10 March 2009 - The Commission on Narcotic Drugs will hold its fifty-second session in Vienna from 11 to 20 March. The Commission is the policymaking body at the United Nations dealing with illicit drugs. It is also the governing body for the work done by UNODC on drugs.
The first two days of the session will be held at the ministerial level to assess progress made during the decade since the twentieth special session of the General Assembly, at which Member States set targets to reduce the global supply of and demand for illicit drugs.
Ministers and top anti-drug officials from the 53 States members of the Commission, including Bolivian President Evo Morales, will discuss issues including the prevention of drug abuse and dependence, the reduction of the supply of drugs, the control of precursor chemicals and amphetamine-type stimulants, alternative development, money-laundering and the strengthening of international cooperation. The Commission is expected to adopt a political declaration on the future of drug control and a plan of action to counter the world drug problem.
In a press conference to take place on Wednesday, 11 March, UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa will address the issue of organized crime, one of the unintended consequences of drug control. In his report entitled "Organized crime and its threat to security", he warns that "a criminal market of staggering proportion risks undermining drug control". He will outline a three-pronged approach to tackle drug-related crime.
On 11 and 12 March, UNODC will be covering the events of the Commission online. Please check back for live webcasting, photogalleries and other regularly updated information. You can also follow us on twitter in English (www.twitter.com/unodc) or Spanish (www.twitter.com/unodces).
Throughout the session, an extensive programme of side events will also be open to the press, including the launch of the Joint Action Programme on Drug Dependence and Care by the World Health Organization and UNODC, a presentation of the Cannabis Commission Report by the Beckley Foundation and NGO perspectives on drug control in an event hosted by HRH Queen Silvia of Sweden.
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Documents from the fifty-second session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs.