The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) A Briefing on the sixty-first session (12-16 March 2018) for NGOs and CSOs Chairperson Treasurer Deputy Treasurer Secretary Deputy Secretary Project Officers Esbjörn Hörnberg IOGT International Sweden Jamie Bridge International Drug Policy Consortium United Kingdom Zoran Jelic Celebrate Recovery Bosnia & Herzegovina Luciana Pol Centro Des Estudios Legales Y Sociales Argentina Wilson Box Zimbabwe Civil Liberties Union Zimbabwe Sarah Pirker VNGOC Austria Email: [email protected]Web site: www.vngoc.org
AbouttheVNGOCThe Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs (VNGOC) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) registered inAustria. It was founded in 1983 and has worked to provide and develop the link between NGOs and theinternational drug control bodies based in Vienna 1. Its objective is to support Non-GovernmentalOrganizations(NGOs)workwiththeUnitedNations(UN)systemonmattersrelatedtodrugpolicy,strategyorpractice. It has around 200 members, including large international NGOs with millions of members andspecialistNGOsat international,nationalandlocal levelsprovidingawiderangeof interventionstopreventillicit/harmfuldruguseandrelatedproblems.
TheVNGOChasalonghistoryofactivity inrelationtotheUNinternationaldrugcontrolsystem.IthasheldsideeventsandmadestatementstothePlenaryateveryCommissiononNarcoticDrugs(CND)annualsessionfor the last 25 years. It has organized four NGO world forums and participated in two General AssemblySpecialSessionsaswellas inanumberofUNand intergovernmentalconferences. IthasdevelopedannualNGO dialogues with the Chairperson of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the Executive Director of theUnitedNationsOfficeonDrugsandCrime(UNODC)andthePresidentoftheInternationalNarcoticsControlBoard(INCB).Italsomaintainson-goingrelationsthroughouttheinter-sessionalperiod.
FurtherinformationabouttheroleandactivitiesoftheVNGOCcanbefoundatitswebsite,www.vngoc.org.We encourage you to visit our site and provide feedback on ourwork. NGOs are encouraged to apply formembership and to contribute directly to the further development of NGO engagement with national,regionalandinternationaldrugcontrolsystems.Theapplicationformcanbefoundonourwebsite.RegisteredinAustriawithRegistrationNumberZVR-Zahl995552988
AboutthisGuideTheGuideisarrangedinfourparts.Thefirstpart isaboutthestructureandorganisationoftheCommission.InthissectionyouwillfindashorthistoryoftheCommissionanditsplacewithintheUnitedNationssystem.ThissectionalsodescribeshowtheCommissionoperatesandexplainssomeofthetermscommonlyused.The second part is about how non-governmental organisations can engage with the Commission. In thissection the different opportunities are presented including work with Member States before the sessionopens, contributing to the work of the Commission while it is in session and follow up activity when theCommissionhasended.ThissectionalsoadvisesonsomeoftheconstraintsforNGOsandhowbestyoucanmakeyourselfheard.The third part provides practical information. This covers arriving in Vienna, and information about thefacilitiesandservicesavailable toNGOsat theVienna InternationalCentre.Ashortcheck list is includedsothatyoucanmakesureyouhavecoveredallkeypoints.Thefourthpartprovidesusefullinksandcontacts.Manyofthesewillalreadyhavebeenmentionedinthetextofthedocument,butforeaseofreferencetheyhaveallbeenplacedinonesectionwithabriefdescriptionofthelinkorcontact.WehopethatyoufindthisGuidehelpful. Ifyouhaveanyfeedbackorsuggestionsfor improvement,pleasesendyourcomments,ifpossiblewithspecificsuggestions,[email protected],EsbjörnHörnbergChairperson
TheCommissiononNarcoticDrugswasestablishedin1946asafunctionalCommissionoftheUNEconomicandSocialCouncil(ECOSOC). Functional Commissions are provided for under the UN Charter to carry out specific responsibilities assigned toECOSOC.InadditiontoCND,thereareaeightotherfunctionalCommissions1.
