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Statement by H.E. Ambassador Regina Maria Cordeiro Dunlop,
Deputy Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations

Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly to consider the results of the High-Level Segment of the
Fifty-Second Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (agenda item 105)

5 November 2009

Mr. President,


I thank the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) for its report on the outcome of the High-Level Segment of its Fifty-Second Session. We also appreciate the continued efforts of the Secretary-General, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and other related bodies of the Organization to tackle the world drug problem. 

At the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS) in 1998, we committed ourselves to “a drug free world”. Our delegations agreed on a Political Declaration, which was a valuable tool to advance national efforts, strengthen international cooperation and look at our shared responsibility to deal with this issue.

Last March in Vienna the High-Level Segment of the Fifty-Second Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs adopted a new Political Declaration and Plan of Action on International Cooperation towards an integrated and balanced strategy to counter the world drug problem. 

Brazil welcomes the adoption of these documents. They establish future priorities and suggest urgent actions based on effective and increased international cooperation. Moreover, they take on an integrated and balanced approach vis-à-vis supply and demand reduction strategies. 

Mr. President,

I would like to seize this opportunity to reaffirm Brazil's commitment to the struggle against the drug problem. Important progress has been achieved in Brazil during the past few years.

Since 2003, under President Lula’s leadership, we have updated our policy´s principles, taking into consideration the most recent scientific studies on the matter and our social, political and economic environment. As a result of an open consultation process, Brazil enacted its National Drug Policy in 2005. Similar to the new Political Declaration adopted last March in Vienna, our Drug Policy takes a broad and balanced approach to the drug problem, integrating aspects related to public health and human rights based on our Constitution of 1988. 

The new Brazilian Drug Law enacted in 2006 also followed the same path. It put in place the National System of Public Policies on Drugs. In an innovative way, it established a legal difference between traffickers and drug users and also included the financing of drug trafficking as a serious crime, with a view to depriving criminal organizations of funds. 

Through the combination of efforts towards supply and demand reduction, we are encouraged by the fact that the traditional polarization that opposed the prohibition and legalization models could be overcome. 

In Brazil, intensified border monitoring, substance control, eradication of illicit cultivations, fight against money laundering and drug trafficking are only some of our efforts towards drug supply reduction. 

All these efforts, however, have been matched with consistent demand reduction actions. With the support of the scientific community, we are planning initiatives based on the study and diagnosis of the patterns of drug consumption. 

Mr. President,

I would also like to congratulate UNODC on its 2009 World Drug Report. According to its surveys, illicit drugs continue to pose a health danger to many countries in the world. In this context, we firmly support the new Political Declaration in its pledge to establish more controls on criminal activities while at the same time promoting the rights of drug users to better health. 

International cooperation in drug control began one hundred years ago when the International Opium Commission met in Shanghai in 1909. Attended by 13 countries, the Shanghai Conference led to the signing of the first international convention to attempt the control of a narcotic in 1912. Since then, Brazil has firmly supported all efforts to address this issue in the international arena.

Despite all the progress achieved since Shanghai, in order to solve the world drug problem, we need to redouble our national efforts and also to recommit to increased cooperation at the regional and international levels.

Brazil will continue to do its part, working with all Member States and the United Nations system in order to further our common goals. On a bilateral basis, we will also continue to strengthen our dialogue and cooperation with many countries, in particular with our South-American neighbours, to address this important issue. 

Thank you.