Malta on behalf of the EU: It is an honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States. The following countries align themselves with this statement: The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Iceland, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Georgia and Norway.

The EU and its Member States are absolutely determined to secure the progress achieved since the 2009 Political Declaration and Plan of Action, and the 2014 joint Ministerial Statement, by ensuring the broad implementation of the UNGASS 2016 outcome document operational recommendations over the coming years and, if possible, to seek further progress beyond the UNGASS consensus on key areas.

The EU and its Member States reiterate their full support to the Commission of Narcotic Drugs as the main policy body within the United Nations for matters related to drugs.

In order, consequently, for the CND to be able to conduct the mandate conferred by the UNGASS agreement, it is essential that it is able to promote and monitor on the basis of evidence for the broad implementation of the operational recommendations agreed upon at the UNGASS 2016 and advocate for the development of mechanisms to gather the relevant data to keep track of the progress achieved.

The CND will also need to promote the UNGASS 2016 outcome document as a pivotal reference document for discussions of relevance to international drug policy in all pertinent fora and as the main policy framework.

In addition, the CND will also need to further embed the seven thematic chapters that were introduced into the 2016 UNGASS outcome document in our joint efforts to address drug harms, as well as ensure that any new political commitment reinforces and represents progress as compared to the present UNGASS commitments.

It is also desirable that in the coming years, the CND is ably assisted by, and work in close cooperation with the competent UN entities, intergovernmental and regional organizations, scientific community and civil society which may contribute to the implementation of the relevant operational recommendations as outlined in the UNGASS 2016 outcome document, which aims to be all inclusive: this implies as broad a participation as broad as possible.

The EU and its Member States are fully cognisant of the added burden of responsibility that has been embraced by the CND as a result of the relevant operational recommendations that need to be implemented and which, in turn, require the adequate human and financial resources for it to reach the required goals. Nevertheless, we should ensure that cost efficiency is a top priority in this work. We call for a cost-efficient and transparent process in this regard, which shall take place subject to the availability of budgetary resources of the UNODC.

The EU and its Member States support the further strengthening, when and if appropriate, of the link with the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development, including its timeline on reporting, the linking of the UNGASS 2016 outcome document and its recommendations and drug related challenges to the Sustainable Development Goals and promoting, if and when a new political commitment is placed on the agenda, its alignment with the 2020/2030 timeframe.

Finally, it is advisable that a high level segment is inserted into the sixty-second session of the CND in 2019, if one is to ascertain the progress achieved by then and the way forward for the years to come. Thank you

China: We ask you to consider the 2009 Political Plan of Action in 2019. We do not stand for the opening of a new round of discussion on documents. Constitutes a consensus on the world drug problem and should be implemented. Also promote the implementation of the UNGASS document. Therefore it is the common responsibility of states to implement the UNGASS document. China believes the high level meeting in 2019 should consider the 2009 Plan of Action, and promote the 2030 agenda.

United States: We support the proposal of the meeting in 2019 to follow the 2016 session and 2009 session. It is not productive or efficient to hold another UNGASS in 2019. It is the opinion of my government that the meeting should follow on from 2016 and implement the goals of the UNGASS outcome document. The US will support the implementation of L9.

Colombia: I wish to make a statement on Resolution L9: on behalf of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ghana, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Switzerland, Tanzania and Uruguay, we congratulate the CND Chair for her leadership in the negotiation of this resolution, which sets out the basis for our joint work towards the 62nd session of the CND. We would like to stress that the outcome document of the UNGASS introduces substantial changes in the way in which we tackle the world drug problem and that it prevails as the most recent high-level consensus, setting the tone for the deliberations towards 2019 and beyond. We ask that this declaration be included in the final report.