Civil Society Task Force (CSTF)

Preparations for the 2016 UNGASS on Drugs ushered in a period of HEIGHTENED collaboration between the NYNGOC and VNGOC, with the two committees partnering to form the Civil Society Task Force (CSTF). The CSTF was a global 33-member task force of NGOs representing nine global regions and nine affected populations/global voices.

After the CSTF finalized its activities around the 2016 UNGASS on Drugs, the CSTF conducted a global survey to gather information on the impressions amongst civil society on the effectiveness of the CSTF and potential next steps. Since the survey showed strong support for the CSTF and the desire to continue it in some form, the two committees entered a Memorandum of Understanding and spent several months collaborating to form a new CSTF for the 2019 Ministerial Segment. The new CSTF was formed with three additional Steering Group members (adding officers in charge of communications, fundraising, and outreach), 18 representatives of global regions, and 10 representatives from affected populations and global voices.

The CSTF was an effective vehicle for increasing the inclusion of civil society voices at preparations leading up to and at the 2016 UNGASS on Drugs, as well as at the 2019 Ministerial Segment. Activities of the CSTF included:

(i) Identifying civil society speakers for preparatory events and at the meetings themselves in accordance with the CSTF Guidelines for Selecting Speakers, which emphasize parity in representation of women and across regions.

(ii) Conducting consultations with civil society, such as through online surveys and civil society hearings held in New York and Vienna, and

(iii) Publishing reports presenting the findings of consultations by the CSTF.

The CSTF successfully delivered this range of actions in both 2016 and 2019. It remains a useful example of cross-committee collaboration to support inclusive civil society participation at high-level UN meetings.

2015 General Assembly Thematic Debate

In May 2015 the NYNGOC and the VNGOC hosted the 5th Civil Society Hearing at the High-level Thematic Debate in support of the process towards UNGASS. The hearing featured an opening segment with speakers from the US State Department, the Missions of Italy and Brazil, followed by a panel of civil society speakers who presented their perspectives and recommendations on topics such as harm reduction, human rights, treatment and youth. The Civil Society Task Force worked closely with the Office of the President of the General Assembly to select speakers for the High Level Thematic Debate for both roundtable discussions. In October, alongside the Third Committee negotiations, the Civil Society Task Force held the 6th CS hearing at United Nations Headquarters. The goal of the hearing was to update member states on Civil Society Task Force activities as well as to provide valuable input from civil society in preparation of the 2016 UNGASS on Drugs. The hearing consisted of 2 panels, the 1st reported on the preliminary results of the Global Civil Society Survey, and the 2nd shared civil society knowledge and expertise in some of the emerging priority areas highlighted in the Global Civil Society Survey report.

Informal Interactive Stakeholder Consultation (IISC)

On February 10, 2016, in order to support the inclusive, active and substantive engagement of civil society in the UNGASS process, the President of the General Assembly convened the Informal Interactive Stakeholders Consultation (IISC), a full day hearing for civil society, academia, and other stakeholders. The IISC was organized in partnership with the Civil Society Task Force for UNGASS 2016 with the support of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and UNODC. President Moggens Lykketoft opened and closed the hearing, and Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon also spoke in the opening segment along with Ambassador Shamaa, UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov, and a keynote speaker from civil society. The opening segment was followed by roundtable discussions, one on drugs and health and the other on drugs, human rights, communities and development, each with a panel of speakers and an interactive discussion with members of civil society, Member States and UN agencies. Speakers were chosen through an open call for nominations followed by a selection process conducted by the Civil Society Task Force who then gave their recommendations to the President. The speakers were from Pakistan, Uganda, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Colombia, Chile, Kenya, Lithuania, Nepal, India, and Jamaica and spoke on topics from treatment and prevention to harm reduction, cultivation, youth, social reintegration, and human rights. There were over 300 representatives from civil society organizations from around the world and approximately 30 member states present, and more than 40 interventions were made from the floor. A Summary was issued by the President as a formal document of the UNGASS preparatory process outlining the key themes of the consultation: notably, the need for a shift towards more human rights and public health-based approaches, the need for the expansion of harm reduction services and less punitive approaches to drug policy and the end to the death penalty were themes that were echoed throughout the meeting. All in all, it was a great success for civil society – an inclusive and participatory part of the UNGASS process, and the first of its kind.

