Statement of the Transnational Radical Party before the 45th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs

Vienna 11-15 March 2002 under item: 4

Preparations for the ministerial segment to be scheduled at the 46th session of the Commission, Including the theme, content and organization of the segment.

Thank you Mme. Chair,

Allow me at the outset, on behalf of the Transnational Radical Party to thank the Executive Director for his invitation to observe the works of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, and let me extend my gratitude also to all the Member States of the CND for allowing us to take the floor at this time. We believe that it is of utmost importance that independent views can be freely expressed before UN bodies and that freedom of expression remain the "rule" in intergovernmental fora that deal with extremely important issues related to individuals' freedom and health such as narcotics.

As regards the theme of the Ministerial Segment scheduled for next year when Member States will be asked to provide a national assessment of the implementation of the declaration adopted at the 1998 UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS), the Transnational Radical Party urges the Commission to critically review the language of the convocation slogan that convened the international community to debate narcotics in June 1998. In all its documents released over the last three and a half years, UN Drug Agencies have given incontestable evidence of the failures of drug eradication, therefore persisting in a propaganda-driven approach, such as the one contained in the slogan "A Drug Free World, We Can Do It". The persistence of such superficial statements can seriously undermine all efforts aimed at responding to the drug question and damage the image of the UN in different fora.

With regard to the content of the Ministerial Segment, the TRP wishes to take this opportunity to suggest to include in the preparatory phases mechanisms to allow independent reports to be heard during the Commissions sessions that will lead to the 2003 Meeting. Those should include watchdogs, research and documentation centres, regional bodies and parliaments, local administrations as well as Non-governmental Organisations.

Lastly, for what concerns the organization of the Ministerial Segment, the TRP wishes to remind Commission members that four years ago, at the United Nations Headquarters where the international community was convened to decide on how to achieve a drug-free world in ten years, NGOs were not allowed to hold their parallel fora inside the building. In fact, they were only allowed given an opportunity to carry out their consultative role inside a building across the street of the UN in New York where there was not a single diplomat or expert.

In conclusion, Mme. Chair, we call on Commission members hoping that in 2003 a new type of collaboration will be possible between Member States, the UN and independent entities in order to share different - at time possibly conflicting views - in an environment where dialogue not censorship is the praxis, confident as we are that education will lead to commonsensical policy reforms.

I thank you, Mme. Chair.