For information only - not an official document
UNIS/NAR/1332
18 October 2017
VIENNA, 18 October (UN Information Service) - Effective today, two precursors of fentanyl, ANPP and NPP, have been included in Table I of the Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988 and thus placed under international control, following the decision of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in March this year.
This decision will not only save lives in the current fentanyl crisis, witnessed specifically in countries in North America, but it will also make it harder for criminals to illicitly produce a number of even more deadly fentanyl analogues. The control measure, which requires the sending of pre-export notifications prior to dispatching shipments in legitimate international trade, will have no negative effect on the availability of ANPP and NPP for legitimate purposes, including for the manufacture of fentanyl for medical purposes. The measure will prevent the diversion of ANPP and NPP from licit international trade into the illicit production of dangerous drugs of abuse.
In accordance with its mandate to monitor and promote the implementation of the three international drug control conventions, the Board recommended to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs the scheduling of the two precursors.
The subsequent collective scheduling of these substances by the Commission is a prime example of how the international drug control system can swiftly react to address emerging drug control challenges and threats to public health, and take concrete action to save lives.
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The International Narcotics Control Board is the independent quasi-judicial body monitoring and promoting the implementation of the three international drug control conventions. Pursuant to the provisions of the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988, INCB monitors Governments' control over precursor chemicals and assists Governments in preventing the diversion of precursors from licit international trade into the illicit manufacture of drugs.
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For further information, please contact:
INCB Secretariat
Telephone for media inquiries: (+43-1) 26060 4163
Email: secretariat[at]incb.org
Website: www.incb.org
