Participate in the Commission on Narcotic Drugs next week!!!
The Commission on Narcotic Drugs is the body that is mandated to develop drug policy at the global level and is the governing body of UNODC. The Commission will take place next week, from 12 to 16 April 2021 and, because of the pandemic, all the sessions will be webcasted. Do join in following the discussions in plenary, it is a unique chance to understand the political landscape of our field of work. Here’s the link!
Every year, Member States, international organisations and civil society organisations develop a very very very rich programme of side events on all aspects of addressing the world drug problem. Here’s the link to the programme of events: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/commissions/CND/session/64_Session_2021/cnd-side-event-programme-2021.html. The Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has been involved in the organisation of the following events, to which you are cordially invited! Do feel free to disseminate this information as widely as possible. We are looking much forward to hopefully seeing many familiar faces in the audience this year! While it cannot substitute meeting in person, it is great to be able to offer a much wider opportunity to participate!
Please note that all events are in English, all times are ‘Central European Time’ and you need to register for each event. Don’t worry, it is a really basic registration process!
Families, prevention and treatment, displaced populations
Tuesday, 13 April 2021 13:10 – 14:00 CET
Family a key social institution for addressing substance use, violence, mental health and promote sustainable development: Lessons learned from parenting under stress, in humanitarian settings and in the context of COVID19 and beyond
Organized by Bangladesh with the support of Japan and Sweden, and the UNODC Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section and the Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs
This side event aims at encouraging Member States on capitalizing on the value of the family in addressing difficult circumstances in humanitarian settings, particularly when implementing interventions in line with UNODC/WHO International Standards. Concrete examples showcasing transferability of knowledge, effectiveness and feasibility and value of implementation in the most challenging of circumstances. A highlight on the experience of Bangladesh particularly in terms of the most recent engagement with UNODC on piloting the UNODC Family UNited and UNODC Strong Families in the Dhaka and the Cox Bazar region will be presented. Further experiences echoing and supplementing the positive experience of Bangladesh, particularly in the context of COVID-19, will be also featured.
Please register here: https://forms.office.com/r/ES0A6PL6GX
Resilience of families and communities during COVID19
Tuesday, 13 April 2021 14:10 – 15:00 CET
Promoting mental health, well-being and resilience in families and communities in the COVID-19 crisis through evidence-based drug use prevention, treatment and mental health initiatives
Organized by Japan with the support of France, Indonesia, and Jordan, and the UNODC Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section, and the World Health Organization
This side event will showcase good practices and a variety of attempts from UNODC, WHO, Member States and other relevant partners to promote mental health and well-being, as well as build resilience in individuals, families and communities, including science-based drug use prevention and treatment initiatives for people at risk of drug use and/or already affected by drug use disorders including women, children and adolescents. The Panel will further discuss way forward to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 and build back better our resilient societies in support of public health and safety.
Please register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSftCr3nBMUuB_KWu2ljUjZl7SuDH5PoUSWDZK3Nj7Yd9K0UEA/viewform
Double bill on drug treatment and care, including as alternatives
Wednesday, 14 April 2021 13:10 – 15:00 CET - Combined events on the UNODC-WHO Programme on Drug Dependence Treatment and Care with two thematic areas:
1. No one left behind: UNODC-WHO Programme on Drug Dependence Treatment and Care
Organized by the UNODC Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section with the support of Kazakhstan, Spain, Sweden and the United States of America, and the European Union, the Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs and the World Health Organization
2. Insights into Treatment and Care for People with Drug Use Disorders in Contact with the Criminal Justice System: Alternatives to Conviction or Punishment
Organized by the UNODC Justice Section with the support of Norway and Vietnam, and the African Union, the UNODC Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section, and the World Health Organization
This side event is comprised of two events back to back: The first focus of the event will be on presenting and celebrating the achievements of the joint UNODC-WHO Programme on Drug Dependence Treatment and Care. UNODC and WHO will be joint by Member States and civil society to talk about success stories in the area of expanding the coverage and improving the quality of drug treatment systems, interventions and policies based on the International Standards for the Treatment of Drug Use Disorders, which is in line with the CND resolution 59/4 “Development and dissemination of international standards for the treatment of drug use disorders”. The second part of the event will focus on highlighting UNODC and WHO’s work on Treatment and Care for People with Drug Use Disorders in Contact with the Criminal Justice System: Alternatives to Conviction or Punishment. This topic highlights the need of close collaboration between the justice and health system and its importance stems from CND resolution 58/5, “Supporting the collaboration of public health and justice authorities in pursuing alternative measures to conviction or punishment for appropriate drug related offences of a minor nature.”
