119. Over the past 10 years, the activities of the United Nations in the fields of drug control, transnational crime prevention and combating international terrorism have grown considerably. This is due to the increasing recognition of the impact of drugs, crime and terrorism on security and development. The United Nations work in these fields is multifaceted, with mandates ranging from the establishment of new organs to requests for reports, studies or conferences to those requesting the provision of technical assistance to Governments. Mandates in this area originate from the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council, as well as subsidiary bodies including the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.
Overlaps among organs
120. The work of the United Nations system in the areas of drug control, crime prevention and combating international terrorism is highly fragmented, partly because of the manner in which mandates are issued in these areas.
121. With regard to drug control and crime prevention, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice were created as separate bodies and as such issue mandates separately. However, given the converging nature of the issues that they deal with, Member States have recently begun examining the possibility of merging the two into a unified commission. While a unified commission might not bring significant savings - since the treaty, normative and budgetary responsibilities of the new body would require as much discussion and documentation as they do in the existing commissions - there are potential gains to be made from having strategic direction and policy guidance emanate from a single commission. Member States would therefore be well advised to complete discussion of this proposal as fast as possible. A complementary measure, also under consideration, would be the establishment of a unified trust fund, combining the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Fund and the Fund of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme. A more effective, single administration of the currently divided funding mechanisms would be the financial counterpart of a single, more effective commission.
122. With regard to terrorism, the three counter-terrorism subsidiary bodies of the Security Council (Counter-Terrorism Committee, Committee established pursuant to resolution 1267 (1999), Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 (2004)) were established in different historical contexts and with different aims, and therefore each is asked to report separately to the Security Council. However, there is a certain amount of overlap, because the three bodies report on similar issues, and there can also be overlap among their country visits. Additionally, each often has a different procedure for dealing with non-complying States. Both immediate and process-based practical measures can be taken to address these issues. First, the Security Council could consider within the coming months ways to consolidate the separate reporting obligations of the three bodies into a single one. Immediate steps could also be taken to combine the country missions of each into a single mission including experts from all three. While this currently occurs informally to some extent, a formalization of the process would help to improve coordination. In addition, the Security Council could think about a universal procedure or common norm for the bodies to follow when dealing with non-complying States. In the long run, it would be a good idea to look at the possibility of creating a single subsidiary body that covers all the expertise of the current three. This body could include experts in different areas and would in effect take care of the other problems mentioned. Of course the implementation of any of these recommendations would require a special resolution of the Security Council.
Mandates and resources
123. The involvement of the United Nations in the areas of drug control, crime prevention and combating international terrorism continues to expand, and given the growing demand for United Nations activities in these areas, it is important that any unnecessary overlap or duplication be identified so that resources saved can be transferred to the many important aspects of work in the field that are currently under-resourced. For example, like many other areas within the United Nations, those of drug control, crime prevention and combating terrorism are burdened by a proliferation of mandates requesting reports or documentation. At the same time, the monitoring of conventions in these areas is becoming increasingly important, and resources for establishing conferences for this purpose are scarce. Within the coming months, therefore, Member States should examine the proliferation of reporting and documentation requirements in these areas, with the aim of streamlining or merging them where possible and transferring freed resources to higher-priority activities, including the monitoring of certain conferences and conventions.
