UNITED | E |
Economic and Social Council | |
Distr. 1209th Meeting | |
CND Res.44/3. | Approval of the revised part II of the annual reports questionnaire* |
The Commission on Narcotic Drugs, Reaffirming the importance of the annual reports questionnaire as a mechanism for monitoring the phenomenon of global drug abuse and to assist with the review of the progress made in meeting the challenges set out in the Political Declaration20 adopted by the General Assembly at its twentieth special session, devoted to countering the world drug problem together, Recalling Economic and Social Council resolution 1994/3 of 20 July 1994, in which the Council requested the Secretary-General, with the assistance of the Executive Director of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme, to review all annual reports questionnaires and to integrate them, using modern techniques and making changes in format to achieve optimum acceptability and to facilitate their use, Recalling its resolution 43/1, in which it decided to abolish sections 2 and 3 of part II of the annual reports questionnaire and requested the Executive Director to revise section I of part II of the questionnaire, taking guidance from the consensus reached by technical experts at a meeting held in Lisbon in January 2000, Also recalling that, in its resolution 43/1, it requested the Executive Director to use information technology, as part of the revision process, to assist countries with more efficient submission of the annual reports questionnaire on drug abuse, Noting that the submission of annual reports questionnaire data is dependent on the capacity of States to collect and collate information on drug abuse, Welcoming the progress made by the United Nations International Drug Control Programme in supporting the building of the capacity of States to collect reliable information on drug abuse and in moving forward with other interested parties on the agreement of standardized global indicators of drug abuse, Noting with satisfaction that the Executive Director has revised part II of the annual reports questionnaire to provide a sound basis for data collection and that the revision drew on a consensus of expert opinion and standards of good practice, Also noting with satisfaction that the revised part II of the annual reports questionnaire is appropriate for use in countries with differing capacities to collect information on drug abuse, Recognizing that the revision of part II of the annual reports questionnaire has some minor implications for the format of parts I and III of that questionnaire, 1. Decides to replace the existing part II of the annual reports questionnaire with the revised part II of the questionnaire,21 entitled Extent, patterns and trends of drug abuse; 2. Also decides that the revised part II of the annual reports questionnaire will be used for the reporting on drug abuse in the year 2001; 3. Calls upon the Executive Director of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme to make the necessary changes to ensure that parts I and III of the annual reports questionnaire benefit from the improvements to the design and format of the revised part II of the questionnaire and from improvements with respect to information technology; 4. Requests the Executive Director to ensure that, where appropriate and possible, States are provided with support and guidance in accurately completing, and guidance in submitting, the revised part II of the annual reports questionnaire and to report to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs at its forty-fifth session on measures required to improve both the submission rate and the data quality of the questionnaire; 5. Encourages the United Nations International Drug Control Programme to continue to ensure that its data collection systems are consistent with the work of regional organizations and other international bodies; 6. Requests the Executive Director to continue his discussions with Member States, international institutions and other appropriate organizations on further harmonizing and improving indicators of drug abuse; 7. Calls upon States to review the mechanism by which the data for part II of the annual reports questionnaire are currently being collated and submitted and to consider designating a technical focal point for assisting in the collation of the data; 8. Requests the United Nations International Drug Control Programme, when preparing reports and publications, to take full account of information submitted by States in the annual reports questionnaire. 1209th meeting */ For the discussion, see chap. IV, para. 87. |