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Round-up Release
UNIS/NAR/838
19 March 2004
VIENNA, 19 March (UN Information Service) -- The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), the central policy-making body within the United Nations system dealing with drug-related matters, concluded its forty-seventh session in Vienna today.
The Commission took note of progress made in the reduction of opium cultivation in the Golden Triangle and coca cultivation in the Andean region. At the same time, it addressed new threats and challenges, such as the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS among the drug-injecting population in Eastern Europe, Central and South East Asia, as well as in China; an upsurge in synthetic drugs production, trafficking and abuse; mounting evidence of the close connection between trafficking in drugs and human beings, organized crime and terrorism, said Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in his closing remarks. As the world drug problem evolves, staying the course is not good enough: our strategy has to adjust to meet newly emerging threats.
The session recommended the adoption of fourteen resolutions. Some of the proposals include:
Sixty representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) attended the session. On 17 March, an NGO Forum was held with nine organizations from Europe and the United States presenting their work in drug abuse prevention and rehabilitation. Priorities in international drug policy were also discussed. The meeting called for increased interaction between the UNODC and the NGO community on concrete activities that can alleviate drug addiction.
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