United Nations drug control conventions

The United Nations drug control conventions, also known as the international drug control conventions, are three drug treaties that together establish the legal framework for international drug control and the war on drugs. They are the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961; amended by the 1972 Protocol), the Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971), and the Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988).^[1][2][3]

The conventions

The three treaties are intended to be complementary and mutually supportive.^[4] The core goals are to maintain a list of controlled drugs, to ensure a consistent supply for legitimate medical and scientific purposes, and to prevent production and distribution for non-medical or scientific use.^[1][5] Enforcement occurs primarily at the national level, where treaty compliance is established in the domestic policies and laws of the party countries.^[5]

Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs

The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs was adopted in 1961, entered into force on December 13, 1964 ^[6] and was amended in 1972.^[7] According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Single Convention aims to "combat drug abuse by coordinated international action. There are two forms of intervention and control that work together. First, it seeks to limit the possession, use, trade in, distribution, import, export, manufacture and production of drugs exclusively to medical and scientific purposes. Second, it combats drug trafficking through international cooperation to deter and discourage drug traffickers."^[8] The Single Convention classified drugs in four schedules; Schedules I and IV were the most prohibitive and included opium, heroin, cocaine and cannabis. It created the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) to monitor and administrate.^[3]

Convention on Psychotropic Substances

The Convention on Psychotropic Substances was adopted in 1971 and entered into force on August 16, 1976.^[9] It addressed a number of synthetic psychotropic substances, such as amphetamines, barbiturates, and LSD, that had become widely used since World War II, and especially in the 1960s, that were generally not regulated internationally.^[3] According to the UNODC, the convention "responded to the diversification and expansion of the spectrum of drugs of abuse and introduced controls over a number of synthetic drugs according to their abuse potential on the one hand and their therapeutic value on the other."^[10] The convention established a four-schedule drug classification system, different in nature from the Single Convention schedules.^[3]

Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances

The Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances was adopted in 1988 and entered into force on November 11, 1990.^[11] According to the UNODC, the convention "provides comprehensive measures against drug trafficking, including provisions against money laundering and the diversion of precursor chemicals. It provides for international cooperation through, for example, extradition of drug traffickers, controlled deliveries and transfer of proceedings."^[12] It addresses drug trafficking specifically, through criminalization and punishment measures expected to be adopted domestically throughout the world; it is "essentially an instrument of international criminal law".^[3]

Philosophy, origins, architects

The three UN conventions establish prohibition and criminalization as the means to control illicit drug activity.^[3] A Library of Parliament report on the history of the treaties, prepared for a Canadian Senate Special Committee On Illegal Drugs, notes that "each of the treaties encourages – and often requires – that member countries put in place strong domestic penal provisions." The report identifies four themes as critical influences on the nature of the conventions:

Prohibition, "as opposed to regulation", is the central philosophy.

Outside interests, including "racism, fear, economic interests, domestic and international politics, global trade, domestic protectionism, war, arms control initiatives, the Cold War, development aid, and various corporate agendas", significantly shaped the conventions.

The United States has been "the key player in most multilateral negotiations" and the prohibitionist approach "derives largely from U.S. policy – the various forms, past and present, of the U.S. 'war on drugs'".

Powerful personalities have played outsized roles in shaping the policies: "while in positions of power at opportune moments, their beliefs, morals, ambitions and single-minded determination enabled them to exert exceptional influence over the shape of the international drug control regime." The efforts from the 1930s to the 1960s of US drug control commissioner Harry Anslinger and his Canadian counterpart and ally, Charles Henry Ludovic Sharman, are particularly notable.^[3]

Administrative structure

At the center of the UN drug control system is the 53-member Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), the UN's main drug policy body, responsible for the drug classification schedules, treaty amendments, and policy guidance. Members are selected by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the six UN main organs.^[5]

The CND is the governing body of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC),^[13] which advises governments on implementation of the conventions and produces an annual World Drugs Report. UNODC's focus is mainly on security and law enforcement, rather than public health.^[5]

The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) is an independent treaty body, mandated by the Single Convention, that monitors implementation of the conventions and oversees the legal drug supply. Central to its function is an annual set of reports, submitted to ECOSOC through the CND, that overlook the global drug situation. The reporting identifies and predicts problem trends and suggests corrective actions. Technical reports list estimated national requirements, and production, manufacture, trade and consumption data, for controlled drugs for medical and scientific use, gathered from individual countries. Trends in trafficking in precursors and essential chemicals for illicit drug manufacture, and evaluation of government measures taken to prevent that traffic, are also reported. The INCB can call out non-compliance in its reports and in public statements, and by alerting the CND and ECOSOC.^[5][14]

The World Health Organization (WHO) is responsible for providing the CND with the scientific evidence used in determining drug scheduling and treaty amendments.^[5]

Obligations, compliance and non-compliance

The conventions are legally binding on its parties under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969).^[15] States party to the UN drug conventions have some flexibility in conforming treaty requirements to their own socio-cultural, political and economic realities. In case of fundamental disagreements, they can also withdraw from the conventions. However, falling out of compliance or withdrawal, apart from denunciation by the UN, have immediate practical consequences, particularly for developing nations. The conventions regulate trade in legal pharmaceuticals, including the WHO list of essential drugs—leaving the system could make securing medicine more difficult. Being party to the three conventions is also a requirement for certain trade agreements, and for access to the European Union (EU).^[1]

References

This page was last edited on 5 June 2024, at 05:24