UN General Assembly to open high-level special session against illegal drug use

The United Nations on Monday braced for a three-day General Assembly special session to review progress and discuss challenges in the fight against illicit drug use.

The high-level session provides "a much-needed universal platform" for member states and stakeholders to discuss "one of the most serious and complex issues" that affects the lives of millions and undermines sustainable development, President Mogens Lykketoft of the UN General Assembly said at a press conference here.

Representatives at the meeting will discuss implementing the 2009 Political Declaration and Plan of Action on International Cooperation toward an Integrated and Balanced Strategy to counter the World Drug Problem, a milestone in addressing the scourge. It defines actions to be taken by member states as well as goals to be achieved by 2019.

At this session there will be a plenary meeting and five separate multi-stakeholder roundtables, officials said.

Discussions will be on drugs and health, drugs and crime, drugs and human rights, youth, women, children and communities, prevention of drug problems, as well as development-oriented, balanced drug control policy and cooperation.

The UN General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem will be held at the UN headquarters in New York from Tuesday to Thursday. Two-dozen heads of state and government, seven vice presidents and some ministers from 128 countries are expected to attend the meeting.

A wide range of people from civil society such as the the financial sector, the private sector and the NGOs (non-governmental organizations) will be present at the event.

According to the World Drug Report 2015, it is estimated that 246 million people between the ages of 15 and 64 years used an illicit drug in 2013.

Among them, some 27 million people are problem drug users, or those suffering from drug use disorders or drug dependence. Endi