The 68th session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) is the most important international event in the field of drug policy, organized by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). This year, it took place from March 10 to 14, 2025, in Vienna, with experts from the COPOLAD III Program once again participating as part of the Spanish delegation. COPOLAD III actively participated, organizing and co-organizing three side events, reflecting on key topics such as the implementation of gender-equitable drug policies, the environmental impact of drugs, and updates on new psychoactive substances.
Gender Equality at the Heart of Drug Policies
📅 Date & Time: March 10, 2025, at 12:30 PM (Vienna time)
This event showcased experiences related to problematic drug use among women and the humanization of criminal justice, as well as strategies to break women’s dependence on the drug economy through alternative development.
🔹 Opening remarks by: María Sebastián de Erice García de la Peña, Ambassador of Spain to the United Nations and International Organizations in Vienna.
Speakers:
🇨🇱 CHILE – Francisca Oblitas, Head of SENDA – Health care and social inclusion for women.
🇪🇸 SPAIN – Rosa Ana Morán, Special Anti-Drug Prosecutor – Gender approach in drug trafficking and human trafficking.
🇨🇷 COSTA RICA – Juan Carlos Murillo, Coordinator of the Inter-American Association of Public Defenders – Gender approach in the criminalization of drug-related offenses.
🇩🇪 GERMANY – Sarah David, GIZ – Alternative development with a gender perspective.
🔹 Closing remarks by: Ángela María Buitrago, Minister of Justice and Law of Colombia.
🎤 Moderator: Peggy Martinello, International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP), Lead Institution of COPOLAD III.
This event, with high public participation, was organized by Spain and co-organized by Germany, Colombia, Costa Rica, the European Union, Italy, and the European Drugs Agency.
Strategies to Tackle Synthetic Drugs
📅 Date & Time: Monday, March 10, 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM
📍 Room: M007
Synthetic drugs have transformed the global drug market. The easy access to chemical precursors has enabled criminal organizations to develop fast and flexible production methods that do not require large-scale cultivation. The resulting proliferation of synthetic drugs, increasingly responsible for overdose deaths, represents a public health and security emergency that was addressed in this side event.
This event called for urgent national and international cooperation to combat the production, trafficking, and distribution of synthetic drugs, while also sharing best practices and innovative solutions to address this crisis from both supply and demand perspectives.
🔹 Opening remarks by:
- H.E. Alfredo Mantovano, Undersecretary of State, Italy
- H.E. Ghada Waly, Executive Director of UNODC
🎤 Moderator: Mr. Justice Tettey, Head of the UNODC Laboratory and Scientific Services Subdivision
Panelists:
🇨🇦 Jennifer Pelley, Director of the Office of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, Ministry of Health of Canada
🇨🇷 Col. Michael Jones, Director of CARICOM-IMPACS
🌍 Asma Fakhri, Coordinator of the UNODC Synthetic Drug Strategy
🇦🇪 Maj. Hamad Yousif Khatir Alhammadi / Lieut. Col. Humaid Abdulrahman Alshehhi, Ministry of Interior, United Arab Emirates
This side event was organized by Italy and co-organized by Canada, COPOLAD, the Pompidou Group, and UNODC.
Environment and Drug Policy: Towards a Paradigm Shift
📅 Date & Time: Monday, March 10, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
This roundtable discussion explored how evidence indicates that the cultivation, production, and trafficking of illicit drugs generate significant environmental impacts—ranging from massive deforestation in key regions like the Amazon Basin to the fragmentation of strategic ecosystems. Additionally, eradication measures, such as aerial fumigation with pesticides, have caused severe damage to biodiversity and local communities’ health.
While environmental impacts have been partially acknowledged in drug policy forums, such as the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, their integration into multilateral environmental discussions remains limited. Recognizing the effects of the drug economy on the environment, as well as the impact of some state responses, requires designing and implementing actions aimed at identifying and repairing these damages.
🔹 Opening remarks by:
- Laura Sarabia, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia
🎤 Presentation by:
- Ángela María Buitrago, Minister of Justice and Law of Colombia
Panelists:
🇩🇪 Rüdiger Bohn, Ambassador of Germany to the Permanent Mission in Vienna (10 min)
🇧🇷 Marta Machado, National Secretary for Drug Policies and Asset Management (SENAD), Ministry of Justice of Brazil (10 min)
🌍 United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Office (10 min)
🌱 Civil Society Organization – Juan Carlos Garzón, author of a COPOLAD III report on the environment and drugs (3 min)
🔹 Closing remarks
This event was organized by Colombia and sponsored by Brazil and France.
COPOLAD III’s Presence at CND 2025
The COPOLAD III Program also had a presence through Spain’s information booth, located in the Rotunda area, a space shared with other FIIAPP-led programs, such as EU-ACT and CADAP, which address organized crime and drug-related issues in regions like Africa and Central Asia.