AsafunctionalCommissiontheCNDassistsECOSOCinsupervisingtheapplicationofinternationalconventionsandagreementsdealingwith narcotic drugs. It is theprincipal policy-makingbodywithin theUN systemondrug control issues. It is also thegoverningbody2oftheUNODCDrugProgrammeandapprovestheUNODCbudget3.
The CND reports to ECOSOC and advises on all aspects of the control of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and theirprecursors.UndertheSingleConvention(1961)andthePsychotropicDrugsConvention(1971),onthebasisofadvicefromtheWorldHealthOrganisation(WHO),theCNDcanadddrugstoorremovethemfrominternationalcontrolundertheconventions,orcanchangetheschedule(s)underwhichtheyarelisted.UndertheIllicitTraffickingConvention(1988),ontheadviceoftheInternationalNarcoticsControlBoard (INCB), theCND canbringunder international control chemicals frequentlyused in themanufactureofillicitdrugs.
TheOfficers of the Commission are the Chairperson, First Vice-Chairperson, SecondVice-Chairperson, ThirdVice-Chairpersonand theRapporteur. TheChairpersonnormally chairs thePlenary4 sessionsof theCommissionand theFirstVice-ChairpersonnormallychairsmeetingsoftheCommitteeoftheWhole5.TheRapporteurpreparesthereportwhichissubmittedtoECOSOC.CollectivelytheOfficersarereferredtoastheBureauofCND.Attheendofeachsession,theCNDelectsitsBureauforthenextsession.TheBureauplaysanactiveroleinthepreparationoftheregularandtheinter-sessionalmeetingsoftheCommission.
TheOfficersarenominatedbytheregionalgroups(Africa,Asia,EasternEurope,WesternEuropeandotherStates,LatinAmericaandtheCaribbean)andeachregiontakesitinturntoholdoneoftheposts.ToassisttheChairperson,agroupconsistingoftheChairs of the 5 regional groups, the Chair of the Group of 77 and China and the representative of the country holding thePresidencyoftheEuropeanUnion,togetherwiththeBureau,formtheExtendedBureau.
Forthe61stsessionoftheCommission,theofficersare:
Chairperson:H.E.AmbassadorAliciaBuenrostroMassieuofMexico(LatinAmericanandCaribbeanStates)FirstVice-Chairperson:H.E. Ambassador Michael Adipo Okoth Oyugi of Kenya (Group of African States) SecondVice-Chairperson:H.E. Ambassador Ayesha Riaz of Pakistan (Group of Asia-Pacific States) ThirdVice-Chairperson:H.E. Ambassador Alena Kupchyna of Belarus (Group of Eastern European States) Rapporteur:Mr. Wietze Sijtsma of Netherlands (Group of Western European and other States)
moveorchangethescheduleofsubstances),considersthereportsfromINCBandanumberofthematicreportsfromUNDCPanddealswithanyemergingdrugcontrol issues.Under this segment italso fulfilsanyothermandates received fromtheGeneralAssemblyorECOSOC.Themostimportantadditionalmandateistomonitortheoutcomeofthe1998SpecialSessionoftheGeneralAssemblyoncounteringtheworlddrugproblem,aswellastherenewedcommitmentsenshrinedinthe2009PoliticalDeclarationandPlanofAction.Underthissegment italsoholds ‘RoundTables’where itexplores ingreaterdetailtopicsselectedfordiscussionbyRegionalGroups;
• anOperativeSegmentwhereitfunctionsasthegoverningbodyoftheUNODCDrugProgramme,providingpolicydirectivesand guidance, reviewingways to improve theworking of the drug controlmachinery and considering administrative andbudgetissues.
