Author: Azra Panjwani
International Liaison at Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy, and Co-Chair of CSSDP Edmonton
The first day of the United Nations’ Commission on Narcotic Drugs’ (CND) regular segment has ended, and I’m exhausted, excited, and ready for more.
I walked into the Vienna International Centre this morning feeling like I knew what to expect, after attending the two-day high-level segment last week and a day of strategic planning with IDPC (International Drug Policy Consortium) and the Paradigma Coalition (link!!). Read about the high level segment and the lead up to the CND in Ruby Lawlor’s post, here.
Discussion of proposed resolutions began today, and that’s where I headed (after grabbing a coffee).
There are three main parts of CND: the plenary, where member states give opening statements and agenda items are discussed, the committee of the whole (CoW), where proposed resolutions are dissected, and side events, where NGOs, member states, and UN agencies can organize presentations.
The plenary and committee of the whole happen at the same time. As much as I’d like to, I can’t be in two places at once, so I’ve been deciding where to go based on what’ll be covered in each session. Opening statements occurred during the high-level segment this year, so the plenary started this week by discussing budgets (not my favourite topic). More interestingly, the Committee of the Whole began discussing the four resolutions proposed by member states.
The draft resolutions, submitted by the sponsoring member states, will be discussed and revised throughout the week, with the aim of reaching a final version acceptable to all member states. The topics are as follows:
- alternative development (L2, proposed by Germany, Peru, and Thailand)
- rehabilitation and recovery management programs (L3, Chile)
- access to controlled substances for medical purposes, including for children (L4, Belgium, Côte d’Ivoire)
- preventing and responding to drug overdose (L5, United States of America)
Throughout the week these will be discussed, revised, and hopefully agreed upon. It’s unusual to have so few resolutions, but the discussion has been so interesting. Each resolution is dissected paragraph by paragraph, with member states evaluating both the substantive content and the language used to articulate it.
Of the four resolutions put forth, I’m most interested in the final one, and will be following its evolution closely. It’s titled “Preventing and responding to drug overdose through scientific evidence-based prevention, treatment, harm reduction and recovery support services in accordance with domestic law and circumstances,” though this title is likely to be negotiated alongside the resolution’s content.
This is especially notable because it is the first time the phrase “harm reduction” will be included in official UN documents. Preliminary discussion today raised questions and areas for further discussion. This week will be an opportunity to flush out all of the questions and contingencies, so more info to come.
When particular paragraphs of each resolution cannot be agreed upon during the CoW, they are sent back to informal discussions (or “informals” as they’re called here), where member states discuss the resolutions behind closed doors. As an NGO representative, I can’t attend but I’m SO curious about what goes on!
I grabbed lunch with a fellow Canadian, and learned all about the work they’re doing! Super interesting and fun to connect with them!
While informals took place this afternoon, I attended a consultative meeting about how the concept of harm reduction fits within the right to health. Members of various NGOs attended, and the feedback provided and considerations raised will be taken under advisement in the Special Rapporteur’s forthcoming report to the Human Rights Council.
After wrapping up, I took a quick break, then headed over to an Austrian restaurant for dinner with the Canadian delegation (public transit is GREAT in Vienna). It was nice to take a break from the CND and genuinely get to know each other, though of course the CND came up in discussion. We chatted about places to visit in the city, terrifying tarantulas in Costa Rica, and why Austrians and Germans are so tall (any ideas??). I’ve never eaten as much schnitzel as I have this week, but it’s been great!
As I head into the rest of the week, here’s a couple of things I’ll be paying extra attention to:
- In the plenary: discussions about scheduling of the coca leaf, led by Bolivia
- In the CoW: the resolution about responding to the overdose crisis with various strategies, proposed by the USA
- In the side events: there are SO many side events, and I’ll be attending as many as I can about youth and synthetic opioids
- In the city: where I can find Viennese chocolate cake!
If you’re interested in learning more about this year’s CND, you can take a look at the CND Blog, where transcriptions of the plenary, committee of the whole, and many side events are posted.
Happy CND-ing!!