United Nations

 VIENNA, 16 May (UN Information Service) — Dr. Hamid Ghodse, an international drug control expert from Iran and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of London, was elected  as the new President of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) as it began its 68th session here yesterday.

 Dr. Ghodse has been a member of the INCB since 1992 and was elected President of the Board in 1993, 1994, 1997 and 1998. He has served as a director and consultant for a number of regional addiction treatment and research bodies in the United Kingdom as well as an expert and advisor for a number of international forums. He is an editor of several scientific periodicals on psychiatry, substance misuse and addiction. He is also the author of over 200 scientific papers on drug-related issues and addiction.
  
 Speaking after his election, the President stated that the INCB, the guardian of the international drug control treaties, could look back at the last century with a great deal of satisfaction. The realization that the drug problem was a global problem which called for an international solution had led to the adoption of international drug control treaties which more than 150 States had ratified. “And I strongly believe”, the President said, “that, over the next few years, even more progress will be made to achieve universal ratification and full implementation of the Conventions. Governments around the world have accorded priority to preventing drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking. As a medical doctor who has worked with individuals with substance misuse and addictive behaviour for decades, I am pleased that the issue receives the attention it deserves. This is an auspicious beginning of the new millennium.” 

 The Board also elected Herbert S. Okun (United States) as First Vice-President, Edouard A. Babayan (Russian Federation) as Second Vice-President and Chairman of the Standing Committee on Estimates and Jacques Franquet (France) as Rapporteur. The officers serve in their individual expert capacity and are elected for a one year term.