United Nations Guiding Principles on Alternative Development

E/RES/2013/42View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the Economic and Social Council, under agenda item 14dNarcotic drugs, published in 2013.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Extracted automatically from each entity’s budget submission.

What subjects does this mandate have?

4 topics

Drug Control Drug Policy Guidelines Narcotic Drugs

What does this mandate say?

48 operative paragraphs

Welcomes the outcome of the high-level International Conference on Alternative Development, held in Lima from 14 to 16 November 2012, including the adoption of the Lima Declaration on Alternative Development and the International Guiding Principles on Alternative Development;

Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime on the outcome of that Conference;

Adopts the aforementioned Lima Declaration on Alternative Development and the International Guiding Principles on Alternative Development as the United Nations Guiding Principles on Alternative Development, annexed to the present resolution;

Encourages Member States, international organizations, international financial institutions, entities and other relevant stakeholders to take into account the United Nations Guiding Principles on Alternative Development when designing and implementing alternative development programmes;

Expresses its appreciation and gratitude to the Governments of Thailand and Peru for the convening of the International Seminar Workshop on Sustainable Alternative Development and the high-level International Conference on Alternative Development, respectively.

Annex

United Nations Guiding Principles on Alternative Development

Lima Declaration on Alternative Development

Welcome the outcome of the high-level International Conference on Alternative Development, held in Lima from 14 to 16 November 2012, which includes the present Declaration and the International Guiding Principles on Alternative Development, as contained in the appendix hereto;

Encourage States, competent international organizations, entities and other relevant stakeholders to take into account the present Declaration and the International Guiding Principles on Alternative Development when designing and implementing alternative development strategies and programmes;

Submit the present Declaration, including its appendix, to the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, for inclusion in his report to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs at its fifty-sixth session;

Express our appreciation and gratitude to the Government of Peru for the convening of the high-level International Conference on Alternative Development.

Appendix

International Guiding Principles on Alternative Development

A.General provisions

B.Actions and implementation measures

States Members of the United Nations, international organizations, regional organizations, development agencies, donors and international financial institutions, as well as civil society, should apply their utmost efforts, as appropriate:

To target illicit cultivation and production of crops used for the production and manufacture of illicit drugs, and address related factors, by alleviating poverty, by strengthening the rule of law and institutional frameworks, as appropriate, and by promoting sustainable development aimed at enhancing the welfare of the population;

To build and maintain confidence, dialogue and cooperation with and between stakeholders, from people at the community level and local authorities to leaders at the national and regional levels, so as to ensure participation and ownership for long-term sustainability;

To implement long-term projects and programmes to provide opportunities to fight poverty, diversify livelihoods and strengthen development, institutional frameworks and the rule of law;

To develop policies and programmes that take into account an evidence- and science-based assessment of the potential impact of alternative development on the illicit cultivation of crops used for the illicit production and manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, and on rural and socioeconomic development, including the gender dimension related thereto, and the environment;

To take into account the need to promote the diversification of licit crops cultivated and licit economic activities undertaken when implementing alternative development programmes;

Owing to the transnational nature of drug-related crimes, to encourage and support coordinated cross-border collaboration and alternative development activities, where appropriate and feasible, with the support of international cooperation;

To address with specific measures the situation of women, children, youth and other high-risk populations, including, in some cases, dependent drug users, owing to their vulnerability and exploitation in the illicit drug economy;

To provide, within a holistic and integrated development approach, essential basic services and legal livelihood opportunities to the communities affected by, or in some cases vulnerable to, illicit crop cultivation;

To recognize that alternative development, including, as appropriate, preventive alternative development, requires the implementation of articulated short-, medium- and long-term plans and actions from all relevant stakeholders to promote positive and sustainable socioeconomic changes in the affected and, in some cases, vulnerable areas;

To promote coordination and encourage alternative development programmes which contain complementary measures at the local, regional and national levels;

To ensure, when considering crop control measures, that small-farmer households have opportunities for viable and sustainable licit livelihoods so that the measures may be properly sequenced in a sustainable fashion and appropriately coordinated, taking into account the circumstances of the region, country or area concerned;

To ensure that programmes or projects related to alternative development effectively discourage the illicit cultivation of crops used for the illicit production and manufacture of drugs;

To also ensure that drug control programmes are implemented in a comprehensive and balanced manner, so as to avoid the shifting of illicit crop cultivation domestically, as well as from one country or region to another;

To respect the legitimate interests and specific needs of the local affected and, in some cases, vulnerable population when designing and implementing alternative development programmes;

To address basic human needs, in full conformity with the three drug conventions and relevant human rights instruments, in order to promote the welfare of targeted communities;

To integrate those communities which are in marginalized regions into the economic and political mainstream; as appropriate, such integration should involve supporting access to roads, schools, primary health-care services, electricity and other services and infrastructure;

To promote increased coordination and cooperation between relevant governmental agencies, when appropriate, and adopt an integrated approach to drug control that involves all relevant stakeholders;

