Efter förhandlingar har jag och min Mexikanska parlamentarikerkollega senator Laura Angélica Rojas Hernándes (som är ordförande i Mexikanska parlamentets utrikesutskott för relationer med internationnella organisationer) tagit ett initiativ inom Interparlamentariska Unionen i syfte att agera mot narkotikaproblematiken på global nivå. Vi är överens om att legalisering inte är någon bra lösning.
Förslaget ska presenteras i morgon då det avgörs hur den fortsatta behandlingen ska gå till. Här nedan finns förslaget i sin helhet.
FORMAL REQUEST FOR A STUDY ON INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED AND BALANCED STRATEGY
TO COUNTER THE WORLD DRUG PROBLEM
THE ROLE OF PARLIAMENTARIANS
Proposal
submitted by the Mexican and Swedish delegations to the Standing
Committee on United Nations Affairs as a formal request for a study to be
conducted by the IPU
Explanatory text
The drug
problem has become an increasingly problematic global phenomenon. Under current
circumstances, the principle that everyone, from the individual right up to the
State itself, is accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally
enforced and independently adjudicated, can not apply. Establishing respect for
the rule of law is fundamental to achieving a durable peace and security, to
the effective protection of human rights, and to sustained economic progress
and development.
The world
drug problem, notwithstanding the progress made, continues to pose a serious
threat to the health, safety and well-being of our citizens. Efforts to counter
it have had a high price for society and individuals.
The
international community must take responsibility and take action. No country
can combat drug trafficking on its own. We are all affected as countries of
consumers, suppliers and transit and highly dependent on regional, sub-regional
and international cooperation in the fight against drugs and organized crime, a
priority area for the United Nations. We Parliamentarians have the
responsibility for the legal framework – with regards to public safety, but
also to health, education and other related fields – and it is vital that we as
representatives of the people safeguard democracy around the world.
The
Mexican and Swedish delegations, according to the Statutes of the Inter-Parliamentary
Union, wishes to present the following study request for inclusion in the research
and study agenda of the organization based on the following considerations:
Background
The worrisome dimension of the drug
consumption and illicit trade problem are self-evident according to recent data
of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). There are
approximately 315 million people in the world, between the ages of 15 and 64
years old, who consume drugs on a regular basis. Approximately 190 million
persons use cannabis, while 20 million take cocaine and 53 million consume
methamphetamines. While the use of traditional drugs, such as heroin and
cocaine, seems to be declining in some parts of the world, prescription drug
abuse and new psychoactive substance abuse is growing. The number of people
with severe problems of drug addiction has increased significantly to reach
39 million.
Problems related to the abuse of drugs
are still strongly associated with several diseases of pandemic proportions such
as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, among others.
Young people and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to drugs, especially
in economically depressed areas where there is a general lack of education and
work opportunities. These are the primary
targets of criminal organizations that take advantage of the illicit drug
market.
Drug
trafficking is a substantial part of the global illicit trade involving the
cultivation, distribution and sale of substances subject to drug prohibition
laws. Drug-related violence is one of the most important sources of criminality
or instability in several countries and remains a constant concern for the
safety and well-being of entire cities and populations. Moreover, it has proved
to be an important component of transnational organized crime in terms of
providing financial support and facilitating other heinous and fast-growing
criminal activities such as human and arms trafficking, kidnapping, extortion,
sexual and labour exploitation, and money laundering. As a cornerstone of
organized crime networks with transnational dimensions, drug trafficking is not
only a regional but also a global problem that needs to be tackled by the
international community.
Despite the
efforts and progress made by States, increased international cooperation, and
the recognition of the principle of common and shared responsibility, unsatisfactory
results have triggered the need to find new ways of tackling the problem but
also emphasizing the health dimension and protection of the social fabric. In
September 2012, the Presidents of Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala called on the
United Nations General Assembly to organize a Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS),
through a resolution co-sponsored by 95 other countries. It will take place on 2016.
The main focus
of that event, apart from launching a high-level political dialogue, will be to
scale up the process of reviewing, and eventually adjusting, the 2009 Political
Declaration and Plan of Action on International Cooperation towards an
Integrated and Balanced Strategy to Counter the World Drug Problem, which are
currently under assessment by the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs
(CND) in Vienna. States must reaffirm their commitment to international
cooperation, while at the same time conducting a broad, transparent, inclusive
and scientific evidence based debate on this important issue.
The context
for such a conference to take place cannot be more appropriate. It comes precisely at a time of growing
discussion of the current policies on drugs and calls for drug policy reform,
particularly but not exclusively in Latin America and the United States. In
addition, other leaders, experts, policymakers, parliamentarians and thinkers,
both within and outside the realm of international organizations, have engaged
in a particularly fruitful dialogue promoting regional and international
debate.
This meeting will be held on the eve
of important key events due to take place on the road to UNGASS 2016, such as
the presentation of the Hemispheric Review of the Organization of American
States on the drug policies to be discussed during special sessions of its
General Assembly, the presentation of a report on these matters by the
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and, more importantly, the meeting of the High-level
Segment of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in Vienna on
13 and 14 March 2014, which has issued a “Joint Ministerial Agreement”.
The world drug problem is much more than a demand and supply issue and
that it seems necessary to strengthen policies that take into account the
social fabric and human rights considerations in order to minimize its impact
on modern societies.
The IPU reaffirms the United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/193,
in which it decided to convene, in early 2016, a special session of the General
Assembly on the world drug problem to review the progress in the implementation
of the Political Declaration and Plan of Action on International Cooperation
towards an Integrated and Balanced Strategy to Counter the World Drug Problem,
including an assessment of the achievements and challenges in countering the
world drug problem, within the framework of the three international drug
control conventions and other relevant United Nations instruments.
The IPU also reaffirms the United Nations General Assembly resolution
68/197, which requested the Commission on Narcotic Drugs to engage in the
preparatory process for UNGASS, including presentation of proposals to be
considered by the General Assembly starting at its sixty-ninth session, and
supporting its substantive work to start the compilation of regional, national
and local relevant experiences in reducing drugs supply and demand and policies
curtailing violence and social vulnerabilities. At the same time, the IPU also
calls on all relevant actors to remain engaged in this debate, so that it leads
to the strongest possible outcome.
Proposal
The Mexican and Swedish delegations formally
requests and appeals for the approval of a special research exercise, led by
appointed Rapporteurs. A review should be carried out on an enhanced role for
the IPU in developing an action plan on international cooperation towards an
integrated strategy to give the UN-process a parliamentary dimension to counter
the world drug problem. The IPU should consider the important debate ahead and
the relevant role that parliaments have in the discussion, reform and
implementation of meaningful legislation on the subject. This should be one of
the studies to be conducted by the IPU during 2014-2015 under the mandate of the
fourth Standing Committee.