 Thank you very much, Mr Chairman, Your Majesty, Executive Director Fedotov, President Jans, Ministers, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen. It's a great pleasure and honour for me to address this important high-level review of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs on behalf of the Secretary General Ban Ki-moon here in Vienna today. I must say it was quite refreshing, quite moving and important for us to hear the voices of the young and see the young, and by that be reminded of the responsibilities that we all must carry with us at this important meeting. I always carry with me the UN Charter, and I will always remind myself and others that the first three words of this Charter is, we the peoples, we're here to serve the peoples, and many peoples are suffering around the world, not least due to the plague that we are discussing at this very important meeting. These deliberations are a milestone on the path towards the 2016 UN General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem. And I know member states, the United Nations and civil society are hard at work preparing for this historic meeting. The CND meeting is an important part of these preparations, and I commend you for your tireless efforts and look forward to seeing the statement that you have toiled with so long, hopefully successfully. I know it is a very important guide for us for the future. The special session will be invaluable in order to focus and calibrate our response to the world drug problems. We need a comprehensive and open-minded exchange of ideas on what has worked, what has not worked in dealing with the drug scourge. In this pursuit, we must not shy away from discussing innovative ideas and perspectives, and some of them were presented here today by the forum, scientific forum and the youth forum. The United Nations, and primarily the UNODC, stand ready to play an active role in facilitating global cooperation and coordination on this crucially important issue. Distinguished delegates, illicit drugs affect all of us directly or indirectly. Many millions of men, women and children are denied productive lives, languishing in prisons, in clinics or in miserable conditions. I thank you, Majesty, Queen Sylvia, for bringing the voices of the children, the parents and the grandparents to this August hold. Drug trafficking is a multi-billion dollar business that fuels criminal networks, to an extent that we could do not quite grasp yet. The annual proceeds from illicit drugs are valued at around, and that's a low figure, US dollars 320 billion. No nation can escape the impact of these criminal networks. We all share the responsibility to search for and forge effective solutions. The illicit drug market weakens the rule of law, undermines social and economic development and erodes stability and security. In fact, it risks corrupting institutions and democratic societies. Illicit drugs and drug trafficking disproportionately hurt the poorest and the most vulnerable in our societies. Its victims are scarred by brutal violence and deny crucial opportunities for protection, as well as social and economic inclusion. We also face new dangers through the dramatic increase in new psychoactive substances that strain public health services around the world. The threat from illicit drug trafficking is so severe that the United Nations Security Council has recognized its implications on international peace and security. Several of our peacekeeping and political missions today have mandates to deal with drug trafficking and organized crime as part of establishing peace and security. The Secretary General has established UN system task force on drugs and crime, which is to develop an effective and comprehensive system-wide approach to meet these drug challenges. Distinguished delegates, the response of the UN is firmly rooted in the fundamental principles of the three international drug control conventions. The protection of the health and welfare of humankind, as well as the promotion and protection of human rights through the rule of law. Globally, however, the implementation of the international drug control conventions has been uneven and incomplete. We can all do better individually as nations and collectively through international cooperation. The three conventions are the legal basis for our work, but it is important for us to remember that member states also can take action on the basis of these conventions in order to promote public health, prevention, treatment, and economic and social progress. Furthermore, we must balance demand and supply reduction strategies. Demand is fueling insecurity and violence. Consumer countries must do much more to reduce demand, including through health-centered approaches. We should also raise public awareness of the impact of drug consumption on producer and transit countries, as well as implement effective prevention measures. On the supply side, the rampant criminality stemming from drug trafficking undermines government institutions and democratic processes from West Africa to Central Asia to the Americas and beyond. Working together, countries must adopt the UN conventions on crime and corruption that can tackle these problems at their roots and re-establish the rule of law. We must coordinate cross-border operations, improve judicial cooperation, and enhance arms regulation. We must make our law enforcement tools more effective. We must also ensure that such measures are in compliance with fundamental human rights. An integrated and balanced response to the drug problem should also consider alternatives to the penalization and incarceration of drug users. Let us remember that the serious criminals, the serious criminals, are the traffickers and the syndicates controlling them. We must confront drug production and trafficking wherever this occurs, and prevent new routes and new channels from being established. But we must also provide the most vulnerable in the chain of production and trafficking with hope and with new opportunities. And thinking of actions such as sustainable alternative livelihoods, access to education, and appropriate social welfare services. And we must never forget the public health imperative. We should be more focused on the prevention and treatment of drug use disorders, as well as its consequences, such as HIV infections. We also need to ensure equal access to controlled medicines for medical purposes, in line with human rights standards. For instance, as you all know, all human beings have an equal right to alleviation of serious pain, but that is certainly not the case. Your Majesty, Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, in closing. I know the drug issue is a difficult and controversial topic. Many of you have genuine, honest differences of view on how to address the local, the national, the regional, and the global drug problems. There are serious discussions on which methods are the most effective and the most appropriate. Searching for consensus in the international community, despite these differences, is a challenge and indeed an imperative for us all. In this pursuit, we must also include representatives of civil society in our discussions. They can promote good practices, provide a wide range of perspectives, and help raise awareness among the public and the media. I appeal to member states to continue debating the drug issues comprehensively and inclusively. I also sincerely appeal to you to work in a spirit of cooperation and share responsibility to deliver solutions for the many millions of people around the world suffering from the consequences of these problems. The UN system and I, myself personally, stand ready to assist you in these efforts over the next two years as you and we prepare for the crucial General Assembly special session in 2016. And let us never forget that in promoting health, prevention and treatment, and in confronting the criminal networks, we are not only saying no to drugs, we are also saying yes to development. We are saying yes to health. We are saying yes to human rights. We are saying yes to the rule of law. And we are saying yes to the life of dignity for all. I thank you.