To ensure that the implementation of alternative development programmes is conducted in a manner that helps to enhance synergy and confidence among national Governments, regional authorities and local administrations and communities with regard to building local ownership and coordination and cooperation;

To promote the strengthening of the justice and security sectors and social development, as well as institutional legal frameworks and anti-corruption measures, in a manner conducive to enhancing alternative development efforts;

To promote governance capabilities, when appropriate, in order to strengthen the rule of law, including at the local level;

To ensure that measures aimed at strengthening the rule of law are included in development-oriented drug control policies in order to, inter alia, support farmers in their efforts to stop, and in some cases prevent, the cultivation of illicit crops;

To apply, in addition to estimates of illicit cultivation and other illicit activities related to the world drug problem, indicators related to human development, socioeconomic conditions, rural development and the alleviation of poverty, as well as institutional and environmental indicators, when assessing alternative development programmes in order to ensure that the outcomes are in line with national and international development objectives, including the Millennium Development Goals, and that they reflect accountable use of donor funds and truly benefit the affected communities;

To utilize objective impact evaluations that examine a broad range of social, economic and environmental factors and incorporate the lessons learned from these evaluations in future projects to ensure that the design and implementation of alternative development programmes are based on a reliable and evidence-based evaluation and thorough analysis of local socioeconomic, geographical and cultural realities, as well as the assessment of benefits and risks;

To undertake further research and strengthen data collection with a view to providing a basis for more effective and evidence-based alternative development programmes, as well as conduct research to assess the factors leading to the illicit cultivation of drug crops used for the production and manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances;

To utilize data and conduct analysis to identify areas, communities and affected populations that are vulnerable to illicit cultivation and its related illicit activities, and tailor the implementation of programmes and projects to address identified needs;

To encourage partners in cross-border alternative development activities to consider measures to support the implementation of alternative development strategies and programmes, which may include special preferential policies, protection of property rights and facilitation of the import and export of products, in accordance with relevant international law, including trade agreements;

To enhance technical support, including exchange of expertise, best practices and resources, while seeking to secure long-term flexible funding for alternative development programmes in order to ensure their sustainability;

To consider the possibility of creating an international fund for alternative development programmes that could be used to face major emergency situations, in order to ensure continuity;

To recognize that international cooperation resources for the implementation of alternative development programmes should be used in consultation and in coordination with partner countries to support joint efforts to eliminate, reduce and, in some cases, prevent the cultivation of illicit crops through reducing poverty and enhancing rural development in areas affected by, or in some cases vulnerable to, illicit cultivation and engaging in effective law enforcement measures;

Recognize that long-term cooperation, coordination and the commitment of multilevel and multisectoral stakeholders are essential to a holistic and integrated approach to the effectiveness and sustainability of alternative development programmes;

Consider voluntary and pragmatic measures in appropriate forums, with a view to enabling alternative development products to gain easier access to international markets, in accordance with applicable multilateral trade rules and treaties and taking into consideration the ongoing negotiation processes in the framework of the World Trade Organization; these might include promoting cost-effective marketing regimes in the field of alternative development, including, as appropriate, preventive alternative development, such as a global stamp for products stemming from alternative development programmes and voluntary certification to support the sustainability of alternative development products;

Promote, where appropriate, a favourable socioeconomic infrastructure, including the development of roads and transportation networks, the promotion and enhancement of farmer associations, microfinance schemes and schemes aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of the management of available financing resources;

Combine local wisdom, indigenous knowledge, public-private partnerships and available resources to promote, inter alia, a legal market-driven product development approach when applicable, capacity-building, skills training of the involved population, effective management and the entrepreneurial spirit, in order to support the creation of internal and sustainable commercial systems and a viable value chain at the local level, when applicable;

Support policies conducive to cooperation with the international financial institutions and, where appropriate, private sector involvement and investment to help to ensure long-term sustainability, including through the use of public-private partnerships, and to encourage alternative development in rural associations or cooperatives and support their management capacity, in order to maximize value from primary production and to ensure the integration of areas affected by, or in some cases vulnerable to, illicit cultivation into national, regional and, as appropriate, international markets;

Promote local ownership and participation of the involved parties in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of alternative development programmes and projects;

Foster empowerment, including articulation, communication and participation, of the community and local authorities and other stakeholders, to sustain the achievements of the projects and programmes;

Take into account land rights and other related land management resources when designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating alternative development programmes, including those of indigenous peoples and local communities, in accordance with national legal frameworks;

Raise awareness among rural communities of the negative impacts that illicit drug crop cultivation, related deforestation and the illicit use of natural resources, in disregard of national or international laws, may have on long-term development and the environment.

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

Who created this mandate?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What does this mandate say?

United Nations Guiding Principles on Alternative Development

Lima Declaration on Alternative Development

International Guiding Principles on Alternative Development

A.General provisions

B.Actions and implementation measures

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