Non-governmental organizations from developing countries will participate more closely in UNODC's anti-drug work in future thanks to funding from the European Commission and the United Kingdom.
A Memorandum of Understanding signed by UNODC and the Vienna NGO Committee on Narcotic Drugs acknowledges the key role of NGOs in effective drug control.
As UNODC looks to 2008, which was set as a target date for achieving "significant and measurable results" in drug control at the 1998 United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the world drug problem, the Organization will undertake a series of regional consultations with NGOs. Here, they will be able to highlight their achievements in this area and promote them as best practices.
The regional consultations will culminate in an international forum, "Beyond 2008," in mid-2008. This forum will submit recommendations on how to address drug problems today to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the key United Nations drug-related governing body.
The EC/UK funding will enable NGOs from Latin America and the Caribbean, North Africa and the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South Asia, and South-East Asia to take part in the regional consultations, and thus, contribute to UNODC's drug control efforts.
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