Bangladesh has been elected a member of the United Nations Commission on Narcotics (CND) for the next three years. The new council of CND, an affiliate of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), will take office in January 2022.

The election was held on Tuesday (April 20) local time by a direct vote of the member states at the management meeting of the ECOSCO at the UN headquarters in New York.

In addition to Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Iran were elected members of the organization's executive council from the Asia-Pacific region.

After winning the election, Bangladesh's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Rabab Fatima, said the CND election was very competitive. Bangladesh got the second highest 43 votes. This victory is a manifestation of the international community's confidence in Bangladesh's leadership in the multilateral forum.

“We are particularly concerned about the growing illicit use of drugs and narcotics by the younger generation, which needs to be addressed from a corrective perspective,” the ambassador said. As members of the Commission, we will make every effort to strengthen international cooperation in tackling the challenge of drug abuse.

The United Nations Commission on Narcotics (CND) is a 53-member body. The Commission reviews and analyzes the global drug situation, considers supply and demand declines, and takes steps to address these issues through resolution and decision-making. It is headquartered in Vienna.

Elections to the Executive Boards of UNICEF and UN Women were also held at the Ecosak Management Meeting. Bangladesh was re-elected as a member of both boards. The two new boards will start functioning from January 2022.

Note that Bangladesh is still serving as a member of the two boards. The Executive Board is the main board of directors of these two important UN bodies.

Sunbd/NJ