International Cooperation Against the World Drug Problem

A/RES/69/201No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 106International drug control, published in 2015.

What other versions does this mandate have?

18 versions · 1999–2016

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

2016A/RES/70/182International cooperation against the world drug problemLatestCompare with previous version
2015A/RES/69/201International cooperation against the world drug problemCompare with previous version
2014A/RES/68/197International cooperation against the world drug problemCompare with previous version
2013A/RES/67/193International cooperation against the world drug problemCompare with previous version
2012A/RES/66/183International cooperation against the world drug problemCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

7 topics

Drug Control Drug Policy Drug Traffic Hiv/Aids Prevention International Cooperation Narcotic Drugs Technical Cooperation

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2015.

2015A/70/98International cooperation against the world drug problem report of the Secretary-General

Identified automatically from the metadata in each report’s UN Digital Library catalogue record.

What does this mandate say?

63 operative paragraphs

Reiterates its call upon States to take, in a timely manner, the measures necessary to implement the actions and attain the goals and targets set out in the Political Declaration and Plan of Action on International Cooperation towards an Integrated and Balanced Strategy to Counter the World Drug Problem,Error: Reference source not found adopted by the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session, and to address the general challenges and priorities for action identified in the joint ministerial statement of the 2014 high-level review by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs of the implementation by Member States of the Political Declaration and Plan of Action;Error: Reference source not found

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

Calls upon Member States to engage in effective cooperation and practical action aimed at addressing the world drug problem on the basis of the principle of common and shared responsibility;

Encourages Member States to give adequate consideration to the negative effects of the world drug problem and its consequences on development and on society in general;

Invites Member States to implement comprehensive drug abuse prevention measures from a perspective that considers the individual as well as the community and society as a whole, including through public health education on the dangers of drug abuse, violence prevention, rehabilitation and aftercare to reintegrate former drug users into society, as well as anticipate, detect and analyse various risks to communities associated with drug-related violence and crime;

Undertakes to promote bilateral, regional and international cooperation, including through intelligence-sharing and cross-border cooperation, aimed at countering the world drug problem more effectively, in particular by encouraging and supporting such cooperation by those States most directly affected by illicit crop cultivation and the illicit production, manufacture, transit, trafficking, distribution and abuse of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances;

Reiterates the commitment of Member States to promoting, developing, reviewing or strengthening effective, comprehensive, integrated drug demand reduction programmes, based on scientific evidence and covering a range of measures, including primary prevention, education, early detection and intervention, treatment, care and related support services, recovery support, rehabilitation and social reintegration efforts, as well as measures aimed at minimizing the public health and social consequences of drug abuse and at promoting health and social well-being among individuals, families and communities and reducing the adverse consequences of drug abuse for individuals and society as a whole, taking into account the specific needs of women and the particular challenges posed by high-risk drug users, in full compliance with the three international drug control conventions and in accordance with national legislation, and commits Member States to investing increased resources in ensuring access to those interventions on a non-discriminatory basis, including in detention facilities, bearing in mind that those interventions should also consider vulnerabilities that undermine human development, such as poverty and social marginalization;

Encourages Member States to develop and implement, as appropriate, comprehensive policies and programmes that, by fostering social development, are aimed at the prevention of crime and violence and that address the multiple factors that contribute to crime and victimization, in close cooperation with relevant stakeholders, including civil society, and based on scientific evidence and taking into account good practices;

Reaffirms the need for Member States to review and, if necessary, strengthen coordinated measures, enhance capacity-building to combat money-laundering arising from drug trafficking and improve judicial cooperation, where appropriate, at the national, regional and international levels, to dismantle organized criminal groups involved in drug trafficking, in order to provide for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators of such crimes;

Notes the importance of an integrated approach in drug policies, including by strengthening the partnerships between public health, justice and law enforcement sectors and facilitating inter-agency cooperation and communication, where appropriate;

Encourages the promotion, where appropriate, in the framework of international cooperation, of the use of law enforcement techniques, consistent with national legislation and international law, including applicable human rights obligations, in order to ensure that drug traffickers are brought to justice and that major criminal organizations are disrupted and dismantled;

