SCO Secretary-General Rashid Alimov has arrived in Vienna to participate in the 61st session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), which will open on 12 March 2018 at the UN Vienna Office.
About 2,000 delegates and guests from the UN member states, regional intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations, donors and civil society are expected to attend the CND session.
Rashid Alimov will present the SCO position on the world narcotic problem to the participants of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
On the first day of the CND's work, a special high-level event of the SCO Secretariat and UNODC, The United Nations and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in the Fight Against Narcotic Drugs: New Threats and Joint Actions, will be held at the UN Vienna Office. The event will be attended by UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov, SCO Secretary-General Rashid Alimov, heads of delegations of the SCO countries, and high-level representatives of UN member states, regional organisations, NGOs and civil society. Participants and guests of the event will watch a short video on combating drug trafficking in the SCO space, analysing the efforts of the member states until 2016, as well as look over a specially developed brochure analysing the work of the eight SCO member states on the antinarcotic track.
The visit of the SCO Secretariat's delegation to Vienna will include a bilateral meeting of SCO Secretary-General Rashid Alimov and UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov. During the meeting, the parties will conduct a thorough exchange of views on a wide range of cooperation in the anti-drug field, as well as discuss implementation of joint plans and projects in order to facilitate international activities to counter the drug threat.
On the sidelines of the CND session to be held on 12-16 March 2018, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation will set up its information desk at the UN Vienna Office. Delegates and participants in the CND session will be able to get acquainted with information on the SCO cooperation and efforts in order to solve the world drug problem.
Cooperation between the SCO and the UN has been developing since 2004. The SCO has observer status in the UN General Assembly (Resolution "Observer status for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the General Assembly", 2 December 2004).
On 4 April 2010, the Joint Declaration on Cooperation between the Secretariats of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the United Nations was signed in Tashkent.
On 14 June 2011, the Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime was signed in Astana. Joint expert, analytical and information work was established, and joint activities aimed at developing anti-drug cooperation are conducted. SCO experts are involved in all activities of the Office that align with the SCO's anti-drug activities, including meetings of expert groups of the Paris Pact Initiative.
On 10 July 2015, the Statement of the Heads of SCO Member States on the Drug Threat was passed in Ufa (in April 2016, the Statement was distributed as a document for the special session of the General Assembly on the world drug problem).
On 21 November 2016, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on cooperation between the UN and the SCO.
On 4 April 2010, the Joint Declaration on Cooperation between the Secretariats of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the United Nations was signed in Tashkent.
On 14 June 2011, the Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime was signed in Astana. Joint expert, analytical and information work was established, and joint activities aimed at developing anti-drug cooperation are conducted. SCO experts are involved in all activities of the Office that align with the SCO's anti-drug activities, including meetings of expert groups of the Paris Pact Initiative.
On 10 July 2015, the Statement of the Heads of SCO Member States on the Drug Threat was passed in Ufa (in April 2016, the Statement was distributed as a document for the special session of the General Assembly on the world drug problem).
On 21 November 2016, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on cooperation between the UN and the SCO.
The UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs was established by Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on 16 February 1946, to assist the ECOSOC in supervising the United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), which is part of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The CND comprises representatives of 53 countries from six regional groups based on approved quotas. The Commission holds annual sessions. The 61st CND session will feature 94 side events and 23 thematic exhibits. The agenda will cover anti-drug activities within the international community, and the review and adoption of initiatives and innovations in the legislative field.
On 13 March 2017, the UN Vienna Office hosted the first special high-level event The UN and SCO in the Fight Against Narcotic Drugs: Common Threats and Joint Actions on the sidelines of the 60th session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs.