At its twenty-fourth session, held in Geneva from 2 July to 2 August 1957, the Council considered and took note of the Reports of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs on its twelfth session and of the Permanant Central Opium Board on the Work of the Board in 1956.
Pages: 61 to 61
Creation Date: 1957/01/01
At its twenty-fourth session, held in Geneva from 2 July to 2 August 1957, the Council considered and took note of the Reports of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs on its twelfth session and of the Permanant Central Opium Board on the Work of the Board in 1956.
In pursuance of Council resolution 626G (XXII), the Commission had considered further the request of Afghanistan to be recognized as a state producing opium for export. The Commission, noting that Afghanistan had become a party to the 1925 Convention and had in other ways demonstrated its readiness to carry out obligations of international narcotics control, had postponed action until its thirteenth session, at which time it hoped to have further information on the development of the questions involved. The Governments of Afganistan and Iran were to be invited to furnish all available information on these questions. The Commission had pointed out that since the 1953 Protocol was not yet in force, Afghanistan as yet required no permission to produce and export opium for medical and scientific purposes. The Council had before it communications from Afghanistan and Iran. The Council discussed the position in the light of these communications without, however, adopting a further resolution on the question.
The Council considered this subject on the initiative of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and adopted resolution 667 C requesting the Secretary-General to increase the resources of the United Nations laboratory in order to permit the making of an increased number of analyses of opium samples, and the expediting of research on methods of determination of origin by physical and chemical means.
The Council, on the recommendation of the Commission, adopted resolution 667 D, noting that the habitual chewing of the leaves of khat had become wide-spread in several countries, recognizing that this habit gave rise to a grave social problem in the countries affected, and inviting the World Health Organization to study the medical aspects of the problem.
In accordance with the Commission's suggestion, the Council adopted resolution 667 E (XXIV) granting the Commission authority to sit an additional week during its thirteenth session for the purpose of advancing more speedily its work of codification.
The Commission considered that an encouraging start had been made in aid to Iran in the field of narcotics as had been provided under the Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance of the United Nations and the specialized agencies. It was informed that other countries, notably India and Morocco, intended to apply for help in combating illicit traffic, in the rehabilitation of addicts and in eradicating the wild growth of the cannabis plant and other problems connected with international control of narcotic drugs. The Commission received an offer from the International Criminal Police Organization to place its services and facilities at the disposal of the Technical Assistance Programme to train police personnel in anti-narcotic work.
On the invitation of the Commission, the Council adopted a resolution 667 F (XXIV), by which it drew attention to the importance of measures being taken in India and Morocco to deal with the problem of cannabis, and invited the technical assistance authorities of the United Nations and the specialized agencies to give due consideration to any requests for assistance within the framework of the existing administrative and financial arrangements which they might receive from the governments of those countries.
The Council, in its resolution 626 E (XXII), had affirmed that, in order to ensure the execution of the law bannind cultivation of the opium poppy, Iran required increaseg technical, assistance in enabling its cultivators to introduce other agricultural crops to replace opium poppy plantation, and also in respect of the treatment of addicts. It recalled that at its twelfth session the Commission on Narcotic Drugs expressed its appreciation of the considerable progress that had been made in Iran in this regard, and adopted a resolution requesting the Technical Assistance Board and the participating organizations concerned to continue to give due consideration to requests by the Government of Iran for technical assistance in this field; and requesting further that the Secretary-General, after consultation with. the participating organizations-concerned, report to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and to the Council on the extent to which it has been possible to meet the request of Iran for technical assistance in this regard.
The Council, in order to ensure to the greatest possible extent close liaison and personal union between the Permanent Central Opium Board and the Drug Supervisory Body pending the establishment and coming into effect of a single convention, adopted a resolution 667 H (XXIV), by which it invited the World Health Organization, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the Permanent Central Opium Board to consider appointing persons who are members of the Board to the Drug Supervisory Body for a five-year period corresponding to the term of office of members of the Board provided for in the 1925 Convention.