General Assembly

Distr. GENERAL  

10 June 1998

ORIGINAL:
ENGLISH

                                                    A/RES/S-20/2
                                                    9th plenary meeting
                                                    10 June 1998
 
 
 
                       S-20/2. Political Declaration
 
 The General Assembly
 
 Adopts the Political Declaration annexed to the present resolution.
 
 
 
 
                              ANNEX
 
                      Political Declaration
 
 Drugs destroy lives and communities, undermine sustainable human development
and generate crime.  Drugs affect all sectors of society in all countries; in
particular, drug abuse affects the freedom and development of young people,
the world's most valuable asset.  Drugs are a grave threat to the health and
well-being of all mankind, the independence of States, democracy, the
stability of nations, the structure of all societies, and the dignity and hope
of millions of people and their families; therefore:
 
   We the States Members of the United Nations,
 
   Concerned about the serious world drug problem, and having assembled at the
twentieth special session of the General Assembly to consider enhanced action
to tackle it in a spirit of trust and cooperation,
 
   1. Reaffirm our unwavering determination and commitment to overcoming the
world drug problem through domestic and international strategies to reduce
both the illicit supply of and the demand for drugs;
 
   2. Recognize that action against the world drug problem is a common and
shared responsibility requiring an integrated and balanced approach in full
conformity with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United
Nations and international law, and particularly with full respect for the
sovereignty and territorial integrity of States, the principle of
non-intervention in the internal affairs of States and all human rights and
fundamental freedoms.  Convinced that the world drug problem must be addressed
in a multilateral setting, we call upon States which have not already done so
to become parties to and  implement fully the three international drug control
conventions.  Also, we renew our commitment to adopting and reinforcing
comprehensive national legislation and strategies to give effect to the
provisions of those conventions, ensuring through periodic reviews that the
strategies are effective;
 
   3. Reaffirm our support for the United Nations and its drug control organs,
especially the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, as the global forum for
international cooperation against the world drug problem, and resolve to
strengthen the functioning and governance of these organs;
 
   4. Undertake to ensure that women and men benefit equally, and without any
discrimination, from strategies directed against the world drug problem,
through their involvement in all stages of programmes and policy-making;
 
   5. Recognize with satisfaction the progress achieved by States, both
individually and working in concert, and express deep concern about the new
social contexts in which the consumption of illicit drugs, particularly of
amphetamine-type stimulants, is taking place;
 
   6. Welcome the efforts of the wide range of people working in various
fields against drug abuse, and are encouraged by the behaviour of the vast
majority of youth who do not consume illegal drugs, and decide to give
particular attention to demand reduction, notably by investing in and working
with youth through formal and informal education, information activities and
other preventive measures;
 
   7. Affirm our determination to provide the necessary resources for
treatment and rehabilitation and to enable social reintegration to restore
dignity and hope to children, youth, women and men who have become drug
abusers and to fight against all aspects of the world drug problem;
 
   8. Call upon the United Nations system, and invite the international
financial institutions, such as the World Bank and the regional development
banks, to include action against the world drug problem in their programmes,
taking into account the priorities of States;
 
   9. Call for the establishment or strengthening of regional or subregional
mechanisms, as needed, with the assistance of the United Nations International
Drug Control Programme and the International Narcotics Control Board, and
invite those mechanisms to share experiences and conclusions resulting from
the implementation of national strategies and to report on their activities to
the Commission on Narcotic Drugs;
 
   10.   Express deep concern about links between illicit drug production,
trafficking and involvement of terrorist groups, criminals and transnational
organized crime, and are resolved to strengthen our cooperation in response to
those threats;
 
   11.   Are alarmed by the growing violence resulting from links between
illicit production of and illicit trafficking in arms and drugs, and resolve
to increase our cooperation in stemming illegal arms trafficking and to
achieve concrete results in this field through appropriate measures;
 
   12.   Call upon our communities, especially families, and their political,
religious, educational, cultural, sports, business and union leadership,
non-governmental organizations and the media worldwide  actively to promote a
society free of drug abuse, especially by emphasizing and facilitating
healthy, productive and fulfilling alternatives to the consumption of illicit
drugs, which must not become accepted as a way of life;
 
   13.   Decide to devote particular attention to the emerging trends in the
illicit manufacture, trafficking and consumption of synthetic drugs, and call
for the establishment or strengthening by the year 2003 of national
legislation and programmes giving effect to the Action Plan against Illicit
Manufacture, Trafficking and Abuse of Amphetamine-type Stimulants and Their
Precursors, adopted at the present session;
 
   14.   Also decide to devote particular attention to the measures for the
control of precursors, adopted at the present session, and further decide to
establish the year 2008 as a target date for States, with a view to
eliminating or reducing significantly the illicit manufacture, marketing and
trafficking of psychotropic substances, including synthetic drugs, and the
diversion of precursors;
 
   15.   Undertake to make special efforts against the laundering of money
linked to drug trafficking and, in that context, emphasize the importance of
strengthening international, regional and subregional cooperation, and
recommend that States that have not yet done so adopt by the year 2003
national money-laundering legislation and programmes in accordance with
relevant provisions of the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic
in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988, as well as the measures
for countering money-laundering, adopted at the presen
 
   16.   Also undertake to promote multilateral, regional, subregional and
bilateral cooperation among judicial and law enforcement authorities to deal
with criminal organizations involved in drug offences and related criminal
activities, in accordance with the measures to promote judicial cooperation,
adopted at the present session, and encourage States to review and, where
appropriate, to strengthen by the year 2003 the implementation of those
measures;
 
   17.   Recognize that demand reduction is an indispensable pillar in the
global approach to countering the world drug problem, commit ourselves to
introducing into our national programmes and strategies the provisions set out
in the Declaration on the Guiding Principles of Drug Demand Reduction, to
working closely with the United Nations International Drug Control Programme
to develop action-oriented strategies to assist in the implementation of the
Declaration, and to establishing the year 2003 as a target date for new or
enhanced drug demand reduction strategies and programmes set up in close
collaboration with public health, social welfare and law enforcement
authorities, and also commit ourselves to achieving significant and measurable
results in the field of demand reduction by the year 2008;
 
   18.   Reaffirm the need for a comprehensive approach to the elimination of
illicit narcotic crops in line with the Action Plan on International
Cooperation on the Eradication of Illicit Drug Crops and on Alternative
Development, adopted at the present session, stress the special importance of
cooperation in alternative development, including the better integration of
the most vulnerable sectors involved in the illicit drug market into legal and
viable economic activities, emphasize the need for eradication programmes and
law enforcement measures to counter illicit cultivation, production,
manufacture and trafficking, paying special attention to the protection of the
environment, and, in this regard, strongly support the work of the United
Nations International Drug Control Programme in the field of alternative
development;
 
   19.   Welcome the global approach by the United Nations International Drug
Control Programme to the elimination of illicit crops, and commit ourselves to
working closely with the Programme to develop strategies with a view to
eliminating or reducing significantly the illicit cultivation of the coca
bush, the cannabis plant and the opium poppy by the year 2008.  We affirm our
determination to mobilize international support for our efforts to achieve
these goals;
 
   20.   Call upon all States to take into account the outcome of the present
session when formulating national strategies and programmes and to report
biennially to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs on their efforts to meet the
above-mentioned goals and targets for the years 2003 and 2008, and request the
Commission to analyse these reports in order to enhance the cooperative effort
to combat the world drug problem.
 
   These are new and serious promises which will be difficult to achieve, but
we are resolved that such commitments will be met by practical action and the
resources needed to ensure real and measurable results;
 
   Together we can meet this challenge.