Thank you, President, Distinguished delegates,
First of all, I would like to convey my congratulations on behalf of the Sovereign Order of Malta on your election as chair of the 67th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. We look forward to a valuable and productive meeting, working together under your able leadership. We also continue to look to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime to play a critical role in leveraging international support for counternarcotics issues.
The Sovereign Order of Malta is with more than 950 years of existence the oldest humanitarian entity worldwide, with diplomatic relations with over 113 States and Permanent Observer status at the United Nations and other International Organizations. The Order has a specific vocation in the protection of health and assistance to the most vulnerable and poor people affected by disease and suffering.
Therefore, the Sovereign Order of Malta has been proud to support UNODC where it counts most, ostensibly, among the most vulnerable.
The Mission of Order of Malta was in recent past in a position to also support financially the UNODC Youth Initiative and the annual Youth Forum, which are promoting young people worldwide not to be only a target of drug prevention initiatives, but protagonists of prevention and health education.
The awareness of drugs affecting several social phenomena at global but also national, regional, and local level is not new, and it has caused the international community to adopt legal regulations in order to establish the worldwide drug control system. The Order of Malta shares the belief that respecting human rights along with reaching the goals of public health protection programs is one of the key aspects of drug policy. This belief results from a simple conclusion that drug users and abusers are equal members of society.
Above all we must move human rights into the mainstream of drug control. Around the world millions of people (inclusive children) caught taking drugs are sent to jail, not to treatment. It is then justifiable to conclude that infringing or failing to respect human rights yields negative health consequences for both psychoactive substances users and the community where these people live and function.
The Order wants to express appreciation to the health-oriented approach adopted by UNODC in the application of the international treaties and, in particular, for the work of drug demand reduction, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation targeting children and adolescent at risk. Finally, through its engagement in strengthening of multilateralism, the Order of Malta aims at consolidating the protection of the human rights of all and promoting human dignity in every just effort to tackle the world drug problem also from humanitarian perspective.
In conclusion, the Sovereign Order of Malta is pledging full support and active participation in addressing the problem of substance abuse from a humanitarian perspective, commending, and supporting the work of the UNODC Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section in this respect. Further, we call on Member States to join forces to support its work, both regarding youth participation and to evidence-based prevention of drug use and in this regard proactively promote a society free of illicit drugs.
