A/RES/55/65
Deeply alarmed by the violence and economic power of criminal organizations
and terrorist groups engaged in drug-trafficking activities and other criminal
activities, such as money-laundering and illicit traffic in arms, precursors and
essential chemicals, and by the increasing transnational links between them, and
recognizing the need for international cooperation and implementation of effective
strategies on the basis of the outcome of the twentieth special session of the General
Assembly, which are essential to achieving results against all forms of transnational
criminal activities,
Noting with grave concern the global increase in the use of minors in the illicit
production of and trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, as well
as in the number of children and young people starting to use drugs at an earlier age
and in their access to substances not previously used,
Alarmed by the rapid and widespread increase in the illicit manufacture,
trafficking and consumption, in particular by young people, of synthetic drugs in
many countries and by the high probability that amphetamine-type stimulants, in
particular methamphetamine and amphetamine, may become drugs of choice among
abusers in the twenty-first century,
Deeply convinced that the special session made a significant contribution to a
new comprehensive framework for international cooperation, based on an integrated
and balanced approach with strategies, measures, methods, practical activities, goals
and specific targets to be met, that all States, the United Nations system and other
international organizations must implement them with concrete actions and that the
international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, and the regional
development banks should be invited to include action against the world drug
problem in their programmes, taking into account the priorities of States,
Reaffirming the importance of the commitments of Member States in meeting
the objectives targeted for 2003 and 2008, as set out in the Political Declaration
adopted by the General Assembly at its twentieth special session, and welcoming the
guidelines for reporting on the follow-up to the twentieth special session adopted by
the Commission on Narcotic Drugs at its reconvened forty-second session, 5
Emphasizing the importance of the Action Plan for the Implementation of the
Declaration on the Guiding Principles of Drug Demand Reduction, which introduces
a global approach, recognizing a new balance between illicit supply and demand
reduction, under the principle of shared responsibility, aims at preventing the use of
drugs and at reducing the adverse consequences of drug abuse, ensuring that special
attention is paid to vulnerable groups, in particular children and young people, and
constitutes one of the pillars of the new global strategy, and reaffirming the need for
demand reduction programmes,
Emphasizing equally the importance of supply reduction as an integral part of
a balanced drug control strategy under the principles enshrined in the Action Plan on
International Cooperation on the Eradication of Illicit Drug Crops and on
Alternative Development, 6 reaffirming the need for alternative development
programmes that are sustainable, welcoming the achievements of some States on
their way to eradicating illicit drug crops, and inviting all other States to make
similar efforts,
5
Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1999, Supplement No. 8 (E/1999/28/Rev.1), part
two, chap. I, resolution 42/11, annex.
6
Resolution S-20/4 E.
2