United Nations System Common Position Supporting the Implementation of the International Drug Control Policy Through Effective Inter-agency Collaboration

In response to the call of Member States in the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem to United Nations system entities to strengthen inter-agency coordination and enhance coherence at all levels with regard to the world drug problem, the UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination adopted a common position among United Nations system entities to support the implementation of international drug control policy through effective inter-agency collaboration, in November 2018. The common position, which was developed on the basis of a discussion paper prepared under the auspices of the High-level Committee on Programmes, was also to guide the United Nations system support to Member States in advance of the ministerial segment of the sixty-second session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs held in March 2019 in Vienna. 

The common position reiterated the strong commitment of the United Nations system to supporting Member States in developing and implementing truly balanced, comprehensive, integrated, evidence-based, human rights-based, development-oriented and sustainable responses to the world drug problem. It contains the shared principles and commitments for action across the United Nations system on this issue. 

At its first regular session of 2023, CEB took up the subject of international drug policy from a human rights perspective and, in the process, reflected on concrete ways to fully realize the commitments in and strengthen implementation of its 2018 United Nations system common position. The discussion concluded that the United Nations system common position remained the reference point for informing organizations’ policy work, advocacy and capacity-building activities.

Additional information can be found on the Drug Policies topic page.