UNITED
NATIONS
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Message
of the President of the General Assembly
On the International Day
against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking
26 June 2002
Every year, the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of the International Conference against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on 26 June1987.
In this globalizing world, illicit drug trafficking is a global phenomenon and one of the main issues that the United Nations and the world community should address collectively. At the Twentieth Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on the world drug problem in 1998, Member States recognized that reducing the demand for drugs constituted an essential element in the stepped-up global effort to fight drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking, and set up measures and programmes to fight against drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking.
Recently, in many parts of the world, injecting drug use is fast becoming one of the main modes of HIV/AIDS proliferation. It is estimated that more than five percent of all HIV/AIDS infections are related to injecting drugs with infected needles. In recognition of this trend, the UN International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) decided the theme of this year as " Substance Abuse and HIV/AIDS".
Last year, at the Special Session on HIV/AIDS, Member States of the United Nations adopted a Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS which stipulated comprehensive measures to control the epidemic. National governments should implement the prevention goals agreed at the Special Session through more specific and time-bound measures.
On this International
Day, I call upon all Member States and the international community to
reaffirm their commitment to implement the action programmes and measures
contained in the Declaration of the Special Session on HIV/AIDS and to
render full cooperation to UNAIDS and UNDCP in order to achieve a world
in which illicit drug use and HIV/AIDS have ceased to exist.