United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

The United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) is a meeting of UN member states to assess and debate the world drug challenges and other global issues such as health and gender. The preceding UNGASS session in 1998 issued a declaration aimed at enhancing international cooperation in countering the world drug problem. Specific goals and targets to reduce the supply and the demand for illicit drugs were also agreed by Member States.

 

The United Nations Member States will come together once more in New York in April 2016 in a Special UNGASS Session on the world drug problem in New York from 19 - 21 April 2016. The UNGASS 2016 will review the progress made in the implementation of the political declaration and plan of action on international cooperation towards an integrated and balanced strategy to counter the global drug challenges within the framework of the three international drug control conventions and other relevant United Nations instruments.

 

The UNGASS 2016 has foreseen a special role for the Non-Government Organisations for engaging in the session that tackle various aspects of the drug challenge.  The Vienna Non Government Organisation (NGO) Committee on Drugs and the New York NGO Committee on Drugs launched the Civil Society Task Force (CSTF) are working together to ensure a comprehensive, structured, meaningful and balanced participation of civil society in the UNGASS 2016. The CSTF is securing civil society engagement and coordination in order to effectively include the voice of NGOs in the UNGASS 2016.

 

In line with the advanced preparation of NGOs for effective engagement in UNGASS 2016, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in the a regional consultation meeting on UNGASS 2016 in Tehran on 17-18 February 2016. The representatives of the civil society organisations in North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia attended the session and discussed and exchanged on the best outcomes that could be reached in UNGASS 2016 in response to the challenge of world drug problem.

The meeting had been organised by the CSTF representative, the Iranian Rebirth NGO, the Iranian Expediency Committee on Drug Control; Demand Reduction and Public Cooperation Bureau of the Drug Control Headquarters, the Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs, and UNODC Iran.

 

  Mr. Leik Boonwaat, UNODC Representative gives his opening remarks The academia, drug experts, professionals and representatives from civil society organisations working in the field of drug prevention treatment and harm reduction from Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Iran, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Tunisia and Uzbekistan attended the Tehran's meeting.

The meeting agenda and discussions revolved around the role of the Civil Society organisations and concerns in relation to a number of topics including (i) Drugs and Health, (ii) Drugs and Crime, (iii) Human rights, (iv) youth, women, children, and communities, (4) alternative livelihood and sustainable development, and (v) emerging world drug challenges.