Tag: 64 CND

Our contribution to the CND Intersessional

Posted on by Milutin

The third round of the Thematic Discussions of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) was held from 19 to 21 October 2021. The meetings were held as a hybrid event with participants joining both online and in person. It included thematic sessions on the implementation of all international drug policy commitments:

  • Thematic session 1: Increasing links between drug trafficking, corruption and other forms of organized crime, including trafficking in persons, trafficking in firearms, cybercrime and money-laundering and, in some cases, terrorism, including money-laundering in connection with the financing of terrorism, are observed;
  • Thematic session 2: The value of confiscated proceeds of crime related to money-laundering arising from drug trafficking at the global level remains low(20 October 2021)
  • Thematic session 3: The criminal misuse of information and communications technologies for illicit drug-related activities is increasing.

DPNSEE Executive Director Milutin Milošević was selected by the Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs to speak at the session as one of the civil society discussants. He highlighted the re-use of confiscated assets for social purposes and beneficial effect this practice has on strengthening community responses. He stressed the lack of transparency in the region of South East Europe.

Milutin’s intervention is available following this link>>>.

Statements of other civil society representatives at the session are available following this link>>>. A record of the discussions can be found on the CNDBlog.

CND 64 started today

Posted on by Milutin

H.E. Ambassador Dominika Krois from the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Poland to the UNODC opened the 64th Meeting of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) today in Vienna. In the next five days, the CND will consider and adopt a range of decisions and resolutions in a hybrid format (online/offline).

At the Opening of the General Debate, the CND64 adopted joint statement on the impact of COVID-19 on addressing and countering all aspects of the world drug problem.

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres underlined that “COVID-19 crisis has shown us how much the world needs solidarity, shared responsibility and international cooperation to improve health coverage, protect our societies and recover better”.

The Vienna NGO Committee (VNGOC) has drafted a Guide for NGOs participating in the CND, available here>>>. VNGOC has also compiled a list of recommendations aimed at protecting the role of civil society engagement in the CND, available here>>>.

To follow the session, you can use the CND Blog>>> which provides near real-time updates on the plenary session, Committee of the Whole and selected side events. The CND Blog is a project of the International Drug Policy Consortium, in collaboration with NGO partners, which aims to ensure transparency and provide live records of the discussions taking place at the meeting. The CND Blog also covered UNGASS negotiations and proceedings.

You can also follow the CND webcast at YouTube following this link>>>. There, the formal sessions of the meeting will be streamed.

 

Call for speakers for CND 2020 Side Events

Posted on by Milutin

The Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs is co-sponsoring several side events at this years CND (12-16 April 2021) and has been asked to nominate speakers. All events will be held online.

The side events where civil society input is expected are:

  • Family a key social institution for addressing substance use, violence, mental health and promote sustainable development: Lessons learned from parenting under stress, in humanitarian settings and in the context of COVID19
  • VNGOC Ad Hoc Working Group, NGOs from Asia unite to create a consensus and a call for attention to the challenges in Asia regarding drug matters
  • No one left behind: UNODC-WHO Programme on Drug Dependence Treatment and Care
  • Insights into Treatment and Care for People with Drug Use Disorders in Contact with the Criminal Justice System: Alternatives to Conviction or Punishment
  • Civil Society & COVID-19 – responses during the pandemic

The length of the intervention will depend on the main organiser of the event but will likely be no longer than 5min.

Deadline for applications is 25 March, 11:45 p.m. CET.

To apply for the opportunity to present your experience, please follow this link>>>.

 

Protect civil society participation at the 64th CND

Posted on by Milutin

The Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs (VNGOC) – the global network of nearly 300 NGOs with the purpose of coordinating and supporting meaningful participation at the CND and other fora – published an urgent position statement. Ahead of the 64th CND in April, with its new hybrid format, the statement outlines our recommendations and expectations for the effective, meaningful participation of civil society online.

The statement can be found at:

VNGOC urge all UN member states to ensure that the modalities for the hybrid 64th session do not inadvertently close the space for civil society to play its important role in these deliberations.