[Photo/sectsco.org]
On 13 to 14 March 2023, the SCO Secretary-General visited the UN offices in Vienna to attend the 66th session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs and a high-level event entitled "United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation against Drugs: Strengthening Practical Cooperation." He also met with Ghada Fathi Waly, Director-General of the United Nations Office in Vienna and Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
[Photo/sectsco.org]
The session was attended by representatives of more than 120 countries. The participants discussed the implementation of the International Drug Control Conventions and related commitments concerning the policy on drugs.
On 13 March, a high-level meeting co-sponsored by the SCO Secretariat and UNODC was held on the sidelines of the session. Entitled "United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation against Drugs: Strengthening Practical Cooperation," the event was addressed by the SCO Secretary-General and representatives of SCO member states and observer states. A policy-making speech was delivered by Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Ghada Fathi Waly.The ensuing discussion focused on how to strengthen and expand cooperation between SCO member states and UNODC and what joint practical measures could be taken to fight drug abuse and illicit drug trade as an effective response to the global drug threat.
Secretary-General Zhang Ming stressed that the SCO advocated the implementation of the three main UN conventions (Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971, and Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988) as the unshakeable foundation of the international drug control system. The SCO and its member states are prepared to continue strengthening active cooperation with the United Nations and its agencies, relevant countries and regions, as well as international organisations in order to wage an effective war on illicit drug trade, prevent the spread of synthetic drugs and new psychotropic substances, and engage in a joint effort to maintain international and regional security and stability, facilitate the sustainable development of economies, and strengthen people's health and wellbeing.
For her part, Ghada Fathi Waly fully reaffirmed the SCO's important role in the international fight against drugs and welcomed the steady intensification of cooperation between UNODC and the SCO and its member states in this area.
On 14 July 2011, the SCO Secretariat and UNODC signed a Memorandum of Understanding. Since 2017, the SCO Secretariat and UNODC have been sponsoring high-level events on the sidelines of annual meetings.