ToallowtheCommissiontocompleteitsagendatheregularMarchmeetinghasaPlenarysessionandaparallelCommitteeoftheWhole. InthePlenarythere isdebateon implementationofthedrugcontroltreaties,demandreductionandsupplyreduction,theroundtablesareheldandthereisdiscussiononpolicydirectivestotheUNODCDrugProgrammeandonstrengtheningthedrug control mechanism. The Committee of the Whole holds preliminary discussion on some agenda items before they aretransferredtothePlenary.ItsmainactivityistonegotiatedraftresolutionsforadoptionbytheCommission.
Draft decisions and resolutions are proposals submitted by one ormoremember of the Commissions, or by amember staterepresentingaGroup(e.g.EU,GRULACetc.)forconsiderationbytheCommitteeoftheWholeandadoptionbytheCommission.
Draft resolutions should be posted on the CND documents web as soon as possible(https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/commissions/CND/session/61_Session_2018/session-61-of-the-commission-on-narcotic-drugs.html) so all the draft resolutions can be downloaded in advance. The Friday before the opening of the Commission isreserved for informal consultations betweenMember States where supporters are sought, problem areas are identified andfurther negotiations take place. Revised draft resolutions continue to appear during theweek and can be obtained from thedocumentdistributioncounter.AlistofdraftresolutionsismaintainedintheNGOloungeforinformation.
Regional groups of countries usually holdmeetings during sessions of the CND in an effort to agreeon commonpositions onissuesbeforetheCommission.TheseareclosedmeetingsonlyopentoMemberStaterepresentativesfromtherelevantregion
Informaldraftingcommittees
Informal committeesareoften formed toworkondraft resolutions to reduce the time required fordetaileddiscussion in theCommittee of theWhole.NGO representatives normally cannot attend these informal discussions but see the next section foradviceonhowyoumightcontribute.
TherearefourregionallybasedmeetingforAsiaandthePacific,Africa,LatinAmericaandtheCaribbeanandforEurope.Theirrole is to coordinate activities directed against illicit drug traffic within the respective region. These are closed meetings forrepresentativesoftherelevantmemberstates.
The ViennaNGOCommittee onDrugswas established to helpNGOs in their engagementwith the international drug controlorganisations based in Vienna. As well as producing this Guide, it prepares an Agenda for the CND annotated for NGOs andcontaining informationabouttheCNDmeeting,sideeventsonawiderangeoftopicsandsocialeventsopentoattendancebyNGOs.OnthefirstfloorofMBuildingtherewillbetableswhereNGOscandisplayanddistributetheirpublications.IntheNGOlounge(seebelow),NGOscanmeet,workandpreparefortheirparticipationintheCND.Therewillbeaninitialbriefingandcoordinationmeetingat9amonMonday,12March,pleasechecktheinformationscreensforthelocation.Additionally,therewillbeinformalNGODialogueswiththeChairofCND,thePresidentofINCBandtheExecutiveDirectorofUNODC.TofacilitateNGOcontributions,pleaseletusknow:§ whowillbeattendingonbehalfofyourorganisation–nameande-mailaddress§ whatsideeventsyouareorganising–title,date,location§ ifyourorganisationwantstomakeastatementandonwhichagendaitem
These attendance arrangements are established by ECOSOC Resolution 1996/31. In that Resolution, other modalities forparticipationcanbeused.TodatenoadditionalmodalitieshavebeenadoptedbytheCommission.Eachyear,usuallyinlateJanuary,theSecretariattotheGoverningBodies(SGB)sendsinvitationletterstotheNGOswithECOSOCstatus(general,specialorroster)thatparticipatedintheCNDtheyearbefore.AttendingCNDisnotconditionalonreceivingthisletter,butreceivingtheinvitationisnotaguaranteethatyouwillberegisteredforCND.AnyNGOwithavalidECOSOCstatuscansend a delegation.All theyneed todo is toprovide thename, address ande-mail address of their representatives in a lettersignedbytheheadoftheirorganisationandontheofficialletterheadoftheorganisation.ThisshouldbesenttotheSecretariatoftheCommission([email protected]+431260605885)assoonaspossiblebutnolaterthanMarch8,2018.EachNGOwithECOSOCstatusmaynominateuptofiverepresentativesinadditiontothePresident/ChairpersonandChiefExecutiveOfficer.
