International Narcotics Control Board President, Prof. Sevil Atasoy, highlights INCB’s impact on international cooperation in drug control to Economic and Social Council

UNIS/NAR/1505
12 June 2026

International Narcotics Control Board President, Prof. Sevil Atasoy, highlights INCB's impact on international cooperation in drug control to Economic and Social Council

VIENNA, 12 June (UN Information Service) - The President of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), Professor Sevil Atasoy, presented the Board's 2025 reports to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on Wednesday at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The INCB Annual Report reviews the functioning of the international drug control system and highlights developments in drug control and includes a thematic chapter on international cooperation through the framework of the three drug control conventions. The INCB President highlighted the global system of estimates and assessments for narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances as a success story of international cooperation, illustrated by the very low level of diversion of licitly produced controlled substances.

However, global progress in improving the availability of these substances for medical and scientific substances was yet to be reflected in data reported by Member States to INCB. Morphine is one of the most affordable opioids for pain treatment and palliative care yet 86 per cent of global consumption is concentrated in Europe and North America. Eighty-two per cent of the world population, mainly in low- and middle-income countries, consumed only 14 per cent of the morphine used globally for pain management in 2024. Similarly, there are still substantial regional disparities in the consumption of psychotropic substances used in the treatment of neurological and mental health disorders.

"Improving availability, including during humanitarian emergencies, requires an integrated approach that also addresses affordability. The INCB Learning programme helps Governments to implement the drug control conventions with the aim of improving availability for medical purposes," emphasized the INCB President.

Prof. Atasoy highlighted how the INCB precursor control and Global Rapid Interdiction of Dangerous Substances (GRIDS) programmes are supporting Governments in preventing illicit drug manufacture and trafficking in highly potent synthetic drugs, such as fentanyls and nitazenes, through training and technological tools. As of 2025, over 125,000 intelligence pieces involving over 3 million trafficking signals had been exchanged in real time through the INCB IONICS tools. In March 2025, use of the INCB PEN Online platform prevented the diversion of three tons of 1-boc-4-piperidone, a fentanyl precursor which could have been used to manufacture up to 1.6 billion potentially fatal doses of fentanyl. The 2025 Precursors Report provides an update of the world precursor situation and action taken to implement articles 12 and 13 of the 1988 Convention on precursor chemicals, materials and equipment used in illicit drug manufacture.

Both Reports set out recommendations for a balanced approach to international drug control. President Atasoy stressed that, "while the conventions provide flexibility in the choice of measures, national systems must ensure that the use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances is limited exclusively to medical and scientific purposes, and that implementation measures take into consideration the principle of proportionality, the rule of law and human rights." In closing, Prof. Atasoy noted that INCB's activities aimed at safeguarding public health and welfare depend upon the active participation and support of Member States, including sustainable financial resources.

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INCB is the independent, quasi-judicial body charged with promoting and monitoring Government compliance with the three international drug control conventions: the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. Established by the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, the thirteen members of the Board are elected in a personal capacity by the Economic and Social Council for terms of five years.

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For further information, please contact:

INCB Secretariat
Tel.: (+43-1) 26060-4163
Email: incb.secretariat[at]un.org
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