Central Asia's Unified Resolve and Cooperation to Effectively Address and Counter Drug-Related Challenges

Invites Member States of the Central Asian region to consider enhancing cooperation among public health, education and law enforcement authorities when developing and implementing scientific evidence-based drug use prevention initiatives;

Calls upon the relevant United Nations institutions to assist the countries of the region, upon their request and within respective mandates, in countering the illicit production of and trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors, and the laundering of proceeds of drug-related crime, in particular within the framework of the programmes of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, as well as sustained activities of the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre for combating the illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors, and to support the development of regional strategies and enhance regional cooperation through information-sharing and joint operational activities, using capabilities of regional organizations where feasible, and reinforcing national programmes in Central Asia aimed at providing non-discriminatory and voluntary access to drug-related prevention, treatment, education, care, sustained recovery, rehabilitation, social reintegration and related support services, in particular for people who may face obstacles when accessing those services, including, where relevant, those impacted by social marginalization, while mainstreaming a gender perspective into the development and implementation of those national programmes and services;

Calls upon the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in collaboration with the World Health Organization and other relevant United Nations entities, to support countries of the region in taking effective and practical scientific evidence-based measures, including interventions related to prevention, treatment, care and recovery support, as well as other public health interventions, to address harm associated with illicit drug use as part of comprehensive, systematic and sustainable demand reduction initiatives, and addressing challenges related to drug use disorders and co-occurring comorbidities;

Encourages Member States to promote bilateral, regional and international cooperation with and technical assistance to States, including in Central Asia, affected by illicit crop cultivation and illicit production, manufacture, transit, trafficking, distribution and abuse of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, including synthetic drugs, in developing and implementing comprehensive and integrated policies, including through intelligence-sharing and cross-border cooperation, and by reinforcing national programmes aimed at education, prevention, early intervention, treatment, care, rehabilitation and social reintegration;

Encourages Central Asian States, with the support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and other relevant international and regional organizations and the donor community, subject to the availability of funds, to enhance data collection, research, the sharing of information and the scaling-up of studies on the impact of illicit drug trafficking and distribution on those affected by and vulnerable to illicit drug use, including youth and women, in support of the comprehensive scientific evidence-based and balanced decision-making and drug policies;

Encourages the Central Asian States to establish partnerships, with the support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and other relevant United Nations entities, regional and international organizations, within their respective mandates, including the Information Centre for researching and analysing transnational threats in the region related to drugs and crime, as appropriate, other Member States and relevant stakeholders, including law enforcement, judicial and health-care personnel, by voluntarily establishing and strengthening partnerships or cooperation with civil society, academia and private sector entities, where relevant and in accordance with domestic laws, to conduct research and surveys to address drug-related public health and public security challenges related to the illicit production of and trafficking in drugs and all other aspects of the regional drug problem in Central Asia;

Also encourages Central Asian States to consider, including in the context of comprehensive and balanced drug demand reduction efforts, relevant interventions that prevent the transmission of HIV, viral hepatitis and other blood-borne diseases associated with drug use, as well as consider ensuring access to such interventions, including in treatment and outreach services, prisons and other custodial settings, and promoting in that regard the use, as appropriate, of the 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;

Invites Member States, relevant United Nations entities, international financial institutions and other relevant stakeholders to enhance the provision of tailored, targeted, effective and sustainable technical assistance to the States of Central Asia, upon request, in the form of training, capacity-building, provision of equipment, sharing of knowledge, and transfer of technology on a voluntary and mutually agreed basis, through the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and other relevant specialized agencies and bodies of the United Nations system, within their respective mandates and existing resources, and international and regional mechanisms, to implement the provisions of the present resolution in Central Asia.