Your organisation can only attend if an NGO with ECOSOC status (general, special or roster) nominates someone from yourorganisationtobeoneoftheirrepresentativesattheCommission.YoucanalwaysaskanNGOyouknowwhichhasconsultativestatustonominateyou.AdatabaseofNGOscanbefoundathttp://esango.un.org/civilsociety/displayAdvancedSearch.do?method=search&sessionCheck=falseYoumay findanorganisation inyourcountrywhichyouknowandwhichwillnominateyouas their representativeoryoucancontactorganisationswhichseemrelevantanddiscusswiththemthepossibilityofyoubeingnominatedastheirrepresentative.
WhatopportunitiesarethereforNGOstocontributetotheworkofCND?NGOsareimportantcontributorstolocal,nationalandinternationaleffortstoreducedrugrelatedproblems.Intheresolutionsadopted by NGOs at Beyond 2008we called uponMember States “to support NGOs and seek their contributions on amoresystematic basis by including them inmatters related to thework of CNDwhen appropriate”. Itmay be difficult for NGOs toattendtheCommissionforavarietyofreasons,buttheycanraisetheirconcernswithrelevantpolicymakersandcontributetheirexperienceandexpertiseasnationaldelegationspreparefortheCommission.TheycanalsoseekfeedbackfromtheCommissionandworkwithpolicymakerstoimplementrelevantresolutionsadoptedbytheCommission,aswellasthePoliticalDeclarationandPlanofActionadoptedin2009andtheUNGASSOutcomeDocumentadoptedin2016(see“UsefulLinks”sectionbelow).BeforetheCommissionmeets:ItisvaluabletoknowwhatMinistriesarerepresentedonthedelegationofyourcountryandthenamesandpositionsofthedelegates.NormallythelistofparticipantsoflastyearssessioncanbefoundontheUNODCwebsite.Nationaldelegationsarelistedintwoparts,thefirstsectionisdelegationsfrommembersoftheCommission,thesecondsectionisalistofdelegatesfromUNMemberStatessendingobservers.YoumayliketomeetmembersofthedelegationfromyourcountryinadvanceofthemeetingofCND.Itisimportantthatyouhavetheagendaanddraftresolutionsdownloadedinadvancesothatyoucancontributeconstructivelyandoffersuggestionsforimprovementbasedonyourexperience.Ifyouaremeetingyourcountry’sdelegationinadvance,youwillbemoreeffectiveifyourepresentasignificantnumberofNGOs.Buildingpartnershipsinadvanceisvaluable.AtaminimumNGOsshouldaskforameetingwiththenationaldelegationbeforeCNDtoreceiveabriefingonthepositionsbeingtakenbytheirgovernmentandto
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provideNGOinputtorelevanttopicsontheagenda.
WherecanthedocumentsforCNDbefound?
AllthedocumentsfortheCommission, includingdraftresolutionsaddedastheyarereceived,canbefoundonthewebsiteofUNODC at http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/commissions/CND/session/61_Session_2018/session-61-of-the-commission-on-narcotic-drugs.htmlAdailyJournalinEnglishandFrench,thelistofparticipantsandanynewdraftresolutionsandreviseddraftresolutionscanbecollectedfromthemaindocumentsdistributioncounteronthe1stflooroftheMBuilding.
ItisimportanttorememberthattheCommissiononNarcoticDrugsisagovernmentalbodyandnotallgovernmentswelcometheinvolvementofNGOs.EvengovernmentswhoaresupportiveofNGOinvolvementcanbecomeirritatedwithNGOsiftheydonotrecognise thatnegotiations require compromise tomakeanyprogress and that longer termdiplomacy is also important. Thatsaid,therearemanyopportunitiesforNGOstoworkwiththeCommissionandtomakeapositivecontributiontoitswork.
