The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) is one of the functional commissions of the United Nations' Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and is the central drug policy-making body within the United Nations System. The CND also has important mandates under the three international drug control conventions, alongside the three other treaty-mandated bodies: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (on behalf of Secretary-General), World Health Organization, and International Narcotics Control Board.
History
Under the League of Nations, the predecessor of the CND was the Advisory Committee on the Traffic in Opium and Other Dangerous Drugs, established by the first Assembly of the League of Nations on 15 December 1920, which met from 1921 to 1940. After the World War II, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs was established as early as 1946, by ECOSOC resolution 9(I). Initially, the CND was composed of only 15 countries "Members of the United Nations, which are important producing or manufacturing countries or countries in which illicit traffic in narcotics constitutes a serious social problem." The first members were Canada, Chinese Taipei, Egypt, France, India, Iran, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Turkey, the UK, US, USSR, and Yugoslavia. The CND first met in December 1946 under the chairmanship of Canadian ambassador Charles Henry Ludovic Sharman. At its first meeting, the CND resolved to take over all powers and mandates related to drugs previously held by the League of Nations. At first, CND's mandate was to assist ECOSOC in supervising the application of international conventions and agreements dealing with narcotic drugs. In December 1991, General Assembly resolution 46/104 assigned the CND the additional role of the governing body of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme, nowadays administered by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Work and mandate The Commission on Narcotic Drugs has two distinct mandate areas:
Treaty-based and normative functions under the international drug control conventions, Operational, policy-guidance functions as the governing body of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme, which is administered by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Normative functions The CND is the prime policymaking body in the field of international drug control policy. The CND may make recommendation for the implementation of the Conventions, according to article 8 of the 1961 Convention and article 17 of the 1971 Convention.
Drug scheduling decisions Under the international drug control conventions (namely: 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1988 Convention against Illicit Traffic), the Commission on Narcotic Drugs is mandated to decide on the scope of control of substances:
Narcotic drugs are placed under international control by including them in one of the four schedules of the 1961 Convention (simple majority vote), upon recommendation of the WHO; Psychotropic substances are placed under international control by including them in one of the four schedules of the 1971 Convention (2/3rd majority vote), upon recommendation of the WHO; Precursors are placed under international control by including them in one of the two tables of the 1988 Convention, upon recommendation of the INCB. Each schedule and table entails a specific control regime. According to article 3 of the 1961 Convention, article 2 of the 1971 Convention and article 12 of the 1988 Convention, the CND decides on the addition of substances to the schedules/tables, as well as the transfer or deletion of substances. After the votes, States Parties can request a review of the scheduling decisions of the CND by the ECOSOC following article 3 (8) of the 1961 Convention, article 2 (8) of the 1971 Convention and article 12 (7) of the 1988 Convention. Proposals to change the scope of control of substances can only be made by the World Health Organization (for the 1961 and 1971 Conventions) and the International Narcotics Control Board (for the 1988 Convention). In 2020, the commission was brought to public attention when voting upon the removal of cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the Single Convention on narcotic drugs, 1961.
Policy guidance
The Commission on Narcotic Drugs provides policy guidance for the United Nations International Drug Control Programme, managed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). It also prepares and monitors policy documents addressing the world drug problem. The main policy documents of the preceding decade are the 2009 Political Declaration and Plan of Action on International Cooperation towards an Integrated and Balanced Strategy to Counter the World Drug Problem, the Joint Ministerial Statement of the 2014 high-level review by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs of the implementation by Member States of the Political Declaration and Plan of Action and the outcome document of the thirtieth special session of the General Assembly, entitled "Our joint commitment to effectively addressing and countering the world drug problem". In March 2019, the CND adopted a Ministerial Declaration, in which it committed to accelerating the full implementation of these three policy documents and resolved to review the progress in implementing all international drug policy commitments in 2029, with a mid-term review in 2024. The CND, performing its duties as a governing body, adopts during its regular sessions resolutions to provide policy guidance and monitors the activities of the UNODC. It further approves, based on a proposal of the executive director, the budget of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme, administered by the UNODC. The CND, together with the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, is the governing body of the UNODC.
Meetings The CND meets usually twice annually:
The main session is held during a week, usually in March. A short reconvened session, usually held in December, addresses administrative and budget matters. During December sessions, joint meetings are held with the CCPCJ to administer the UNODC.
Membership and decision making CND membership consists of 53 states, serving four-year terms, with the following distribution of seats among regions, following the United Nations Regional Groups:
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