The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) is the annual gathering in Vienna of all United Nations member states to discuss and make decisions on a wide range of issues related to the global drug control system, and the work programme of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). In March 2014, a UN High-Level Segment on Drugs will be held in Vienna.
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"That which we call a rose"
Member states go toe to toe at this week’s CND Inter-Sessional Meeting on the meaning of “harm reduction”
CND Intersessional Meeting, Monday 18th November 2013IDPC blog
Tuesday, 19 November 2013At the most recent Inter-Sessional Meeting of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in Vienna, a handful of Member States took the floor to spar over the term “harm reduction” in the Joint Ministerial Statement that they have already spent several months negotiating. The final Statement will be presented at a High Level Segment of CND next March, and aims to review achievements and challenges since the 2009 Political Declaration and Plan of Action was adopted.
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CND informal consensus rule tested in decriminalization standoff
CND Intersessional Meeting, Monday, 5th November 2013
IDPC blog
Monday, November 6, 2013Country delegations to the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) don’t usually vote on things… The protocol is that member states reach consensus on language and policy (often meaning that the final language reflects the lowest common denominator). Usually this diplomatic process works and delegates compromise. However, at the most recent inter-sessional meeting of the CND on 5th November, some delegates drew “red lines” and staked out non-negotiable positions on key issues.
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CND Intersessional Meeting
Wednesday 16th October 2013
CND Blog
Wednesday, October 16, 2013The United Nations (UN) member states are currently working on a ‘Joint Ministerial Statement’ to review progress and challenges in international drug control since the agreement of a Political Declaration on drugs in 2009. The Statement will be released in March. This intersessional meeting was another opportunity for member state delegations to discuss and recommend changes to the text of the Statement. Below is an overview of the main interventions that were made ...
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CND Intersessional Meeting
Wednesday 25th September 2013
CND Blog
Thursday, September 26, 2013The intersessional meeting was intended as the first day of formal negotiations on the draft of the Joint Ministerial Statement (JMS) for the 2014 High Level Segment. However, the Peruvian Chair stated at the opening that the original plan – to produce a collation of member state comments/proposals, then work through them systematically in three intersessional meetings – had not worked, and had attracted criticism from many member states. He therefore asked that this session be a general ‘brainstorming’ where member states could propose the broad issues and perspectives.
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The 2013 Commission on Narcotic Drugs
IDPC report of proceedings
International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC)
May 2013Reflections upon this year’s CND are mixed. On the one hand, some states went further than ever before in openly challenging the current regime on the grounds that, after a century, it needs modernising. That the government of Uruguay is currently considering a domestic policy on cannabis that would put it in breach of the Single Convention shows that, in one instance at least, we have moved beyond rhetoric and posturing.
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Drug policy reform is breaking through at the international level
Alternative models are being introduced and leaders are demanding an international debate
Kasia Malinowska-SempruchMonday, March 25, 2013Change is in the air ... But the pace could be quickened a bit. While the international policymaking body on drugs has long been stuck in neutral, there are signs that alternative voices are finally breaking through. This year's UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs featured some progress though its modest advances are only remarkable by comparison to a dismal past.
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Statement at the 2013 Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND)
We cannot afford to miss the opportunity to take stock of the negative consequences of the current system
Friday, March 15, 2013Ann Fordham of the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) delivered the NGO Statement to CND Plenary under Item 8: Preparations for the high-level review of the implementation by Member States of the Political Declaration and Plan of Action on International Cooperation towards an integrated and balanced strategy to counter the world drug problem.
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Cannabis and the 1961 Convention
IDPC/TNI side event at 56th Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND)
Tuesday, March 11, 2013Over the past years, there have been some soft and hard defections on cannabis control. It is now time to discuss alternatives that are based on facts and evidence, said Dave Bewley Taylor introducing the session. TNI worked on a report on cannabis, which is looking at the hard defections in the United States and other types of cannabis regulation that have been happening around the world. The report also discusses how cannabis was included in the UN drug control conventions.
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The 2012 Commission on Narcotic Drugs
The year 2012 marks the centenary of the international drug control system and the first instance of a state being moved to denounce formally any of the UN drug control treaties. The 55th session of the Commission on Narcotics Drugs (CND), held in Vienna between 12th and 16th March, therefore looked set to be a fascinating event and did not disappoint. As expected, member states favouring the current regime praised its virtues and ongoing relevance 100 years since The Hague Opium Convention; behaviour that found support in the statements and positions of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB or Board).
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100 years of global drug control
Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) Tom BlickmanWednesday, March 28, 2012This year the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) celebrated the 100th anniversary of the first international opium convention. What the UN drug czar said about these 100 years, is it a success story? Did NGO delegates agree with him? What is the significance of the speech Evo Morales, president of Bolivia made at the CND? What are the chances of the drug reform movement in Latin-America? What is the impact of CND resolutions in general? The HCLU's video advocacy team attended the CND and ask these burning questions. Watch the new movie to learn the answers from Yuri Fedotov, Gil Kerlikowske, Martin Jelsma, Damon Barret, Allen Clear and Mike Trace.
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