Notes with great concern the adverse consequences of drug abuse for individuals and society as a whole, reaffirms the commitment of all Member States to tackling those problems in the context of comprehensive, complementary and multisectoral drug demand reduction strategies, in particular such strategies targeting children, young people and their families, also notes with great concern the alarming rise in the incidence of HIV/AIDS and other blood-borne diseases among injecting drug users, also reaffirms the commitment of all Member States to working towards the goal of universal access to comprehensive prevention programmes and treatment, care and related support services, in full compliance with the international drug control conventions and in accordance with national legislation, taking into account all relevant General Assembly resolutions and, when applicable, the revised technical guide for countries to set targets for universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care for injecting drug users, issued by the World Health Organization, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, and requests the Office to carry out its mandate in this area in close cooperation with relevant organizations and programmes of the United Nations system, such as the World Health Organization, the United Nations Development Programme and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS;

Urges Member States, where appropriate, to develop national responses to address the issue of drug-affected driving by, inter alia, exchanging information and best practices on effective responses, including through engagement with the international scientific and legal communities;

Notes with concern that the availability of internationally controlled drugs for medical and scientific purposes, particularly for the relief of pain and for palliative care, remains low to non-existent in many countries of the world, and highlights the need for Member States, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the International Narcotics Control Board, in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Health Organization, as appropriate, to address that situation by promoting measures to ensure their availability and accessibility for medical and scientific purposes, in accordance with national legislation, while simultaneously preventing their diversion, abuse and trafficking, in order to realize the aims of the three international drug control conventions and other relevant international instruments;

Urges all Member States to enact comprehensive measures aimed at stemming the abuse of prescription drugs, in particular through the establishment of awareness-raising initiatives targeting the general public and health-care providers;

Acknowledges the continuing efforts made and the progress achieved in countering the world drug problem, notes with great concern the continuing illicit production of and trafficking in opiates, the continuing illicit manufacture of and trafficking in cocaine, the increasing illicit production of and trafficking in cannabis, the ongoing global spread of the illicit manufacture of amphetamine-type stimulants and the increasing diversion of precursors, as well as the related distribution and use of illicit drugs, and stresses the need to strengthen and intensify joint efforts at the national, regional and international levels to tackle those global challenges in a more comprehensive manner, in accordance with the principle of common and shared responsibility, including by means of enhanced and better-coordinated technical and financial assistance;

Expresses its concern that, despite all the efforts of Member States and the international community, and according to the World Drug Report 2014 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, overall the global situation with regard to the prevalence of illicit drug use and problem drug use is generally stable, with the total global number of drug users increasingly commensurate with the growth of the world population;

Stresses that it is absolutely imperative for Member States to strengthen international efforts in order to achieve more effective results in countering the world drug problem;

Recognizes that it is necessary for Member States, under the three international drug control conventions and the fundamental principles of their domestic legal systems and national legislation, to consider, where appropriate:

Regularly reviewing and assessing their drug control policies, ensuring that they are effective, comprehensive, balanced and aimed at promoting the health and well-being of individuals, families, communities and society as a whole;

Providing, as appropriate, comprehensive, integrated drug demand reduction programmes, based on scientific evidence and covering a range of measures, including primary prevention, early intervention, treatment, care, rehabilitation, social reintegration and measures aimed at minimizing the negative public health and social impacts of drug abuse, aimed at promoting health and social well-being among individuals, families and communities and reducing the adverse consequences of drug abuse for individuals and society as a whole;

Invites Member States to take appropriate measures so as to strengthen international cooperation and the exchange of information regarding the identification of new routes and modi operandi of organized criminal groups dedicated to the diversion or smuggling of substances frequently used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, in particular with respect to their trafficking via the Internet, and to continue to notify the International Narcotics Control Board of such information;

Continues to encourage Member States to promote, in accordance with Commission on Narcotic Drugs resolution 57/9 of 21 March 2014,Error: Reference source not found the sharing of information on the potential abuse of and trafficking in new psychoactive substances, including synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists, as well as the sharing of information with regard to patterns of use, risks to public health, forensic data and best practices with respect to interventions and new and existing control measures;

Recognizes the progress made in the development of a consolidated international response to the increasing availability of new psychoactive substances that may pose risks to public health and safety, including the development of a global reference point, the early warning advisory and cooperation with Member States and relevant regional organizations in the identification and reporting of such substances, in order to increase data collection, improve our collective understanding and find effective policy responses, requests the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to continue its efforts to enhance the capacity of Member States in this regard, and calls upon Member States to further improve the application of the international scheduling process and to provide to the Secretary-General, through the Office, and to the World Health Organization timely information, identifying a national government focal point to coordinate the provision of information on substances for effective review by the World Health Organization Expert Committee on Drug Dependence;

