Youth RISE participated in the 66th Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), between March 13-17, at the United Nations in Vienna.
Written by: Rebeca Marques Rocha
The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) is a United Nations body that plays a key role in shaping international drug policy. Every year, government officials, representatives of UN agencies, and civil society organizations get together to discuss and review global drug policy approaches.
The CND plays a critical role in shaping international drug policy and promoting collaboration among member states. It provides a forum for member states to discuss drug-related issues and develop solutions to global drug challenges. Indeed, the resolutions adopted during the week have a significant impact on drug control measures worldwide.
In this year’s CND, four resolutions were adopted, seven substances were placed under international control,155 side events were held and 27 exhibitions were organized. Youth RISE was represented by 14 young people attending online and in-person, assuming an active role in various discussions and initiatives that took place during that week.
Throughout the week, Youth RISE:
- Organized one hybrid side-event on Young Sex Workers Who Use Drugs;
- Co-sponsored two side events;
- Participated as panelists in four side events;
- Joined the first meeting of the ad-hoc Youth Working Group of the Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs (VNGOC);
- Posed four questions during the informal dialogues with the CND’s Chair, the President of the International Narcotic Control Board, representatives of the World Health Organization and the UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime;
- Gave one statement to countries’ delegations during the plenary session, highlighting the negative impacts of prohibitory drug control approaches on climate change, and urging member states to adopt policy reform.
Youth RISE actively contributed to discussions on youth involvement in drug policymaking and harm reduction. During the side event “Nothing about us without us” organized by the Students for Sensible Drug Policy International (SSDP Intl), Youth RISE’s Monitoring & Evaluation officer Humberto Rotondo brought his personal experience as a young drug policy advocator in Latin America and stressed the importance and benefits of involving youth in drug policy.
Youth RISE’s Project Manager Carolina Ahumada also contributed as a speaker at the side-event Avances y Retrocessos en la Reducción de Daños en América Latina, organized by the Centro de Convivência É de Lei (Brazil). During the session, Carolina presented the results of the 2020-2022 report on the state of harm reduction in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Youth RISE’s International Working Group member Beatrix Vas participated as a panelist in the side event “The Impact of Drugs on Children and Youth: Effective Responses” organized by Proyecto Hombre Madrid. During the discussion, Beatrix highlighted success stories of youth involvement in harm reduction responses.
“Now that youth and drug use is a bigger part of the conversation than ever, the ways in which we are talked on behalf of versus being given space to represent ourselves was personally the most interesting. This CND had a record number of youth-related side events. However, from these, only a few had young people as speakers and were run by youth organizations.”
Manuela Memi, Project Manager at Youth RISE
A highlight of the week was our side event on young sex workers who use drugs. The hybrid session was attended by over 70 attendees, including representatives from Canadian and New Zealand countries delegations. During the occasion, Ruby Lawlor from Youth RISE, Suki Beavers from UNAIDS, activist Josephine Achieng from WHRINetwork and Bar Hostess Empowerment and Support Programme, and Marie Schneider from Youth RISE’s working group on YSWUD discussed the unique challenges young sex workers who use drugs face. Often targeted by systematic violence, this key population faces a triple compounded stigma and double criminalization.
The panelists shared examples of successful initiatives tailored to the needs of YSWUD and provided recommendations to governments and organizations. In addition, they emphasized the role of youth-led advocacy in promoting the rights of this key population and collecting data to fill the existing gap and shape policies globally. The side event concluded with a call for action: “Decriminalization of sex work and drug use are crucial approaches if governments are serious about ending HIV”, said Suki Beavers of UNAIDS.
Despite the record number of youth-related side events at the CND, Youth RISE’s Project Manager Manuela Memi noted that only a few had young people as speakers and were run by youth organizations. However, the creation of the Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs (VNGOC) Youth Working Group during the CND provided a chance for young people throughout the drug policy spectrum to come together and work towards creating a common position for youth-led drug policy organizations. Indeed, Humberto Rotondo was optimistic about the future of drug policy after seeing prohibitionist and harm reductionist youth representatives willing to put aside their differences to find common ground.
“For me, the most interesting thing at CND was the fact that both prohibitionist and harm reductionist youth representatives were willing to put aside their differences to see what they could agree on. As a young person who uses drugs, that really defied the expectations I had of the other side of the aisle and left me feeling optimistic about the future of drug policy”
Humberto Rotondo, Monitoring & Evaluation Officer at Youth RISE
During the 66th CND, Youth RISE worked with various partners including the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the WHRINetwork, Harm Reduction International, INPUD, International Drug Policy Consortium, the EuroNPUD – European Network of People who Use Drugs, Students for Sensible Drug Policy International (SSDP Intl), Dejusticia, Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs (VNGOC), Centro de Convivência É de Lei, Plataforma Brasileira de Políticas de Drogas, -LANPUD -Red Latinoamericana y del Caribe de Personas que Usan Drogas, Fiocruz, Reduc, Associación Costarricense para el Estudio e Intervención en Drogas, and Intercambios Asociación Civil.
We would like to thank all partners and team members that tirelessly worked together and contributed to a successful 66th CND. This collective effort gave Youth RISE the opportunity to significantly advocate for the rights of young people who use drugs and work towards shaping policies that are more inclusive and effective.