CND 2010 session taking place from March 8th

The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) is the central policy-making body for the United Nations drug control system. It has 53 members, elected for four years from amongst United Nations member states and meet annually in March. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the global drug situation, to develop proposals designed to combat drug-related problems, and to reinforce the system of controls. In addition, it can add drugs or remove them from international control under the conventions, or can change the schedules under which they are listed.

In last year’s meeting, Bolivian President Evo Morales, chewing on a coca leaf, urged the Commission to decriminalise coca production and remove it from the United Nations list of banned substances. After Bolivia enshrined in 2008 in its Constitution that the coca leaf is part of its cultural heritage, Morales tried to validate the initiative in front of the CND, saying that the raw ingredient for cocaine in itself is “not a drug” but a traditional medicine. He said that “the coca leaf is not cocaine, is part of a culture that is not narcotic”. Nevertheless, the request was not accepted.

The CND takes decisions based on consensus, which has been criticised by organisations such as International Drug Policy Consortium which states in an article published in its web site that every resolution taken by the Commission usually comes down to the lowest common denominator, the one that is the least offensive to the largest number. Also, it implies that it is easy for one member of the Commission to block a resolution. As a result, the annual meeting invests an inordinate amount of time and energy in receiving long and self-congratulatory statements from member states, and rarely engages meaningfully in discussion of the true dilemmas inherent in the system, as member states avoid the diplomatic risks of raising difficult issues. The article adds that the process takes places with very little involvement of Civil Society, and in particular of those who are most affected by the issue such as drug users or growers representatives. NGOs have too often been seen as a threat to the quality of discussion, rather than the expert resource that they can potentially be.

In fact, NGOs representatives are not allowed make statement or take part in the formal discussions in the Committee of the Whole, stage where resolutions for adoption by the Commission are negotiated. Observers and NGOs are just entitled to speak during the general session.

This year, the annual meeting will be held from 8 to 12 March in Vienna, Austria.

IDPC and the International Harm Reduction Association will be blogging life from the event.  Click the link to find out more 

http://www.cndblog.org/2010/03/cnd-day-1-speech-of-unodc-executive.html