For information only – not an official document
UNIS/NAR/1429
4 January 2021
VIENNA, 4 January (United Nations Information Service) – During its 129th session, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) held virtual consultations with senior officials of the Government of Uruguay to discuss drug control developments in the country. The consultations centred on the adoption of legislation in 2013, which legalized adult cannabis use and cultivation for non-medical purposes, and the implementation of the provisions of the drug control conventions in Uruguay.
In past years, INCB has repeatedly expressed its concerns over this legislation and now takes this opportunity to remind countries that article 4(c) of the 1961 Convention, as amended, requires state parties to take such legislative and administrative measures as may be necessary to limit the use of narcotic drugs exclusively to medical and scientific purposes.
The Board stresses that Article 3(1)(a) of the 1988 Convention requires the criminalization of such acts as “the production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, offering for sale, distribution, sale, delivery on any terms whatsoever, brokerage, dispatch, dispatch in transit, transport, importation or exportation of any narcotic drug or any psychotropic substance contrary to the provisions of the 1961 Convention, the 1961 Convention as amended or the 1971 Convention.”
INCB will continue to engage with the Government of Uruguay on drug control matters and appreciates the exchange of information at the consultations during the 129th session; such dialogues with state parties will enhance mutual understanding and facilitate cooperation to comply with the legal obligations and to achieve the aims of the Conventions.
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INCB is the independent, quasi-judicial body charged with promoting and monitoring Government compliance with the three international drug control conventions: the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. Established by the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, the thirteen members of the Board are elected in a personal capacity by the Economic and Social Council for terms of five years.
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For further information please contact:
INCB Secretariat
Telephone for media inquiries: (+43-1) 26060 4163
Email: incb.secretariat[at]un.org
Website: www.incb.org
