CND Intersessional meeting - Thematic session on the implementation of all international drug policy commitments following up to the 2019 Ministerial Declaration (October 2023)

As per the workplan agreed upon on 24th June 2019, thematic discussions will take place every autumn during the period between 2019-23, addressing the challenges identified by the taking stock paragraph of the 2019 Ministerial Declaration.

For 2023, immediately preceding the 2024 mid-term review, there will be a comprehensive stock-taking of progress made in implementing all international drug policy commitments to address the challenges identified in the Ministerial Declaration.

Two series of thematic sessions are organised on 23-25 October and on 4-6 December. A 'Chair's summary' will be the outcome of these thematic sessions.

In preparing for these stock-taking sessions, consider checking out the list of side events co-organised by members of the IDPC network at this year's CND. Here you will find links to [real-time] transcriptions and recordings, as available.

Schedule and links to UN WebTV:

The thematic sessions taking place between 23-25 October 2023 (10:00 - 13:00 & 15:00 - 18:00) are structured as follows:

Day I - 23 October 2023

Morning: "Both the range of drugs and drugs markets are expanding and diversifying" | UN WebTV

Afternoon: "The abuse, illicit cultivation and production and manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, as well as the illicit trafficking in those substances and in precursors, have reached record levels, and that the illicit demand for and the domestic diversion of precursor chemicals are on the rise" | UN WebTV

Day II - 24 October 2023

Morning: "Increasing links between drug trafficking, corruption and other forms of organized crime, including trafficking in persons, trafficking in firearms, cybercrime and money-laundering and, in some cases, terrorism, including money-laundering in connection with the financing of terrorism, are observed" | UN WebTV

Afternoon: 'The value of confiscated proceeds of crime related to money - laundering arising from drug trafficking at the global level remains low' | UN WebTV

Day III - 25 October 2023

Morning: "The criminal misuse of information and communications technologies for illicit drug-related activities is increasing" | UN WebTV

Afternoon: "Responses not in conformity with the three international drug control conventions and not in conformity with applicable international human rights obligations pose a challenge to the implementation of joint commitments based on the principle of common and shared responsibility" | UN WebTV

Briefing on the High Level Segment of the 2024 Mid-term Review:

The Chair of the CND will provide a briefing to all interested stakeholders on the High-Level Segment of the 2024 Mid-term Review on 25 October at 1PM CET (Vienna time, UTC+2) online and in person at the Vienna International Centre.

Participation

As was the case in previous years, the thematic discussions aim to provide an inclusive platform for the exchange of views by governmental experts, representatives from the United Nations system, representatives from international organizations, and experts nominated by civil society through the Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs. Experts who presented during panel discussions at the previous iterations of the thematic discussions will be contacted by the Secretariat and be invited to provide an update on the relevant challenges.

NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC can register to attend the meeting in person or online. However, the room at the Vienna International Centre where the discussions are hosted has limited capacity. Hence, please note that there is a limit of 3 in-person delegates per NGO in consultative status with ECOSOC.

The thematic discussions will however be fully available online, and they will also be webcast without a need for registration on UN Web TV (see access details here).

For NGOs who have already submitted their registrations on INDICO with more than 3 in-person participants, the UNODC Secretariat of the Governing Bodies (SGB) kindly asks that you re-submit your registration to comply with this limit of 3 in-person delegates. Should there be an overflow of in-person participants, kindly note that sitting priority would be granted to Member States/IGOs/UN entities, and then to those NGO delegates making an intervention in person – other participants can follow the discussions online.

N.b. no funding is available to support civil society participants. All delegates will have to cover their own expenses.

Guided discussion

Following the introductory presentations and Q&A, a guided discussion with interventions from the floor will be held with all participants. In light of the limited time available per challenge, there will this time not be panel discussions with experts nominated by the Regional Groups.

To promote a focused discussion given the short time available to discuss each challenge, the Chair may ask guiding questions as contained in the discussion guide, which is under preparation. The guided discussion would focus on key updates regarding progress made in addressing each challenge since 2019.

To ensure a dynamic exchange, it is strongly recommended that interventions from the floor are made in the form of short replies to the Chair, replies or questions to other participants, or comments on the specific challenge (not longer than 3 minutes), rather than a read-out of written statements prepared in advance.

During the guided discussion, delegates and experts participating in person can raise their flag or nameplate to indicate their wish to speak. Participants joining the meeting online can indicate in the meeting chat if they wish to intervene. A few speaker slots during each discussion will be provided to experts nominated by civil society through the Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs.

It will be the prerogative of the Chair to give the floor to speakers according to the flow of the discussion.

Call for civil society speakers

(Please note, the deadline for this has passed).

For each topic up to 3 NGOs will have the possibility to present their work and positioning. In order to ensure an inclusive, comprehensive and meaningful civil society participation, NGOs will work through the Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs (VNGOC) which has been requested to coordinate contributions. Each speaker will have 3 minutes to present their work on the thematic focus of the half-day.

Interpretation will not be available during the meetings and all abstracts and statements have to be submitted in English.

In order to apply for a speaking slot, please fill out this online form.

DEADLINE: 17 SEPTEMBER 2023 at 11.45PM CEST (Vienna time, UTC+2)

Make sure that your abstract is relevant to the topic of the half-day, and clearly describes what you will be presenting about. Statements focusing on good practice examples and lessons learned with regards to addressing each challenge identified in the 2019 Ministerial Declaration are especially welcome. NGO representatives that spoke in previous thematic discussions are invited to re-apply and could provide an update since their last intervention.