25 May 1988

13th plenary meeting

Preparation of an international convention against illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances

The Economic and Social Council,

Recalling General Assembly resolution 39/141 of 14 December 1984, by which the Commission on Narcotic Drugs was requested to initiate, as a matter of priority, the preparation of a draft convention against illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances,

Further recalling General Assembly resolutions 33/168 of 20 December 1978, 35/195 of 15 December 1980, 36/132 of 14 December 1981, 37/198 of 18 December 1982, 38/93 and 38/122 of 16 December 1983, 39/143 of 14 December 1984, 40/120, 40/121 and 40/122 of 13 December 1985, 41/125, 41/126 and 41/127 of 4 December 1986 and other relevant resolutions,

Recalling also that the Commission, pursuant to resolution 1 (S-IX) of 14 February 1986, considered an initial draft convention, which included fourteen articles, and the comments of Governments thereon at its thirty-second session, in February 1987,

Considering that, as provided for in Economic and Social Council resolution 1987/27 of 26 May 1987, an open-ended intergovernmental expert group met twice in 1987 to review the working document consolidating the draft convention and, wherever possible, to reach agreement on the articles of the convention, and prepared revised working documents,

Further considering that the General Assembly, in its resolution 42/111 of 7 December 1987, requested the Secretary-General to consider convening a further intergovernmental expert group meeting for a period of two weeks immediately prior to the tenth special session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs to continue revision of the working paper on the draft convention and also requested the Commission to consider and, if possible, approve the draft convention at its tenth special session and to prepare recommendations on measures to be taken to conclude the preparation of the convention, including the possibility of convening a plenipotentiary conference in 1988 for its adoption,

Recalling the Declaration adopted by the International Conference on Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in June 1987 at Vienna, in which the Conference called for the urgent but careful preparation and finalization of the draft convention to ensure its entry into force at the earliest possible date,

Having received the report of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs on its tenth special session,

Bearing in mind the Quito Declaration against Traffic in Narcotic Drugs of 11 August 1984, the New York Declaration against Drug Trafficking and the Illicit Use of Drugs of 1 October 1984 and the Lima Declaration of 29 July 1985, in which profound alarm was expressed at the seriousness of the problem,

1. Expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General for the excellent preparation of the working documents on the draft convention, which have been circulated to States for consideration at the intergovernmental expert group meetings, as requested by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 1987/27;

2. Also expresses its thanks to States that have submitted their comments on the working documents on the draft convention or proposals for textual changes thereto;

3. Further expresses its thanks to the intergovernmental expert group for the work accomplished during its meetings on 29 June-10 July 1987, 5-16 October 1987 and 25 January-5 February 1988;

4. Reminds States of the importance and urgency of proceeding with the work on the preparation of the draft convention in the most expeditious manner, so that the convention may be effective and widely acceptable and enter into force at the earliest possible time;

5. Takes note of the report of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs on its tenth special session, annex II to which contains texts of draft articles for the proposed convention;

6. Requests the Secretary-General to transmit by 15 March 1988 for consideration the relevant parts of the report of the Commission, with any relevant annexes and such background documentation considered pertinent, to all States, the specialized agencies, the International Narcotics Control Board and the International Criminal Police Organization and other interested intergovernmental organizations;

7. Decides to convene, in accordance with Article 62, paragraph 4, of the Charter of the United Nations and within the provisions of General Assembly resolution 366 (IV) of 3 December 1949, a conference of plenipotentiaries for the adoption of a convention against illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances;

8. Further decides to convene, within available resources, a review group for the conference to meet for a period of up to two weeks, preferably at Vienna, not later than mid-June 1988 whose proceedings shall be governed, mutatis mutandis, by the rules of procedure of the functional commissions of the Economic and Social Council;

9. Instructs the review group:

(a) To review the draft texts of articles 1 to 6 with a view to submitting them to the plenipotentiary conference. In addition, the group may review the remaining articles and related draft texts with a view to making those changes that may be necessary to achieve overall consistency in the draft text of the convention to be submitted to the plenipotentiary conference;

(b) To consider organizational matters relating to the conference and the draft provisional rules of procedure to be prepared by the Secretary-General;

10. Requests the Secretary-General:

(a) To arrange for the conference to be held in 1988, not sooner than four months after the meeting of the review group;

(b) To invite to participate in the conference and the meeting of the review group:

(i) All States;

(ii) Specialized agencies and intergovernmental organizations interested in the matter, with the same rights as they have at sessions of the Economic and Social Council;

(iii) The International Narcotics Control Board, with the same rights as it has at sessions of the Economic and Social Council;

(c) To transmit immediately after the meeting of the review group the draft text of the convention and related documents to all States and other interested parties;

(d) To prepare provisional rules of procedure for the conference;

(e) To provide summary records of the meetings of the conference and its committees.