On March 10-14, the 68th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) has been held in Vienna gathering 2100 representatives from over 100 Member States to discuss international drug policy. Throughout the session, Commission deliberated on draft resolutions covering various issues, including evidence-based drug prevention, research on stimulant use disorder treatment, alternative development, strengthening the global drug control framework and addressing the environmental impact of drugs.
The chair of the Commission, H.E. Shambhu S. Kumaran, emphasized the severity of current drug challenges. “The range of drug available to most people today are more diverse, potent and harmful than ever before. When drugs and precursors flow across borders, only organized crime wins”, he stated, calling on Member States to invest in community security and the global fight against drugs.
A total of 179 side events and 32 thematic exhibitions were held by countries and international stakeholders during the session. Among them, EU-funded Central Asia Drug Action Programme (CADAP) supported three side events for its national partners – delegations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
Side event for Kazakhstan named “The cost of delay: prompt response to the NPS threats as a key factor for drug demand reduction” evolved discussions and presentations from UNODC, General Prosecutor’s office, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health and civil society of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It aimed to strengthen measures to combat illicit drug trafficking and address the challenge associated with the rise of new psychoactive substances, to develop unified control strategy and effective rehabilitation and reintegration programmes.
As it was mentioned by Mr. Mederbek Aliev, Member of the Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic during side event, the demand for synthetic drugs in Kyrgyzstan s growing due to their availability, they can be produced in laboratories, which requires fewer resources and time, many components necessary for their production are, unfortunately, available on the market. Thus, in Kyrgyzstan over the past 4 years, 15 drug laboratories have been identified where synthetic drugs were illegally manufactured. In accordance with the National Development Program for the period up to 2026, Kyrgyz Republic will soon launch a national warning system for the emergence of new synthetic drugs and psychoactive substances. “We will strengthen supervision over worrying “new psychoactive substances”, publish warnings about their emergence if there is sufficient evidence that a particular substance poses a significant threat to the health and safety of the population” – he added.
Uzbekistan side event “Prevention of drug abuse and drug related crimes among women: global, regional and national approaches” included discussion of measures to implement to effective drug prevention among women and girls – school and community based programs, family based initiatives, gender specific programmes taking account factors of vulnerability and resilience that are specific to girls and women.
From year to year, CND, being the policymaking body of the United Nations with the prime responsibility for drug control and other drug-related matters, creates yearly platform for international community to monitor the world drug situation, report on developing evidence-based drug control strategies, recommend measures to address the world drug problem.
