Beyond 2019: The future of drug policies, and the lessons learned

The International Peace Institute (IPI), International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), and Social Science Research Council (SSRC) are pleased to invite you to a lunchtime policy forum event, “Beyond 2019: The Future of Drug Policies, and the Lessons Learned.” The event will take place at IPI on Monday, November 19, 2018, from 1:00 to 2:45pm.

Kindly note that you must register to attend this event. You can do so here.

The event will be webcast here.

Opening remarks:

H.E. Mr. Dominique Favre, Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN

Speakers:

• H.E. Ms. Helen Clark, Global Commissioner, Global Commission on Drug Policy
• Ms. Ann Fordham, Executive Director, IDPC
• Mr. Craig Mokhiber, Chief, Development & Economic & Social Issues Branch,
  Research and Right to Development Division, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
• Ms. Simone Monasebian, Director, UN Office on Drugs and Crime, New York Office

Moderator:
Ms. Jimena Leiva Roesch, Research Fellow, IPI

In 2009, UN member states set 2019 as the target date “to eliminate or reduce significantly and measurably” the illicit cultivation, production, trafficking, and use of internationally controlled substances. In March 2019, the international community will hold a ministerial segment in Vienna to take stock of progress made and delineate the global drug strategy for the next decade. With the end date of the 2009 UN Political Declaration and Plan of Action towards an Integrated and Balanced Strategy to Counter the World Drug Problem fast approaching, and three years after the General Assembly’s special session on the world drug problem, the timing is ripe to take a step back and examine the progress made, the challenges faced, and consider ways forward.

The panel will assess the progress, or lack thereof, against the objectives set in the 2009 Political Declaration and Plan of Action. It will also examine whether global drug control has contributed to, or undermined, the UN’s broader priorities to protect human rights, advance peace and security, and promote development—in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. Considering the widely divergent drug policies being implemented worldwide (from the legalization of cannabis for recreational use to the use of the death penalty for drug offenses), what should be the overarching goals and objectives of drug policies beyond 2019? What needs to change to better address the so-called “world drug problem”?

Venue address:Trygve Lie Center for Peace, Security & DevelopmentInternational Peace Institute777 United Nations Plaza, 12th Floor(Corner of 1st Avenue and 44th Street)

For questions, contact:
Amanda Murchison, murchison@ipinst.org or 212-225-9638