General Assembly

Distr. GENERAL  

14 December 1984

ORIGINAL:
ENGLISH

                                                   A/RES/39/142
                                                   Meeting no. 101
                                                   14 December 1984
 
39/142. Declaration on the Control of Drug Trafficking and Drug Abuse
 
     The General Assembly,
 
     Recalling its resolutions 33/168 of 20 December 1978, 35/195 of
15 December 1980, 36/132 of 14 December 1981, 36/168 of 16 December 1981,
37/168 of 17 December 1982, 37/198 of 18 December 1982, 38/93, 38/98 and
38/122 of 16 December 1983 and other relevant provisions,
 
     Recognizing the concern that prevails in the international community
about the problem of the illegal production of, illicit trafficking in and
abuse of drugs,
 
     Adopts the Declaration set forth in the annex to the present resolution.
 
                                    ANNEX
 
        Declaration on the Control of Drug Trafficking and Drug Abuse
 
     The General Assembly,
 
     Bearing in mind that the purposes and principles of the Charter of the
United Nations reaffirm faith in the dignity and worth of the human person and
promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom and
international co-operation in solving problems of an economic, social,
cultural or humanitarian character,
 
     Considering that Member States have undertaken in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights to promote social progress and better standards of
life for the peoples of the world,
 
     Considering that the international community has expressed grave concern
at the fact that trafficking in narcotics and drug abuse constitute an
obstacle to the physical and moral well-being of peoples and of youth in
particular,
 
     Desiring to heighten the awareness of the international community of the
urgency of preventing and punishing the illicit demand for, abuse of and
illicit production of and traffic in drugs,
 
     Considering that the Quito Declaration against Traffic in Narcotic Drugs
of 11 August 1984 and the New York Declaration against Drug Trafficking and
the Illicit Use of Drugs of 1 October 1984 recognize the international nature
of this problem and emphasize that it should be solved with the firm support
of the entire international community,
 
     Considering that the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the International
Narcotics Control Board and the United Nations Fund for Drug Abuse Control
have made valuable contributions to the control and elimination of drug
trafficking and drug abuse,
 
     Recognizing that existing international instruments, including the Single
Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, as amended by the 1972 Protocol Amending
the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, and the Convention on
Psychotropic Substances of 1971, have created a legal framework for combating
trafficking in narcotic drugs and drug abuse in their specialized fields,
 
     Declares that:
 
     1.   Drug trafficking and drug abuse are extremely serious problems
     which, owing to their magnitude, scope and widespread pernicious effects,
     have become an international criminal activity demanding urgent attention
     and maximum priority.
 
     2.   The illegal production of, illicit demand for, abuse of and illicit
     trafficking in drugs impede economic and social progress, constitute a
     grave threat to the security and development of many countries and
     peoples and should be combated by all moral, legal and institutional
     means, at the national, regional and international levels.
 
     3.   The eradication of trafficking in narcotic drugs is the collective
     responsibility of all States, especially those affected by problems
     relating to illicit production, trafficking or abuse.
 
     4.   States Members shall utilize the legal instruments against the
     illicit production of and demand for, abuse of and illicit traffic in
     drugs and adopt additional measures to counter new manifestations of this
     shameful and heinous crime.
 
     5.   States Members undertake to intensify efforts and to co-ordinate
     strategies aimed at the control and eradication of the complex problem of
     drug trafficking and drug abuse through programmes including economic,
     social and cultural alternatives.