UNITED | E |
Economic and Social Council | |
Distr. 1223rd Meeting | |
CND Res.45/14. | The role of alternative development in drug control and development cooperation |
The Commission on Narcotic Drugs, Recalling that the General Assembly at its twentieth special session, devoted to countering the world drug problem together, reaffirmed in its Political Declaration48 the need for a comprehensive approach to the elimination of illicit drug crops, Also recalling that the Action Plan on International Cooperation on the Eradication of Illicit Drug Crops and on Alternative Development49 stresses the importance of international cooperation in alternative development, Recalling its resolution 44/11, on international cooperation in the elimination of illicit drug crops and on alternative development, Taking note of the report of the Executive Director on follow-up to the Action Plan on International Cooperation on the Eradication of Illicit Drug Crops,50 Recognizing that, despite great efforts undertaken by many Member States to implement the Action Plan and despite the measures taken to reduce or eliminate illicit drug crops, the world supply of and demand for illicit drugs have remained at almost the same levels, Aware that it is important to integrate programmes for alternative development into broader strategies aimed at the alleviation of poverty, Reaffirming that supporting through international technical and financial cooperation and, if necessary, through new projects, efforts aimed at improving the effectiveness of alternative development programmes is essential to the sustained reduction of illicit drug crops, Taking into account that alternative development constitutes a medium- and long-term process whereby an illicit economy is replaced by a licit one, Affirming that alternative development, including preventive alternative development, includes social and physical infrastructure in order to develop and establish a productive and competitive economy, Aware that there must be effective coordination of and among alternative development, preventive action and law enforcement programmes to address the different manifestations of the world drug problem in order to guarantee an integral and effective response, Bearing in mind the environmental damage caused by illicit crop cultivation, resulting from, inter alia, the use of inappropriate practices and the fragility of tropical rainforest soils, which could lead to accelerated deforestation, soil erosion, pollution and the loss of primary forests, Recognizing that national drug crop reduction and elimination strategies should include comprehensive measures such as alternative development, law enforcement and eradication programmes and that experience has shown that, in cases where illicit crop growers have low incomes, alternative development is more sustainable and socially and economically more appropriate than forced eradication of illicit crops, 1. Calls upon Member States to exploit more fully the potential of alternative development as an appropriate means of drug control, as well as sustainable human development; 2. Invites Member States to make more comprehensive and determined efforts in the area of financial and technical cooperation aimed at promoting alternative development, including preventive alternative development, with the understanding that such cooperation, in the long term, may achieve positive results that not only satisfy economic criteria but also take into account social, political and environmental factors; 3. Recommends that Member States, in particular donor States and States in which alternative development programmes are being implemented, respect the balance and necessary effective coordination of law enforcement and interdiction measures, eradication efforts and alternative development to achieve the goal of eliminating or reducing significantly the illicit cultivation of drug crops; 4. Invites Member States to urge drug control and development agencies to further develop the strategy of alternative development and to better highlight the benefits of alternative development for poverty alleviation and for the improvement of social and environmental conditions; 5. Invites States and other members of the international community, as well as local governments and non-governmental organizations, to support preventive alternative development projects in areas that are at risk of being used for the cultivation of illicit drug crops, to prevent illicit crop cultivation from emerging or from being relocated in other areas, regions or countries; 6. Urges the United Nations International Drug Control Programme to enlarge its base of donors and to use available voluntary resources to increase the financial and technical assistance that it provides to alternative development programmes, including preventive alternative development, and to strengthen the capacities at its headquarters for that purpose; 7. Reaffirms the role of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme in coordinating all United Nations drug control activities, so as to increase cost-effectiveness and ensure coherence of action, complementarity and non-duplication of such activities throughout the United Nations system, and encourages the Executive Director of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme to continue its catalytic role with regard to United Nations entities, financial institutions, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector with a view to financing and otherwise supporting alternative development programmes and projects; 8. Calls upon the United Nations International Drug Control Programme and other drug control and development agencies, international financial institutions and regional development banks to explore new forms of financial assistance for programmes for alternative development, including preventive alternative development, and possibilities for new and innovative funding mechanisms; 9. Requests the United Nations International Drug Control Programme, in coordination with regional organizations, to develop a set of indicators that would allow a realistic assessment of alternative development requirements; 10. Urges Member States, in cooperation with the United Nations International Drug Control Programme, to facilitate a rigorous and comprehensive thematic evaluation, within available voluntary resources, for determining best practices in alternative development by assessing the impact of alternative development on both human development indicators and drug control objectives and by addressing the key development issues of poverty reduction, gender, environmental sustainability and conflict resolution; 11. Urges all parties concerned with alternative development projects to follow up on their commitments so that the confidence of the target populations is not affected; 12. Requests national, bilateral and multilateral agencies for development cooperation to place alternative development, including preventive alternative development, on their agenda, and encourages them to establish stronger links and strategic alliances with one another; 13. Encourages Governments and multilateral organizations to establish drug control as a crosscutting issue in all components of their policies, considering the necessity that social and economic development plans include alternative development as a major element; 14. Suggests that alternative development also include macroeconomic approaches and other, wider and more diversified aspects such as rural agro-industry and tourism; 15. Calls upon the international community to support sustainable programmes and projects to avoid the degradation and promote the sustainable recuperation of degraded areas in illicit drug crop zones; 16. Reiterates the necessity to reduce the demand for narcotic and psychotropic substances in order to achieve the sustained reduction and elimination of illicit crops; 17. Reiterates also the necessity to encourage access to international markets for products and produce from alternative development areas; 18. Requests the Executive Director of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme to present a report to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs at its forty-sixth session on the possibilities for innovative funding mechanisms and the results of mainstreaming development-oriented drug control mechanisms within international development efforts. 1223rd meeting 48/ General Assembly resolution S-20/2, annex. 49/ General Assembly resolution S-20/4, annex. |