Singapore Announces its Candidature for the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs

The 64^th session of the United Nations (UN) Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) was held in Vienna, Austria from 12 – 16 April 2021. Mrs Josephine Teo, Minister for Manpower  and  Second Minister for Home Affairs, led Singapore’s delegation which comprised officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), the Singapore Prison Service (SPS) and the Health Sciences Authority (HSA). The Singapore delegation attended and participated in the session virtually.

The CND is the main drug policy making body of the UN. The CND meets annually to review and analyse the global drug situation, develop strategies on international drug control, and recommend measures to address the world drug problem.

A key outcome of the 64^th CND was the adoption of the CND Statement on the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on Member States’ joint commitments to address and counter the world drug problem. The Statement emphasised the importance of continuing efforts in this regard, taking into consideration the drug-related trends, challenges and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minister Teo delivered Singapore’s national statement which highlighted Singapore’s multi-pronged harm prevention strategy against drugs and reiterated the need to protect our people’s right to live in an environment free from drugs. She reaffirmed Singapore’s strong support and commitment to working with the CND to strengthen international cooperation on drug-related matters and announced Singapore’s intent to run for CND membership for the term 2024 to 2027.^[1]

As part of the 64^th CND, SPS organised a virtual side event titled “Inspiring Community Action in the Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Offenders”. The event provided a platform for the sharing of best practices and experiences in the area of rehabilitation of offenders and featured speakers from SPS, the Hong Kong Correctional Services Department, the Japan Correction Bureau and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). More details of the event are at Annex.

Singapore also co-sponsored two other side events with a broad cross-regional group of countries and partners:

• “COVID-19 Pandemic and its Influence on the World Drug Problem: New Challenges and Prospects” was initiated by the Russian Federation and co-sponsored by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), UNODC, 21 Member States^[2] and the European Union.

   

• “Strategic Importance of Real-time Drug Data” was organised by the UNODC Research and Analysis Branch and co-sponsored by Singapore as the co-Chair of the Friends of UNODC Research.  
  
  
  

The Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association (SANA) also attended the 64^th CND in its capacity as a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), and co-organised two virtual side events with other NGOs. Entitled “Understanding the Desistance Journey of Female Substance Abusers and the Implications for their Interventions”, the first side event highlighted the issues faced by female drug abusers and how their interventions can be tailored to assist them effectively in their rehabilitation journey. The second side event on “Strengthening Community Support for Recovery” discussed the approaches to garner community support for the recovery process of drug abusers.

Mr Lim Zi Fei, aged 18, represented Singapore as a youth participant at the UNODC Youth Forum 2021 which was held virtually at the sidelines of the 64^th CND. Zi Fei is currently pursuing a diploma in biomedical engineering at Temasek Polytechnic and is an active Anti-Drug Advocate with CNB. The Youth Forum is an annual event where youths from around the world gather to exchange views on drug control policies and develop a joint youth statement that would be delivered to global policy makers at the CND.