SUU, Alm.del - 2008-09 - Endeligt svar på spørgsmål 436: Spm. om at fremsende talepapir og anden relevant information om det danske bidrag ved "The 52nd session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs" i Wien den 11. og 12. marts 2009, til ministeren for sundhed og forebyggelse

Thank you, Madam Chairperson.First I would like to congratulate you and your colleagues on your election andassure you of my delegation’s full support during the deliberations of this High-Level Segment of the fifty-second Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs.I refer to the statement of the Czech Republic on behalf of the European Union – astatement which my delegation of course fully supports.Progress has been made since the General Assembly in 1998 decided to addressthe world drug problem by adopting the Political Declaration, the Declaration on theGuiding Principles of Drug Demand Reduction and the Measures to EnhanceInternational Co-operation to Counter the World Drug Problem.However, the drug problem continues to pose a serious threat to the individual drugabuser and to the society as a whole.On this background, the Danish delegation welcomes this opportunity for theMember States of the United Nations to reaffirm the documents adopted by theGeneral Assembly in 1998 as well as the Joint Statement adopted at the MinisterialSegment of the forty-sixth Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in 2003.The Danish delegation also welcomes the strong commitment reflected in the draftPolitical Declaration and Plan of Action before this Commission.Madam Chairperson, please allow me to dwell on one particular aspect which hasattracted much attention in the preparations for this High-Level Segment. I amtalking about the aspect of harm reduction as part of a comprehensive drug policy.

Some Member States are sceptical about the concept of harm reduction. Denmarkdoes not share this scepticism about the concept as such. And according to theDanish Government’s Action Plan on Drugs, harm reduction is and should continueto be an integrated aspect of the drug policy.Harm reduction measures may – in the light of an uncompromising fight againstdrugs – appear paradoxical. But nevertheless, some of these measures areconsidered pragmatic and reasonable.However, other harm reduction measures are considerably more far-reaching in aqualitative sense and they do give rise to the very basic question of whether thereshould be any limits to harm reduction measures.Madam Chairperson, we certainly need such limits if we do not want to contradictthe very core of the drug policy: To counteract all non-medical and non-scientificuse of drugs. And the limits as they are defined in the provisions of the internationaldrug control treaties are in our view adequate.The treaty provisions are wide enough to adopt and implement a comprehensivedrug policy which is able to meet the present and future challenges. In other words;within these limits, it is possible both to improve existing harm reduction measuresand to develop new ones with the aim of helping some of the most marginalizedindividuals in our societies.To conclude, the Danish Government does not hesitate to integrate the concept ofharm reduction in our national drug policy. But no harm reduction measure will beintroduced without a test of its compliance with the very core of the drug policy asdefined in the international drug control treaties. Any measure which fails this testwill be rejected by the Danish Government.Thank you, Madam Chairperson.