As each year, the Pompidou Group participated in the high-level session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), the UN's primary policy-making body on drug-related matters. On 13 March, Alfredo Mantovano, Under Secretary to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of Italy, delivered a statement in the plenary session on behalf of the Group’s Italian Presidency.
He focused on the priorities of the Presidency for the next three years:
- deepen the already existing relationship with each of the member states, observers and countries that otherwise participate in the Group's activities, to get to know the reality of each State well, to increase the exchange and sharing of experiences, models and good practices, and to involve other international organizations, in a spirit of collaboration;
- make prevention a priority, to which increasingly adequate information, first and foremost among the very young, accompanied by attention to the treatment and recovery of addicts, is essential;
- reduce both the demand, through prevention initiatives, first and foremost in schools, and the supply, by countering drug trafficking and organized crime;
- promote a human rights-based approach that is non-stigmatizing and non-discriminatory: if we want to build welcoming and safe communities, access to care and treatment services must not be denied to anyone. The right to health must be guaranteed to all. Any policy in this area must be based on scientific evidence accredited by institutional sources, as only this can guarantee its effectiveness;
- find a proper balance between freedom and responsibility, at both individual and State level.
Read the statement of the Italian Presidency
In addition, the Pompidou Group organized one side event and co-sponsored a record number of eleven other side events, as follows:
1. ‘Children whose parents use drugs’ – organiser: Pompidou Group, supported by Mexico, Czech Republic and the Executive Secretariat of the Inter-American Control Commission on Drug Abuse (OAS/CICAD);
2. ‘The right to recovery: an approach for a true care path for the reintegration of persons addicted to substances’ – organiser: Italy, supported by the Prevention Treatment and Rehabilitation Section of UNODC, the European Union and the World Health Organisation (WHO);
3. ‘Assessment of drug policies in the light of human rights’ – organiser: Portugal, supported by Malta, Norway, Switzerland, and the European Union;
4. ‘Building professional competences for drug policy implementation and management’ – organiser: Poland, supported by Malta, Switzerland, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and the Executive Secretariat of the Inter-American Control Commission on Drug Abuse of the Organization of American States (OAS/CICAD);
5. ‘Approaches to Actively Reduce Stigma - Sharing Experiences’ – organiser: Canada, supported by Australia, Chile, Ghana, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, the United States, Uruguay, the European Union and the Executive Secretariat of the Inter-American Control Commission on Drug Abuse (OAS/CICAD);
6. ‘Between Human Rights and control: possibilities and barriers for ending stigma of drug users’ – organiser: RIO ‘Rusmisbrukernes Interesseorganisasjon’ with the support of Norway, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Community Addictions Peer Support Association (CAPSA), the Dianova International, The Norwegian Association for Humane Drug Policies;
7. ‘A Gender-sensitive Drug Policy, What Does It Entail?’ -– organiser: the Dianova International, supported by Sweden, European Union and Civil Society Forum on Drugs;
8. ‘Gender and Drug Overdose – Trends and evidence for improved responses and drug policies’ – organiser: Sweden, supported by UNODC Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the European Union and its Member States, Canada, and Norway;
9. ‘Preventing Overdose, Saving Lives’ – organiser: Norway, supported by Denmark, Finland, Sweden, the UNODC Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA);
10 ‘Mental health is health’ – organiser: Malta, with the support of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States;
11. ‘Promoting resilience and early prevention of drug use in the context of a sustainable and comprehensive system’ – organiser: Slovenia with the support of France, Norway, the European Union and the UNODC Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section;
12. ‘The role of research in the development and implementation of drug policies’ – organiser: Greece with the support of UNODC Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and the International Society of Addiction Medicine.
Last but not least, the Pompidou Group also held an information stand during the whole week, which strongly contributed to its visibility.
Link to the web site of the CND 66th Session:
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/commissions/CND/session/66_Session_2023/66CND_Main.html