UN General Assembly calls for international action to fight illicit drug use

Mogens Lykketoft, president of the 70th session of the General Assembly, called Tuesday for international action to fight the global scourge.

"No society can claim to be completely free from the dire consequences that illicit drugs bring," said Lykketoft at 30th Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on the World Drug Problem (UNGASS) Tuesday morning.

Highlighting that the problem demands international action, Lykketoft said the presence of national leaders at the session "is a show of commitment to do just that," and "together we can more effectively address the world drug problem."

He also pointed out that drug problem has many dimensions: "from human rights to sustainable development; from health impacts and the perspective of the drug users, and from corruption to organized crime."

Tackling illicit drugs, therefore, requires a long-term, integrated and multidisciplinary approach, he said.

Moreover, it calls for coherence between public health, social, education, sustainable development and law enforcement policies together with cooperation on local, regional and international levels as well as multilateral responses, he said.

Lykketoft declared the session open at the end of his speech and said he hopes that "it (the session) helps us to address more effectively, more humanely, this complex world drug problem."

At the special session later Tuesday, the UN General Assembly adopted an outcome document to tackle the emerging challenges in fight against illicit drug use.

The session that lasts from April 19-21 includes a plenary meeting and five separate multi-stakeholder roundtable sessions.

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. Endit