For information only - not an official document

UNIS/NAR/1106
3 May 2011

The International Narcotics Control Board Holds its 101st Session in Vienna: Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the
Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs

VIENNA, 3 May (UN Information Service) - The International Narcotics Control Board commenced its 101st session on 2 May in Vienna and will remain in session until 13 May 2011.

The Board is an independent and quasi-judicial body established by the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 to promote and monitor Government compliance with the international drug control conventions. During its session, the Board will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Convention.

On opening the session, the President of the Board Hamid Ghodse stressed that: "There is still a significant amount of work to be done, both by Governments and the international community, in ensuring that the objectives of the Convention are achieved, namely, that the use of narcotic drugs is limited to medical and scientific use, that there is adequate availability of narcotic drugs for such uses, and that illicit cultivation, production, trafficking and use of narcotic drugs is prevented."

Noting that universal accession to the Convention has almost been achieved, the President highlighted the need for a balance between supply and demand reduction measures for illicit drugs as well as the importance of ensuring that control measures do not impede access to narcotic drugs for licit purposes. According to the President of the Board: "There are significant problems in the availability of narcotic drugs for medical purposes. For example, 90 per cent of licit opioid analgesics are consumed by 10 per cent of the world's population, mainly in the more developed countries and regions." The Board addressed the issue of availability in a special supplement to the Annual Report for 2010, which was released in March this year. The supplement includes an analysis of the availability of internationally controlled drugs for medical and scientific purposes and makes a number of recommendations to Governments and international organizations to address the problem.

During its 101st session, the Board will continue to address the international challenges of drug control, including by analyzing the international drug control situation, examining treaty compliance, reviewing the movement of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursor chemicals for licit purposes and considering measures to improve the implementation of the drug control treaties.

On 2 May 2011, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) held its elections, the results of which are as follows:

Hamid Ghodse - President

Raymond Yans - First Vice-President

Rajat Ray - Second Vice-President and Chair of the Standing Committee on Estimates

Sri Suryawati - Rapporteur and Member of the Standing Committee on Estimates

Viroy Sumyai - Chair of the Committee on Finance and Administration and Member of the Standing Committee on Estimates

Galina Korchagina - Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Estimates

Marc Moinard - Member of the Committee on Finance and Administration and Member of the Standing Committee on Estimates

Lochan Naidoo - Member of the Committee on Finance and Administration and Member of the Standing Committee on Estimates

Carola Lander - Member on the Standing Committee on Estimates

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For further information please contact:

Raechelle Newman
Drug Control Officer, INCB Secretariat
Mobile: (+43-699) 1459-5638
Email: raechelle.newman@incb.org
Website: www.incb.org