T
COMMISSION ON NARCOTIC DRUGS
25th SESSION
REPORT BY UNITED KINGDOM REPRESENTATIVE
INTRODUCTION
1 The 25th Session of the ercolies Commission was held in Geneva from Monday 22 January to Friday 9 February 1973. The United Kingion was represented by Mr CJ Train (Home Office) ai, as alternates, by ir AJ Hawkes (UK Permanent Mission in Geneva) and by Mr R Kendall (Home Office), who attended from Monday 29 to Wednesday 31 January. This was the first regular session at which the membership of the Commission led been inercased from 24 to 30 nations. Besides the 30 Commission members 36 other countries sent observers. These countries included in particular Afghanistan, Burma, Nepel and the People's Republic of China.
THE SECRETARIAT
2 The new Director of the Narcotics Division, Dr Sten Martens, was attending his first meeting of the Commission in his new role (he had represented Sweden before). Despite a somewhat diffident start and a rather too academic attitude towards the function of the Division he acquitted himself well. The work of the Commission was facilitated by a new and most efficient secretary, Dr Bayer, who, I was informed, was a complete (and successful) change from the previous incumbent of this office.
THE BUREAU
3 The Bureau was composed of Mr Ingersoll (USA) (Chairman), Mr Kirca (Turkey) (First Vice Chairman), Dr Boles (Hungary) (Second Vice Chairman) and Mr Castro y Castro (Mexico) (Rapporteur). It was agreed by the smell group of senior delegates vho met, at Dr Marten's invitation, before the Commission opened that it was desirable to introduce a representative of Latin America into the Bureau and as the South American countries could produce only very inexperienced candidates Ambassador Castro y Castro of Mexico was the obvious choice. He proved to be on the whole a competent rapporteur. The final report was clumsily drafted in places and the English of the opening sections which were circulated was particularly defective, but overall it was balanced and accurate, and the Secretariat was willing to accept manuscript drafting amendments of the English without need for debate.
STEERING COMMITTEE
The Chairman appointed a Steering Committee, comprising the Bureau, past chairmen of the Commission (Mr Berschinger (Switzerland), Mr Johnson-Romuald (Togo), Mr Nicolic (Yugoslavia) and Mr Vaille (France)), the United States senior delegate, Mr Harvey Wellman, and, for "balance of official languages", Dr Bebaian (USSR) and Mr Train (United Kingdom). The Steering Committee met on four occasions, at the beginning of each week to agree on allocation of work for that week and on Tuesday of the last week to consider whether to allot time to a discussion of the Secretary General's statement on the new organisation of the Fund (see paragraph 16).
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
5 The meeting as a whole was successful. The agenda was completed comfortably without any need for late night sessions; and elevan resolutions were passed without any very marked division appearing in the Commission. The main themes of the Commission's work which emerged over the three weeks were illicit traffic, periodicity of meetings, and the operation of the Fund. The last of these matters was brought into focus and prominence by the statement made on behalf of the
CONFIDENTIAL
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