Please register here: https://forms.gle/9c8q8ph2C2DXxpk37
Social and emotional learning and prevention in Slovenia
Wednesday, 14 April 2021 14:10 – 15:00 CET
Social and Emotional Learning as a Systemic Prevention Approach, not merely an Intervention
Organized by Slovenia with the support of the International Association of Lions Clubs, the Institute for Research and Development “Utrip”, and the UNODC Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section
This side events discusses how early relationships are important for physical and emotional regulation and begin with family relationships. Through parental skills programs for parents and children in kindergarten and the first two triads of primary school, children and adults can acquire and effectively use the knowledge, attitudes and skills needed to understand and manage emotions through social and emotional learning procedures. Recent findings show that social and emotional learning is of key importance in successful early prevention, and we want to strengthen such an approach in Slovenia as well. We want to more systematically develop the field of early prevention, as we have several stakeholders who are experts in this field. Therefore, the medium-term drug policy plan is to bring together stakeholder activities, design interventions that will be scientifically verified (and recognized as best practices) and provide a systemic approach to prevention at several levels of the educational, social and health system
Please register here: https://mz.webex.com/webappng/sites/mz/meeting/download/33c77e0dc3b44982b90ef8d23c05a454?siteurl=mz&MTID=mf36f7329b0d1f56318dddd3b074b077b
Access to controlled medicines for management of pain
Thursday, 15 April 2021 13:10 – 14:00 CET
Access to Controlled Medicines During COVID-19: meeting the needs of patients around the world
Organized by Belgium with the support of Australia, Canada, El Salvador, France, Lithuania, the Russian Federation, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, and the UNODC Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section, the International Association of Hospice and Palliative Care, the International Narcotics Control Board, the Union for Cancer Control, the Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs and the World Health Organization
This side event will highlight the complex issues that must be addressed as we move forward in an effort to ensure that all persons have access to quality healthcare services that include controlled drugs for medical purposes, even in the most challenging conditions such as the current global pandemic. Speakers will highlight the importance of capacity building of health staff around the world and the urgent need to raise the awareness of patients and the general public about the issue of access to controlled medicines. Lessons learned will discussed both from the challenge of the global pandemic and from past work in the field.
Please register here: https://forms.gle/PyXXdME6xpCbQSn76
Sports and prevention
Thursday, 15 April 2021 14:10 – 15:00 CET
Contribution of sport and sport-based interventions to substance use prevention- reviewing the evidence and promising practices
Organized by the UNODC Global Programme for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration with the support of the Dominican Republic, and the UNODC Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section
Building on the UNODC Global Initiative on Youth Crime Prevention through Sport and the Line Up Live Up programme, the UNODC/WHO International Standards on Drug Use Prevention, and relevant research on sport’s contribution to healthy youth development, wellbeing, life skills and learning, the event aims to discuss the evidence on sport as a tool for substance use prevention and present promising practices.
Please register here: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=2zWeD09UYE-9zF6kFubccMhyvsQzD5VEom7pdyHwj9tUREU4QVBJVFIySDc2RzVWRzhYV1ROOUJDOC4u
Social and emotional learning and prevention during COVID19
Thursday, 15 April 2021 14:10 – 15:00 CET
Social and Emotional Learning for prevention of drug use, violence and mental health: Needs and lessons learned in the context of COVID19 and its aftermath
Organized by the Lions Club International Foundation, and the UNODC Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section
Lions Quest Skills for Adolescence is an evidence based Social and Emotional Learning tool that is implemented through trained teachers in schools that has been very effective in preventing substance use, promoting positive mental health as well as reducing violence and promoting positive school environments linked to better educational attainment and attachment. Currently entering its seventh year, the partnership between UNODC and the Lions Clubs International Foundation has allowed for the expansion of the Lions Quest Skills for Adolescence (LQSFA) program into dozens of schools in South East Europe, Latin America, and West Africa, benefiting thousands of middle-school students. The COVID-19 pandemic carried a direct effect on the stress and mental health linked to the virus itself, this was further compounded by the social preventive policies surrounding the pandemic (including school closure and distance education, physical distancing measures, working from home and more). With the socio-economic impact, among other outcomes, further compounding the vulnerabilities anticipated post COVID-19, the aftermath of this pandemic further stresses the eminence of articulation such Social and Emotional Skills amongst youth to prevent a large spectrum of negative social and health outcomes. This side event will discuss lessons learned during the pandemic on the potential of application of such programmes despite impediments as well as the potential and needs linked to such interventions.
Please register here: https://forms.office.com/r/zkWFzgb1sB