1998 special session on drugs recommended: upsurge in abuse of stimulants.

A special session of the General Assembly, in 1998, on new strategies to combat the illicit production, sale, traffic, distribution and demand of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances has been recommended by the thirty-ninth session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (Vienna, 16-25 April). That will also be the subject of the high-level segment of the Economic and Social Council's upcoming 1996 session.

Under the Commission's proposal, the three-day special session would propose new strategies and measures to address the problem of illicit drugs, including measures to increase international cooperation in the application of drug control laws, reduce the illicit demand for drugs, prevent money laundering, and strengthen the fight against drug-related organized crime and the illicit arms trade.

Calling the decision "particularly important", Executive Director Giorgio Giacomelli of the UN Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), in closing remarks to the Commission, said that "the consensus which had been established would provide a very good basis for the Programme to begin planning and preparing for that session, so that it would serve as another milestone in international cooperation in combating the drug threat".

During its eight-day session, the Commission adopted a total of 16 texts relating to such areas as the abuse of synthetic drugs, demand reduction, drug-related crime, ensuring supplies of opiates for medical and scientific purposes, preventive measures aimed at youth, and anti-money laundering measures.

The 5-member Commission, a subsidiary body of the Economic and Social Council, is the UN system's main policy-making organ for international drug control.

Synthetic drugs

Voicing "deep concern" at the economic and social consequences of a rapid global upsurge in the trafficking and use of amphetamine-type stimulants, the Commission, in another measure, called for tighter controls on chemicals used in the manufacture of synthetic drugs. A draft resolution, for adoption by the Economic and Social Council, would urge government regulation and close monitoring of the import and export of the "precursor" chemicals used in the production of so-called "designer drugs" such as "ecstasy", as well as of a number of other stimulants.

The report of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) for 1995, released on 28 February, stated that the diversion of precursors from licit channels into the illicit production of drugs "is, almost exclusively, the source of the chemicals required for such illicit manufacture".

The Commission also recommended that the Council urge States to establish effective control over psychotropic substances, including pharmaceutical products that were likely to be abused. Under the text, the Council would call for measures to prevent shipments of such substances in excess of the annual domestic requirements reported to the INCB. (The 13-member Board is the independent and quasi-judicial control organ for the implementation of UN drug conventions.)

Money laundering

States were also urged to prohibit banks and other financial institutions from offering accounts identified only by number, anonymous accounts or accounts in obviously false names. Money-laundering countermeasures should be broadened to include the transit, conversion or other disposition of illegal proceeds from all serious crime.

According to another text, States should strengthen, both regionally and internationally, joint strategies to control the various forms of crime connected with illicit trafficking, by adopting and intensifying the technique of "controlled delivery". They were also asked to examine the role of social factors as a significant cause of drug-related crime among young people in urban areas, and determine what action was needed to reintegrate into the community young people threatened by drug abuse.

A number of scientific and legal strategies were recommended to fight illicit drugs. The UNDCP Executive Director was asked to develop standard protocols and methods for the "profiling/signature" of key narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.

The Commission requested donor countries and the UNDCP to provide technical assistance in the development of special programmes for transit States in subregions affected by drug trafficking, and to support those countries' efforts to reduce and eliminate the illicit drug traffic through their territories.

Supply and demand

In the face of the worsening drug abuse situation, great importance was attached to tackling the problem of demand for illicit drugs, and the Commission invited member States to draw up national plans on demand reduction and consider creating a better understanding of the consequences of drug abuse, especially in the workplace. States were also invited to strengthen the control of drug abuse among youth--the group most at risk--including the establishment of national committees on "Sport against Drugs". In a related text, UNDCP was asked to assist States in developing and carrying out national drug control plans.

The Commission also recommended that the national authorities of exporting countries conclude standing agreements with bona fide suppliers of humanitarian aid, specifying operational procedures to ensure the proper handling of controlled drugs.