Our research affiliate and PhD candidate Mr. Papamalis E. Fivos as a member of the Hellenic Presidency of the Council of the European Union - Horizontal Drugs Group participated at the 57th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND)of the United Nations, which took place on 13-21 March in Vienna. The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) is one of the functional commissions of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and is the central drug policy-making body within the United Nations system. During the CND working days, as many as 1,300 participants from 127 UN Member States, intergovernmental organizations, UN bodies, civil society, and media attended the opening, plenary sessions, and numerous side-events.
Аs an expert on the Demand reduction Issues and Assistant on External Affairs,Mr. Papamalis had the opportunity to participate on the High-Level Segment on the Implementation by Member States of the Political Declaration and Plan of Action on International Cooperation towards an Integrated and Balanced Strategy to Counter the World Drug Problem and on the agreement of the Joint Ministerial Statement. He also attended various side events, coordination meetings, inter-sessional sessions and special events such as the Briefing on the Civil Society Hearing and the Scientific Consultation: addressing drug use through a health-based approachhttp://www.cndblog.org/2014/03/conclusions-from-informal-civil-society.html
Furthermore, as the Chair of the informal consultations,Mr. Papamalis successfully coordinated the discussions and negotiations with other UN member States for the two resolutions prepared and submitted by Greece on behalf of the EU,which were adopted by the Committee of the Whole. These resolutions establish policy guidelines for UN Member States relating to “Education and training on drug use disorders” (L.13) and “Providing sufficient health services to individuals affected by substance use disorders during long-term and sustained economic downturns” (L.14). Other resolutions passed by Member States cover such touchstone drug policy issues as alternative development, substance use disorders, new psychoactive substances and evidence-based drug use prevention.
Finally, along with the Greek delegation,Mr Papamalis had bilateral meetings with senior officers such as the head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Yury Fedotov, and the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Jan Eliasson,with whom they discussed the policy priorities of the European Union in terms of demand and supply reduction and the need for immediate reaction of the international community in addressing the problem of new psychoactive substances.
Participants:
Zoi (Zeta) MAKRI, Deputy Minister of Health
Themistoklis DIMIDIS, Ambassador, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Vienna
Christina PAPOUTSOPOULOU-DIAMANTOPOULOU, President - National Drug Coordinator
Gerasimos PAPANASTASATOS, Advisor, Office of National Drug Coordinator
Fivos PAPAMALIS, Expert on Demand Reduction Issues and Assistant on External Affairs
Aikaterini RAPTI, Second Counsellor, Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Vienna
Konstantina STERGIATOU, Expert on Supply Reduction Issues
Domna TSAKLAKIDOU, Expert
Maria SARANTOPOULOU, Special Secretary
Theodora SKORDILI, Secretary
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