A special commemorative vent of the 63rd session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs was held on Friday, 26 June 2020 in Vienna to mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of the signing of the UN Charter and the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

This special event was held online via Microsoft Teams, with just a handful of people in the Vienna International Centre itself. The event was split into three parts. The documents and interventions can be accessed here.

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the signing of the UN Charta the Executive Director of UNODC opens the even and the Austrian Federal Minister for European and International Affairs spoke for the Host Country.

On the occasion of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking the World Drug Report 2020 was launched, followed by a discussion on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world drug situation.

We can only overcome this pandemic and its impact on drugs if we leave no-one behind and focus on human rights, on addressing the inequalities that exist throughout modern society, and on collaborations with NGOs.

VNGOC Statement, 26th June 2020, delivered by Jamie Bridge

The VNGOC were represented on the panel during the discussion on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world drug situation by our Chair Jamie Bridge, and selected four other NGO participants through the usual open call and process. Unfortunately, due to time, only one of our additional speakers was able to present at the end of the segment, launching the World Drug Report (Dr. Abidan Chansa, International Association of Hospice and Palliative Care). The other participants were invited to upload their statements to the event website instead.

Civil Society Participants:

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