from being relocated to, other areas, regions or countries;

Urges all States, bearing in mind the forthcoming quinquennial evaluation of the implementation of the outcome of the twentieth special session in 2003, to submit their replies to the questionnaires of the biennial reports to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs on their efforts to meet the goals and targets for 2003 and 2008, as set out in the Political Declaration adopted at the special session, in accordance with the terms established in the guidelines adopted by the Commission at its forty-second and forty-fourth sessions;

Urges Member States and Observers to ensure that they are represented at the appropriate level at the ministerial-level segment of the forty-sixth session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and to participate actively in that segment;

Encourages the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the International Narcotics Control Board to continue their useful work on the control of precursors and other chemicals used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances;

Calls upon the Commission on Narcotic Drugs to continue mainstreaming a gender perspective into all its policies, programmes and activities, and requests the Secretariat to continue integrating a gender perspective into all documentation prepared for the Commission;

Urges all States to assign priority to the development and implementation of policies and programmes to raise awareness among children and young people, through, inter alia, information and education programmes, of the risks deriving from the use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, including synthetic drugs, as well as from the use of tobacco and alcohol, with the aim of preventing their use and reducing the adverse consequences of their abuse;

Also urges all States to make appropriate treatment and rehabilitation accessible to children, including adolescents, dependent on narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, inhalants and alcohol;

Further urges all States to adopt measures, including, where appropriate, possible national legislative measures, to address the linkages between the illicit traffic in small arms and light weapons and the illicit trade in narcotic drugs, among other related crimes, through increased international cooperation and by ensuring full implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects;¹⁹

¹⁹See Report of the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects, New York, 9–20 July 2001 (A/CONF.192/15), chap. IV, para. 24.

Welcomes the adoption of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime²⁰ and the three Protocols thereto, namely, the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children,²¹ the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air²² and the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition,²³ and encourages universal signature and ratification of these legal instruments;

²⁰Resolution 55/25, annex I.

²¹Ibid., annex II.

²²Ibid., annex III.

²³Resolution 55/255, annex.

Stresses the need for coordinated action to reduce the demand for illicit drugs, in the context of a comprehensive, balanced and coordinated approach encompassing supply control and demand reduction, as set out in the Action Plan for

the Implementation of the Declaration on the Guiding Principles of Drug Demand Reduction, noting, inter alia, the links among drug trafficking, organized crime and terrorism;

Recognizes the need to provide support to the States that are most affected by the transit of drugs, in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 2002/21 of 24 July 2002, in which the Council requested the United Nations International Drug Control Programme to continue to provide technical assistance, from available voluntary contributions for that purpose, to those States identified by relevant international bodies as the most affected by the transit of drugs, in particular developing countries in need of such assistance and support;

III.Action by the United Nations system

Emphasizes the role of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs as the principal United Nations policy-making body on drug control issues and as the governing body of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme;

Welcomes Commission on Narcotic Drugs resolution 45/17,7 which provides for an intersessional meeting of the Commission, if and when services are available at no additional cost to the Organization, to examine issues arising from the governing role of the Commission in the budgetary process of the Programme;

Reaffirms the role of the Executive Director of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme in coordinating and providing effective leadership for all United Nations drug control activities so as to increase cost-effectiveness and ensure coherence of action, complementarity and non-duplication of such activities throughout the United Nations system, and encourages further efforts in this regard;

Emphasizes that the multidimensional nature of the world drug problem calls for the promotion of integration and coordination of drug control activities throughout the United Nations system, including in the follow-up to major United Nations conferences;

Urges the relevant specialized agencies, programmes and funds, including humanitarian organizations, and invites multilateral financial institutions, to include action against the world drug problem in their programming and planning processes in order to ensure that the integral and balanced strategy that emerged from the special session devoted to countering the world drug problem together is being addressed, taking into account the priorities of States;

IV.United Nations International Drug Control Programme

Welcomes the efforts of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme to implement its mandate within the framework of the international drug control treaties, the Comprehensive Multidisciplinary Outline of Future Activities in Drug Abuse Control,²⁴ the Global Programme of Action,²⁵ the outcome of the special session of the General Assembly devoted to countering the world drug problem together and relevant consensus documents;

²⁴See Report of the International Conference on Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Vienna, 17–26 June 1987 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.87.I.18), chap. I, sect. A.

²⁵See resolution S-17/2, annex.

Expresses its appreciation to the Programme for the support provided to different States in meeting the objectives of the Global Programme of Action and of the special session, especially in cases where significant and anticipated progress was achieved regarding the goals and targets for 2003 and 2008;

Requests the Programme to continue:

To strengthen dialogue with Member States and also to ensure continued improvement in management, so as to contribute to enhanced and sustainable programme delivery and further encourage the Executive Director to maximize the effectiveness of the Programme, inter alia, through the full implementation of Commission on Narcotic Drugs resolutions 44/1616 and 45/17,7 in particular the recommendations contained therein;

To strengthen cooperation with Member States and with United Nations programmes, funds and relevant agencies, as well as relevant regional organizations and agencies and non-governmental organizations, and to provide, on request, assistance in implementing the outcome of the special session;

To increase its assistance, within the available voluntary resources, to countries that are deploying efforts to reduce illicit crop cultivation by, in particular, adopting alternative development programmes, and to explore new and innovative funding mechanisms;

To allocate, while keeping the balance between supply and demand reduction programmes, adequate resources to allow it to fulfil its role in the implementation of the Action Plan3 for the Implementation of the Declaration on the Guiding Principles of Drug Demand Reduction;4

To strengthen dialogue and cooperation with multilateral development banks and with international financial institutions so that they may undertake lending and programming activities related to drug control in interested and affected countries to implement the outcome of the special session, and to keep the Commission on Narcotic Drugs informed of further progress made in this area;

To take into account the outcome of the special session, to include in its report on the illicit traffic in drugs an updated, objective and comprehensive assessment of worldwide trends in illicit traffic and transit in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, including methods and routes used, and to recommend ways and means of improving the capacity of States along those routes to address all aspects of the drug problem;

To publish the World Drug Report, with comprehensive and balanced information about the world drug problem, and to seek additional extrabudgetary resources for its publication in all the official languages;

Urges all Governments to provide the fullest possible financial and political support to the Programme by widening its donor base and increasing voluntary contributions, in particular general-purpose contributions, to enable it to continue, expand and strengthen its operational and technical cooperation activities;

Calls upon the International Narcotics Control Board to increase efforts to implement all its mandates under international drug control conventions and to continue to cooperate with Governments, inter alia, by offering advice to Member States that request it;

Notes that the Board needs sufficient resources to carry out all its mandates, and therefore urges Member States to commit themselves in a common effort to assigning adequate and sufficient budgetary resources to the Board, in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/20 of 23 July 1996, and emphasizes the need to maintain its capacity, inter alia, through the provision of appropriate means by the Secretary-General and adequate technical support by the Programme;

Stresses the importance of the meetings of Heads of National Drug Law Enforcement Agencies, in all regions of the world, and the Subcommission on Illicit Drug Traffic and Related Matters in the Near and Middle East of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, and encourages them to continue to contribute to the strengthening of regional and international cooperation, taking into account the outcome of the special session;

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General,²⁶ and, taking into account the promotion of integrated reporting, requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth session a report on the quinquennial evaluation of the implementation of the outcome of the twentieth special session, including on the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Declaration on the Guiding Principles of Drug Demand Reduction, based on the report of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs on its forty-sixth session and the present resolution.

²⁶A/57/127.