Chair: I hand over to Russia to present the text:

Russia: Russia introduces this draft resolution during consultation on 11th of March, we hope this adoption will help contribute to the addressing the world drug program. (sic). A number of delegations, including China, Singapore, and Turkey, introduced into the heading the word “illicit”, and “precursors”, this was proposed by Turkey. The delegation of Iran proposed replacing “drug related money laundering” with “drug related crimes”. South Africa expressed concern at the title and we’d welcome comment.

European Union: Sorry to have to repeat, but to be consistent, but under the present circumstances (unprovoked/unjustified invasion of Ukraine), we cannot proceed as usual. In particular, we cannot trust Russia will continue in good faith. We cannot, and will not, contribute further to the adoption of the resolution; and respectfully request Russia withdraw their resolution. We place a reservation on the entirety of the text, to withdraw.

Chair: We give the floor to Canada and Australia.

Canada: We (condemn) the reckless disregard of the sovereignty of Ukraine by Russia. There can be no business as usual considering the events of the last few weeks. We aim to proceed in good faith; recent events show that Russia does not intend to continue in good faith, and acts … in a way which disregards international law. These environments allow (sic) crime to thrive. We call on Russia to withdraw the entirety of the text.

Australia: We condemn in the strongest terms Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Australia calls on Russia to withdraw its troops and end the invasion. In order for us to contribute to the resolution, we need to be sure actors are contributing in good faith. In these circumstances, we find it inappropriate to consider a resolution proposed by Russia. We put a reservation on the entirely of the text, and will not contribute.

Chair: Any further speakers?

USA: We want to associate the US with the statements of Canada, Australia, and similar statements. We believe there is no path forward to working together on this text. There is no agreement on the entirety of this text and we as well will not engage in substantive negotiations.

Chair: Thank you; Switzerland?

Switzerland: Our position on the matter of Ukraine is known, we won’t repeat it here, but we call on all parties to respect int’l humanitarian law, in particular civilians/non-combatants, and respect rules of warfare. We call on all parties to respect the spirit of Vienna, and as we understand, there is no consensus on the resolution and call on Russia to postpone their resolution. We call on all again to respect the spirit of Vienna!

United Kingdom: We have been clear from onset; actions speak louder than wars. We (also) call for the resolution to be withdrawn due to the ongoing violation of int’l law and human rights…especially considering the work we do here in Vienna. The good faith required for this process is missing. Please add UK’s name among reservations for the entire text.

Norway: We call on the Russian Federation to withdraw the resolution, and please add our name to the reservation list.

New Zealand: The use of force is a violation of int’l law. Russia’s actions affect our ability to contribute in this process. We therefore reiterate that we cannot operate as business as usual. We also call for the repeal of the resolution and add NZ to the list of names of countries calling for reservation of the entire text.

Russia: We will try to respond to the statements that were just made. Firstly would like to state that the CND as a functional committee is supposed to play the role as an unpolitical platform, to complete its duties in (ECOSOC 1946, 1991, and 3 universal drugs conventions). Since the matters raised go beyond the mandate, the introduction of these (concerns) undermine the efforts of our work here. Member states face a great challenge to address (this issue), including addressing payment systems, etc., to tackle drug crime, are mentioned unanimously by all states and reports by UNODC/INCB. Consequently, Russia submitted this resolution to tackle this objective, but we see this initiative is being blocked by political reasons. Chair, we view this type of obstruction sets a dangerous precedent which could be used in the future by other states. We regret that these attempts undermine the use of this commission, and the will of these states to develop (strategies) on an equitable basis. Also, some states are ignoring positions of other states, including those who contributed to the language of the resolution; their work is being blocked too. This blocking is a threat to the Vienna spirit as a whole.

Chair: Nobody else to speak. Japan? I see no other option. We have to send the full text back to Russia. We will then move on to L4.