For information only - not an official document
UNIS/NAR/1310
22 February 2017
VIENNA/BANGKOK, 22 February (United Nations Information Service) - The third international conference on "Precursor Chemicals and New Psychoactive Substances" organized by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) started in Bangkok on Tuesday. The conference was opened by the Minister of Justice of Thailand, Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana, the Second Vice-President of INCB, Dr. Viroj Sumyai, and the UNODC Regional Representative for South East-East Asia and the Pacific, Jeremy Douglas.
The conference brings together high-level Government officials, as well as technical experts, from 36 countries and 10 international and regional organizations worldwide concerned with the diversion of precursors and the emergence and abuse of new psychoactive substances (NPS).
Building upon the successes of the second international conference on precursor chemicals and NPS, which took place in Bangkok in 2015, this conference will not only provide an opportunity to take stock of achievements since then but also to discuss the challenges ahead, at the national, regional and international levels.
While progress continues to be made in international precursor control as well as in addressing challenges related to NPS, both topics remain of concern to the international community.
The opening day of the conference concluded with the adoption of an outcome document in which participating governments recommended a series of practical measures aimed at preventing the diversion of precursor chemicals as well as addressing the use of NPS and related consequences for individuals and society at large. Those measures include enhanced cooperation between various national authorities with regard to real-time sharing of information among each other and with relevant international organizations. In the days ahead, government representatives and experts will tackle emerging challenges in controlling precursors and addressing NPS, as well as operational approaches to collectively addressing these challenges globally and regionally.
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For further information, please contact:
INCB Secretariat
Telephone (+43-1) 26060 4163
Email: secretariat[at]incb.org
Website:
www.incb.org
