Washington, DC - Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs William R. Brownfield and National Drug Control Policy Director Michael Botticelli are co-leading the U.S. delegation to the 59th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) March 14-22 in Vienna, Austria.

The CND is the premier policymaking body of the international community within the United Nations system for drug issues and has member states from around the world. This CND meeting is particularly notable in that it will pave the way toward a major United Nations General Assembly Special Session on international drug policy to take place April 19-21 in New York, the first such global meeting since 1998.

The United States delegation will also include representatives of the Department of Justice, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Food and Drug Administration.

While in Vienna, Assistant Secretary Brownfield will also conduct bilateral meetings with a number of member states of the CND, deliver remarks in several multilateral engagements, and speak with the press.