2016 UNGASS on Drugs

The UNGASS on Drugs 2016 Following more than three years of preparations by NYNGOC and its member organizations, the UNGASS that took place in April 2016 was arguably the most important drug policy event in almost two decades. Official proceedings The UNGASS outcome document was finalized at the CND in March 2016 – it was not re-opened for negotiations at the UNGASS itself but was adopted at the opening segment of the UNGASS. The adoption of the document was immediately followed by a number of statements from UN member states, many of them directly conflicting, such as those on the death penalty for drug-related offenses. The high-level opening segment was followed by six plenary sessions, as well as five roundtables on drugs and health, drugs and crime, drugs and human rights, new threats and challenges, and alternative development.

Civil Society Participation in the 2016 UNGASS

On April 18, the day before UNGASS, the CSTF held a Civil Society Forum. The Forum began with a high level opening featuring the President of the General Assembly, the Chair of the UNGASS Board, the UNODC Executive Director, government representatives of Colombia and Sweden, and the Chair of the NYNGOC. Next came a presentation of the CSTF reports of the Global Civil Society Survey and the Regional/Thematic reports, followed by a panel discussion entitled “Voices of Civil Society: Priorities and Recommendations for UNGASS 2016”, which featured presentations from representatives from the following affected populations, global voices and drug-related areas: farmers, youth, people who use drugs, treatment, access to essential medicines, families/violence, recovery, faith-based organizations, human rights, criminal justice system, legal aid, and development. Speakers were selected through the CSTF and traveled from Myanmar, Uganda, Greece, Italy, Chile, Croatia, the US, Indonesia, and Peru to appear in the Forum. At the end of the Forum was a presentation on the VNGOC “Marketplace” project. NGO statements were allowed at the end of the plenary session and during the roundtables as part of the panel discussions, with additional pre-arranged NGO interventions from the floor. These powerful statements were the highlights of UNGASS, with thought-provoking and poignant speeches on human rights, the need to stop the criminalization of subsistence farmers involved in the cultivation of crops deemed illicit, harm reduction, prevention/treatment, and the decriminalization of possession by people who use drugs. Among the most moving was a speech delivered by a human rights lawyer who had represented clients sentenced to death for drug offenses in Indonesia. During this last intervention (which had been relegated to the floor after it was discovered that there was another Indonesian national on the panel), members of civil society (and some member state delegates) showed solidarity in a quiet protest by standing silently throughout his speech. The UNGASS ended with a series of civil society speakers from the indigenous community, treatment, harm reduction, and human rights. These presentations can be viewed here. In addition, there were 46 side events which took place over the three days of UNGASS, many of which were co-organized by NYNGOC members and member states, on a wide variety of topics including human rights and gender, the question of metrics and indicators, harm reduction, leadership in tackling HIV among people who use drugs, drug treatment and prevention, need for review of the international drug control treaties, and the links between drug control and the sustainable development goals.

A number of NGO events took place outside the UN throughout the week, including music, seminars, poetry, exhibitions and others taking place at the Museum of Drug Policy, a pop-up cultural hub set up a few blocks away from the UN building sponsored by NYNGOC member Open Society Foundations, and an art installation by NYNGOC member Students for Sensible Drug Policy.

Final CSTF Report

A final comprehensive report on the regional/thematic consultations was issued in connection with UNGASS. An abbreviated version showing the many areas of consensus of global civil society, as well as the areas of disagreement, was circulated during the UNGASS meeting.

Finally, in addition to facilitating the submission of civil society statements for inclusion on the UNGASS website, the NYNGOC published its own collection of NYNGOC member statements on UNGASS.

CSTF Consultation Findings

The CSTF, in consultation with Sheila Vakharia, Ph.D, developed a web-based Consultation survey in preparation for the 2019 Ministerial Segment on drugs.

CND Ministerial Segment 2019

The MS and the 62nd CND took place March 14-22, 2019 in Vienna. More than 90 civil society organizations took part.

Civil Society Task Force

On the margins of the 61st CND the Vienna and New York NGO Committees signed the MOU establishing the new CSTF.