General Assembly

Distr. GENERAL  

8 December 1988

ORIGINAL:
ENGLISH

                                                         A/RES/43/120
                                                         75th plenary meeting
                                                         8 December 1988
 
          Preparation of a draft convention against illicit traffic
               in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances
 
      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 and 38/122 of
 16 December 1983, 39/141 and 39/143 of 14 December 1984, 40/120, 40/121 and
 40/122 of 13 December 1985, 41/125, 41/126 and 41/127 of 4 December 1986,
 42/111, 42/112 and 42/113 of 7 December 1987 and other relevant provisions,
 
      Emphasizing the importance of the contribution that will be made by the
 convention in supplementing the existing international instruments on the
 subject, namely, 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,
 
      Underlining the importance of the appeal made in paragraph 3 of the
 Declaration of the International Conference on Drug Abuse and Illicit
 Trafficking, in which the Conference called for the urgent and careful
 finalization of the preparation of the draft convention against illicit
 traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, which today becomes
 more urgent owing to the continuous aggravation of the problem,
 
      Noting with appreciation the progress made by the Commission on Narcotic
 Drugs at its tenth special session in the preparation of the draft convention,
 
      Underlining the importance of the valuable contribution of the
 Secretary-General, the useful observations of the Member States and the work
 of the open-ended Intergovernmental Expert Group, which met twice during 1987
 and once during 1988 and which prepared revised working papers, and the
 conclusions of the Review Group convened at Vienna from 27 June to
 8 July 1988,
 
      Taking into consideration that the Economic and Social Council in its
 resolution 1988/8 and in its decision 1988/120 of 25 May 1988 decided to
 convene at Vienna, from 25 November to 20 December 1988, the Conference of
 plenipotentiaries for the adoption of a convention against illicit traffic in
 narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances,
 
      Having considered the report of the Secretary-General on the progress
 achieved in the preparation of the draft convention,
 
      1.   Welcomes with appreciation Economic and Social Council resolution
 1988/8, in which it decided to convene the Review Group in mid-June 1988 at
 Vienna, with the mandate of continuing the preparation of the draft convention
 and preparing the organizational aspects of the Conference of
 plenipotentiaries for the adoption of a convention against illicit traffic in
 narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances;
 
      2.   Takes note with satisfaction of the report of the Secretary-General,
 and the report of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs on its tenth special
 session and the recommendations therein, approved by the Economic and Social
 Council in its resolution 1988/8 and decisions 1988/118 and 1988/120 of
 25 May 1988 and 1988/159 of 26 July 1988, in which it decided, inter alia, to
 convene the Conference of plenipotentiaries to adopt the convention, and to
 extend to 10 working days the thirty-third session of the Commission on
 Narcotic Drugs in order to allow it to consider suitable measures to be taken
 prior to the entry into force of the convention;
 
      3.   Requests the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, as the principal United
 Nations policy-making body on drug abuse control, to identify suitable
 measures to be taken prior to the entry into force of the convention;
 
      4.   Urges all States to adopt a constructive approach with a view to
 resolving any outstanding differences over the text of the convention;
 
      5.   Requests all States, while reaffirming their commitment to the
 Declaration of the International Conference on Drug Abuse and Illicit
 Trafficking as an expression of the political will of nations to combat the
 drug problem, to assign the highest priority to the Conference of
 plenipotentiaries and to participate actively in it, at the highest possible
 level, for the adoption of the convention;
 
      6.   Expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General, the Commission
 on Narcotic Drugs and all related organs established by the Commission, for
 their effectiveness in responding to its request to prepare the draft
 convention;
 
      7.   Once again urges all States that have not yet done so to ratify or
 to accede to 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;
 
      8.   Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at
 its forty-fourth session on the implementation of the present resolution,
 particularly on the conclusions of the Conference of plenipotentiaries for the
 adoption of a convention against illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and
 psychotropic substances.