International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking

 Background

The trade in drugs was already recognized as a global problem requiring a global solution at the beginning of the 20th century, with the first international conference on narcotic drugs held in Shanghai in 1909. Over the following decades, a multilateral system to control production, trafficking and abuse of drugs was developed. Three drug control conventions were adopted under the auspices of the United Nations (in 1961, 1971 and 1988). Adherence is now almost universal.

UN Action

The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) was established by Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) resolution 9(I) in 1946, to assist ECOSOC in supervising the application of the international drug control treaties. By resolution 42/112 of 7 December 1987, the General Assembly decided to observe 26 June as the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking as an expression of its determination to strengthen action and cooperation to achieve the goal of an international society free of drug abuse. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) supports Member States in implementing a balanced, health- and evidence-based approach to the world drug problem that addresses both supply and demand and is guided by human rights and the agreed international drug control framework. This approach involves: treatment, support, and rehabilitation; ensuring access to controlled substances for medical purposes; working with farmers who previously cultivated illicit drug crops to develop alternative sustainable livelihoods for them; and establishing adequate legal and institutional frameworks for drug control through using international conventions.

Recent Milestones

In 2009, Member States adopted the Political Declaration and Plan of Action on International Cooperation Towards an Integrated and Balanced Strategy to Counter the World Drug Problem, which includes goals and targets for drug control. Progress towards addressing the world drug problem was assessed at a UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) in 2016, which resulted in over 100 operational recommendations in seven thematic chapters.

At the CND in March 2019, Member States adopted a Ministerial Declaration in which they reaffirmed their determination “to address and counter the world drug problem and to actively promote a society free of drug abuse in order to help ensure that all people can live in health, dignity and peace, with security and prosperity, and reaffirm our determination to address public health, safety and social problems resulting from drug abuse[1].”

Kuwait National Drug Use Prevention Policy and Management Program

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) through its Regional Office in the GCC (OGCCR) supported Kuwait in implementing the National Drug Use Prevention Policy and Management Program. The project is guided by the Kuwait National Development Plan (KNDP), and was developed in direct response to the identified issues, gaps, and needs in the country’s drug use problem. Situation-appropriate actions have been advanced for effect in improving drug use prevention, as well as treatment, rehabilitation, and community reintegration for users, with streamlined, decentralized policies and services, and capacity building to support the implementation of these, alongside parallel public awareness campaigns.

The project aims to develop a National Drug Use Prevention Policy and Management Program, one that is tailored to local problems and needs, in order to ensure a healthier, more productive, satisfied local population with a decreased prevalence of dependent drug use and related deaths. To this aim, the project works to support the formulation and implementation of policies that contribute to limit drug-related crimes (and decrease local crime rates as a whole), leading to a safer, more secure environment in both the short- and long run, towards the safety and security envisioned in the KNDP.

Some of the important points of the policies and programs being developed in alignment with the compatible Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), include: improved in-depth knowledge of drug use prevention-related services and familiarity of the national situation; establishment of a national policy and management body for national streamlined efforts for the problem; increased streamlining of needed services by working within an agreed upon Drug Use Prevention Policy and Management Strategy; establishment of a working operational plan that integrates considerations for gender equality, human rights issues, and local cultural sensitivities, for better, more efficient provision of services; and enhanced institutional services, human capacities, and implementation of targeted services and interventions, to reinforce national awareness of the problem and to reach the affected users and their families

UNODC worked with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the General Secretariat for the Supreme Council for Planning and Development (GSSCPD) and the Drug Control General Department of Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior in this project to reduce both the extent and effects of drug use, as well as death from drug overdose in Kuwait. UNODC provided technical expertise to achieve the following objectives: A national, in-depth assessment of drug use prevention-related services, to be published as a report; Establishment of a national drug technical team as well as a functioning technical team and technical working groups; Development of a Local Drug Use Prevention Policy and Management Strategy; Development of capacity building plan and related training programs.

[1] https://www.un.org/en/observances/end-drug-abuse-day/background