ProvideexpertadviceandassistancetoMemberStatesastheynegotiatedraftresolutionsFromThursdayonwardstheCommitteeoftheWhole(CoW)meetstodiscussandnegotiateamendmentstothedraftresolutions.On some (but not all) draft resolutions, regional groups such as the EU or GRULAC may agree a joint position or nationaldelegationsmayagreelessidealwordinginoneresolutiontogetbetterwordinginanotherresolution.Nationaldelegationsmayalso receive specific instructions from theirGovernment, limiting the room theyhave for negotiating or agreeing compromiselanguage.ItisimportantforNGOstounderstandtheconstraintsondelegationsandthatnegotiationstakeplacewithinawiderdiplomaticcontextthantheCNDalone.Thatsaid,NGOscanmakeavaluablecontribution.NGOscanofferalternativewordingtothedrafttextaswellas informationandexperienceinsupportofdraftresolutionsorofspecificamendments.Theirknowledgeandexpertisecanassistdelegationsastheynegotiatebutwillbeonlyoneofthefactorsaffectingthesediscussions.Iftheexactwordingyouwantedisnotachieved,itisworthnotingtheprogresswhichhasbeenmadeinrecentyears,withanincreasingnumberofresolutionsconcernedwithdemandreductionandalternativedevelopment.
MakeawrittenstatementOrganizationsingeneralconsultativestatuswithECOSOCmaysubmitastatementnotexceeding2,000words.Itmustbeinoneof theofficial languagesandbeprepared in time forconsultationwith theSecretariatandconsiderationmustbegiven toanycommentsmadebytheSecretariatbeforethefinalversionissubmitted.Thefinalversionofthestatementshouldbesubmittedat leasttendaysbeforetheCommissiontoensurethat itcanbemadeavailableonthewebsiteoftheCommissionbeforethebeginningofthesession.Hardcopieswillbedistributedonthefirstdayofthesession.Ifastatementismorethan2,000wordstheorganizationhastoprovideasummarytobecirculatedortoprovidethefull text inall theworking languages insufficientcopies for distribution. For organizations in special consultative statuswith ECOSOC, the same rules apply but the statementcannotbemorethan1,500words.OrganizationsontheRostermaybeinvitedbytheSecretariatandtheChairmanoftheCNDtosubmitstatementsnotlongerthan1,500words.StatementscanbesubmittedthroughtheSecretariatoftheGoverningBodiesatthe email address [email protected] or fax to +43 1 26060 5885. Statements are distributed in the original submitted language. Ifstatementsaresubmittedinmorethanonelanguage,thetranslationsmustnotdifferincontentfromtheoriginalandmustbeofgoodquality.Poortranslationscannotbeacceptedfordistribution.