Encourages Member States to adopt measures to strengthen public awareness of the risks and threats to and negative impacts on society posed by the abuse and production of and trafficking in illicit drugs;

Recognizes:

That sustainable crop control strategies targeting the illicit cultivation of crops used for the production of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances require international cooperation based on the principle of shared responsibility and an integrated and balanced approach, taking into account the rule of law and, where appropriate, security concerns, 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;

That such crop control strategies include, inter alia, alternative development and, where appropriate, preventive alternative development programmes, eradication and law enforcement measures;

That alternative development is an important, lawful, viable and sustainable alternative to the illicit cultivation of drug crops and an effective measure for countering the world drug problem and other drug-related crime challenges, as well as a choice in favour of societies free of drug abuse, that it is one of the key components of policies and programmes for reducing illicit drug production and that it is an integral part of efforts by Governments to achieve sustainable development within their societies;

That such crop control strategies should be in full conformity with article 14 of the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988Error: Reference source not found and appropriately coordinated and phased in accordance with national policies in order to achieve the sustainable eradication of illicit crops and the creation of alternative legal livelihood opportunities and facilitate long-term development, noting furthermore the need for Member States to undertake to increase long-term investment in such strategies, coordinated with other development measures, in order to contribute to the sustainability of social and economic development and poverty eradication in affected rural areas, taking due account of the traditional licit uses of crops where there is historical evidence of such use and giving due consideration to the protection of the environment;

That developing countries with extensive expertise in alternative development, including preventive alternative development, as appropriate, play a significant role in promoting best practices and lessons learned from alternative development programmes, and invites them to continue to share those best practices with States affected by illicit crop cultivation, with a view to using them in accordance with the national specificities of each State;

Encourages Member States, international organizations, entities and other relevant stakeholders to take due account of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Alternative DevelopmentError: Reference source not found when designing and implementing alternative development programmes, and welcomes the adoption by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs of its resolution 57/1 of 21 March 2014;Error: Reference source not found

Requests the international community, in particular the countries of destination, to continue to provide, bilaterally, multilaterally or through the competent international and regional organizations, in accordance with article 10 of the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988, and on the basis of the principle of shared responsibility, urgent and sufficient technical assistance and support to the most affected transit States, in full cooperation with national authorities, in order to promote the capacities of such States to counter the flow of illicit drugs;

Reiterates the urgent need for Member States to strengthen international and regional cooperation in order to respond to the serious challenges posed by the increasing links between drug trafficking, money-laundering, corruption and other forms of organized crime, including trafficking in persons, smuggling of migrants, trafficking in firearms, cybercrime and, in some cases, terrorism and the financing of terrorism, and to the significant challenges faced by law enforcement and judicial authorities in responding to the ever-changing means used by transnational criminal organizations, including the corruption of State officials, to avoid detection and prosecution;

Expresses deep concern at the growing violence resulting from activities of criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking, recognizes the increasing links between drug trafficking, including gang-related association, and the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms in some regions of the world and the need to prevent the spread of that problem to other regions, and urges Member States to take adequate measures, consistent with their international treaty obligations and other relevant international standards, to fully cooperate in preventing the acquisition and use of firearms and ammunition by those criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking and in combating the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in such firearms and ammunition;

Calls upon Member States to also consider, when developing comprehensive policies to tackle the world drug problem, measures, programmes and actions that address the needs of those affected by drug-related violence and crime;

Reaffirms the importance of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and its field offices in building capacity at the local level in the fight against transnational organized crime and drug trafficking, and encourages the Office to maintain an effective level of support for national and regional efforts in countering the world drug problem;

Requests the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to continue to collaborate with relevant intergovernmental, international and regional organizations involved in addressing the world drug problem, as appropriate, in order to share best practices and scientific standards and to maximize the benefits from their unique comparative advantage, and to continue to provide technical assistance to Member States so as to enhance capacity in countering the world drug problem, including enhancing the analytical work of laboratories, by carrying out training programmes to develop indicators and instruments for the collection and analysis of accurate, reliable and comparable data on all relevant aspects of the world drug problem and, where appropriate, by supporting requesting States to enhance or develop new national indicators and instruments;

