UNODC–EMCDDA cooperation
Since the establishment of the EMCDDA, particular emphasis has been placed on its relations with the UNODC. The EMCDDA participates as an observer on the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), and the UNODC participates in turn as an observer on the Centre's Management Board.
On 13 March 1998 in Vienna, the EMCDDA and the UNODC (former UNDCP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding formally establishing cooperation between the two organisations. This Memorandum represents a major step forward in national, European and international efforts to combat the global drug problem. Cooperation between the two organisations is based on the principles of appropriateness, reciprocity and work-sharing entrenched in complementarity. The Memorandum unites the EMCDDA and the UNODC in:
- improving the collection and analysis of data
- developing and promoting data-comparison methods; and
- enhancing the dissemination of information.
The Memorandum of Understanding was supplemented by two practical joint work programmes signed in 2000 and 2007. The latter work programme enhances cooperation in: epidemiology; demand reduction; supply reduction; legal information systems; and new drug trends, synthetic drugs and amphetamine-type stimulants.
In 2007, a first product was co-published by UNODC–EMCDDA. The toolkit entitled 'Guidance for the measurement of drug treatment demand', is designed to help countries compile comparable data on the demand for treatment for drug problems. It is targeted at drug treatment experts and practitioners throughout the world and is the eighth toolkit module of UNODC’s Global Assessment Programme on Drug Abuse.
In 2007 and 2008, the EMCDDA was involved in the review of the UNGASS declaration — not only as a supplier of information but also as an adviser on methodological issues. More recently, the EMCDDA has taken an active part in the revision process of the UNODC data collection tools as requested by the countries at the 52nd CND session.