Makeanoralstatement
NGOs ingeneralorspecialconsultativestatusmaymakeanoralstatementduringthePlenary.NGOsontheRostermayputarequesttotheSecretariattomakeanoralstatement.NGOswishingtospeakinthePlenaryshouldasktheconferenceofficer1toaddthenameoftheirorganisationtothelistofspeakersforaparticularagendaitem.NGOspeakersarecalledafterthelistofmemberstateandintergovernmentalorganisationspeakershasbeenexhaustedandthereisnoguaranteethattheywillbecalledbecauseofthetimeconstraintsduringthesession.ItistheresponsibilityoftheNGOtofollow-upwiththespeaker’slistandmakesuretheyareavailableattherighttime.IfanNGOisplanningtomakeanoralstatementonaspecificagendaitemitisusefultomark this on the list in the NGO lounge so that joint statements can be made if possible or a good representation of NGOcontributionscanbecalled.Awrittencopyofthestatementshouldbeprovidedinadvancesothatthetranslatorshavethetext
Sideeventsaremeetings,presentationsorpaneldiscussionsontopicsrelevanttotheworkofCNDbutoutsidetheformalagendaoftheCommission.Theymaybeorganisedbymemberstates,intergovernmentalornon-governmentalorganisations.TheeventcanbeheldinoneoftheconferenceormeetingroomsoftheUnitedNations,intherestaurantoftheViennaInternationalCentreorinoneofthenearbyhotels.TheSecretariatoftheUNODCGoverningBodieshasproducedguidelinesforsideevents.This is intendedtoavoidtimeclasheswithformalmeetingsoftheCNDandtoavoidsideeventsoverlapping.Facilitiesforsideeventswillonlybeavailablebetween9and10amand1and3pmwhentheCNDismeetingandeachyearthereisadeadlineforsubmittingasideeventrequest.Togetthebestfromyoursideeventthefollowingissuggested:• makesureyouplanajointevent,preferablywithMemberStates,aUNbodyandotherNGOsasco-sponsors.• considerhavingashortermeetingof1hoursothatseveraldifferenteventscanbeheld• liaise with the VNGOC so that we can put different organisations in touch with each other and try to ensure as manycollaborativesideeventsaspossible
TheCommissionmeetingmaybeoneofthefewoccasionswhenrepresentativesfromnationalministrieshavetheopportunitytomeetcolleaguesfromoutsidetheircountryorregion.ThereisanopportunityforNGOstobuildrelationsnotonlywithdiplomatsworking at the nationalmission based inVienna, but alsowith those developing and implementing policy andpractice at thenational level.Meetingovercoffee, lunchoratasideeventorreceptionallows informaldiscussionandthechancetoproviderelevant information andassistance. It can alsoprovide thebasis for future collaboration andpartnershipbetweenNGOsandMemberStates.
Whatyoucando• DownloadandreadthePoliticalDeclaration,PlanofActionandtheresolutionsadoptedbytheCommission• Identifythepoliciesandactionswhicharerelevanttoyourworkandtowhichyoucancontributeyourexperience• Build alliances with other NGOs including, for example, those concerned with health, young people, education, social
A direct bus shuttle bus links the VIC and the Vienna Airport. Buses to the airport leave outside of Gate 1 of VIC every hourbetween7.10a.mand7.10p.m.BusestotheVICleavetheairportfrom6.10a.m.to8.10p.m.Ittakesaround45minutes.
TheofficiallanguagesoftheUnitedNationsareArabic,Chinese,English,French,RussianandSpanish.Officialdocumentsofthemeetings will be made available in the agreed official languages. In the plenary sessions of the Commission simultaneoustranslationbetweentheofficiallanguageswillbeprovided.
OnMondayMorning,12MarchaNGObriefingwillbeheld in (roomandexact timetba).This iswhere informationabout theweekseventscanbesharedandNGOactivitiescoordinated.CopiesofthedailyJournalwillbeavailabletotakeawayandallthedocumentsoftheCNDwillbeavailableforreference.TherewillalsobealistingofsideeventsforthedayandofNGOsintendingtomakeoralstatementduringparticularagendaitems.
Internetaccess
ApartfromtheNGOloungethereareseverallocationsintheVICequippedwithcomputerswithinternetaccess.Manypartsofthe VIC also haveWi-Fi allowing internet access from your laptop. Your user name and password for the VICGUEST server isshownonyourpassfortheCommission.
MedicalattentionisavailablefromtheclinicoperatedbytheJointMedicalService,locatedontheseventhflooroftheFbuilding(extension22224and,foremergencies,extension22222).Theclinicisopenfrom8.30a.m.tonoonandfrom2to4.30p.m.daily,exceptonThursdays,when it isopenfrom8.30a.m.tonoonandfrom2to3p.m.Formedicalemergencyassistanceatothertimes,pleasecontactstaffintheSecurityDutyRoom(roomF0E21,extension3903).