Welcomes the further collaboration, within their mandates, between the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Health Organization, which provides leadership and guidance, to further strengthen public health as part of a comprehensive and balanced approach to drug demand reduction based on scientific evidence;

Invites Member States to invest, where necessary and taking into account specific needs and available resources, in capacity-building and quality-enhancing activities for the collection and reporting of information, to participate in joint cooperation efforts organized by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and by other national, regional or international organizations and bodies, aimed at the exchange of technical knowledge of experts in the area of data collection, analysis and evaluation and of practical experience in the area of drug data, and to regularly report data and information relating to all aspects of the world drug problem to the Office through the annual report questionnaires, and invites the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, as the central policymaking body of the United Nations system on drug-related matters, to strengthen the capacity of the Office to collect, analyse, use and disseminate accurate, reliable, objective and comparable data and to reflect such information in the World Drug Report;

Encourages the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to continue its efforts in supporting States to establish, upon request, operational frameworks essential for communication within and across national borders and in facilitating the exchange of information on and analysis of drug trafficking trends, with a view to increasing knowledge about the world drug problem at the national, regional and international levels, recognizes the importance of integrating laboratories and providing scientific support to drug control frameworks and of treating quality analytical data as a primary source of information worldwide, and urges coordination with other international entities, including the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL);

Requests all Member States to provide the fullest possible financial and political support to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime by widening its donor base and increasing voluntary contributions, in particular general-purpose contributions, so as to enable it to continue, expand, improve and strengthen, within its mandates, its operational and technical cooperation activities, including with a view to assisting Member States with the full implementation of the Political Declaration and Plan of Action on International Cooperation towards an Integrated and Balanced Strategy to Counter the World Drug Problem, as well as with the full implementation of relevant resolutions adopted by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs;

Expresses concern regarding the overall financial situation of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, emphasizes the need to provide the Office with adequate, predictable and stable resources and to ensure their cost-effective utilization, and requests the Secretary-General to continue to report, within existing reporting obligations, on the financial situation of the Office and to continue to ensure that the Office has sufficient resources to carry out its mandates fully and effectively;

Encourages Member States and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to continue to address the above-mentioned issues within the mandate of the standing open-ended intergovernmental working group on improving the governance and financial situation of the Office in order for the Office to fulfil its mandate effectively, efficiently and with the appropriate resources;

Encourages the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, as the principal policymaking organ of the United Nations on matters of international drug control and as the governing body of the drug programme of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and the International Narcotics Control Board to strengthen their useful work on the control of precursors and other chemicals used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances;

Urges States that have not done so to consider ratifying or acceding to, and States parties to implement, as a matter of priority, all the provisions of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 as amended by the 1972 Protocol,Error: Reference source not found the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971,Error: Reference source not found the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols thereto and the United Nations Convention against Corruption;

Requests the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to continue to provide, in close collaboration with the International Narcotics Control Board, as may be appropriate, adequate support and technical assistance to Governments in all regions so as to enable them to implement and fully meet their obligations under conventions and give adequate follow-up to subsequent resolutions of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly, including for the strengthening of regulatory authorities and controls, provision of information and fulfilment of reporting requirements, and urges donors to contribute to the Office for those purposes;

Takes note of the resolutions adopted by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs at its fifty-seventh session,Error: Reference source not found the World Drug Report 2014 and the most recent report of the International Narcotics Control Board, and calls upon Member States to strengthen international and regional cooperation and coordination to counter the threat to the international community caused by the illicit production of and trafficking in drugs, especially those in the opium group, as well as other aspects of the world drug problem, and to continue to take concerted measures within the framework of the Paris Pact and other relevant regional and international initiatives and mechanisms, such as the Istanbul Process on Regional Security and Cooperation for a Secure and Stable Afghanistan, also known as the “Heart of Asia” initiative, in order to strengthen cross-border cooperation and information exchange with a view to countering drug trafficking with the support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and other international and regional organizations;

Urges Member States to continue to actively cooperate with the International Narcotics Control Board in the exercise of its mandate, and emphasizes the need to ensure that an appropriate level of resources is made available to the Board to enable it to engage with Governments to effectively monitor compliance by States parties with the three international drug control conventions;

Emphasizes the important role played by civil society, in particular non-governmental organizations, in addressing the world drug problem, notes with appreciation their important contribution to the review process, and notes that representatives of affected populations and civil society entities, where appropriate, should be enabled to play a participatory role in the formulation and implementation of drug demand and supply reduction policy;

Encourages Member States to ensure that civil society plays a participatory role, where appropriate, through consultation in the development and implementation of drug control programmes and policies, in particular with regard to aspects of demand reduction;

Encourages the meetings of Heads of National Drug Law Enforcement Agencies and of the Subcommission on Illicit Drug Traffic and Related Matters in the Near and Middle East of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs to continue to contribute to the strengthening of regional and international cooperation, and in this regard welcomes the discussions conducted in Vienna from 2 to 5 July 2013, Addis Ababa from 15 to 19 September 2014, Asunción from 6 to 10 October 2014, and Bangkok from 21 to 24 October 2014;

Welcomes the ongoing efforts to strengthen cooperation in addressing the world drug problem and to seek effectiveness and comprehensiveness in the strategies and policies undertaken by regional and subregional organizations and transregional initiatives;

Invites Member States, in consultation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, donors and other relevant international organizations, to continue to assist African States in addressing health problems and raising awareness of the dangers associated with the abuse of all drugs, and in this regard encourages the Office and the African Union Commission to continue to work together to enhance the complementarities of their activities;

Reiterates its call upon the relevant United Nations agencies and entities and other international organizations, and invites international financial institutions, including regional development banks, to mainstream efforts to counter the world drug problem into their programmes, and calls upon the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to maintain its leading role by providing relevant information and technical assistance;

Reaffirms its decision, as recommended by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, that the special session of the General Assembly on the world drug problem in 2016 shall have an inclusive preparatory process that includes extensive substantive consultations, allowing organs, entities and specialized agencies of the United Nations system, relevant international and regional organizations, civil society and other relevant stakeholders to fully contribute to the process in accordance with the relevant rules of procedure and established practice;

Recognizes the constructive role that parliamentarians can play in addressing the world drug problem, and encourages their participation, as appropriate, in the preparatory process for the special session;

Notes the ongoing discussions in some regions on how to address the world drug problem, in the light of the current situation and policies, and emphasizes the importance of a broad, transparent, inclusive and scientific evidence-based discussion among Member States, with input from other relevant stakeholders, as appropriate, in multilateral settings, on the most effective ways to counter the world drug problem consistent with the three international drug control conventions and other relevant international instruments, in order to further implement the commitments and targets set out in the Political Declaration and Plan of Action on International Cooperation towards an Integrated and Balanced Strategy to Counter the World Drug Problem;

Reaffirms its support for the preparations for the special session, which will review the progress in the implementation of the Political Declaration and Plan of Action, including an assessment of the achievements and challenges in countering the world drug problem, within the framework of the three international drug control conventions and other relevant United Nations instruments by, inter alia, addressing measures to reach an effective balance between supply and demand reduction measures and addressing all the consequences of the world drug problem, including in the health, social, human rights, economic, justice and security fields;

Invites Member States to share their drug policy experiences as a contribution to the special session;

Reaffirms its resolution 69/200 of 18 December 2014, in which it is stated that the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, as the central policymaking body within the United Nations system dealing with drug-related matters, shall lead that process by addressing all organizational and substantive matters in an open-ended manner, and in this regard reiterates its invitation to the President of the General Assembly to support, guide and stay involved in the process;.

Invites the President of the General Assembly, in cooperation with the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, as the central policymaking body within the United Nations system dealing with drug-related matters and having the leading role in the preparation of the special session of the Assembly, to hold, within existing resources, a high-level thematic debate in 2015 in support of the process towards the 2016 special session of the Assembly on the world drug problem with Member States and other relevant stakeholders and to prepare a Chair’s summary of the discussions for transmission to the Commission;

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General, and requests that he submit to the General Assembly at its seventieth session a report on the implementation of the present resolution.

Paragraph content is machine-extracted from UN documents. For authoritative content, please refer to the official UN document.

No headings found in this document.

Who created this mandate?

What other versions does this mandate have?

What subjects does this mandate have?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What does this mandate say?

Table of contents