Weighing up decade–long efforts, Heads of State and Ministers adopted a Draft Political Declaration and Plan of Action and agreed on further steps to reduce the threat posed by drugs to health and security. CND Chair and Ambassador of the Chairperson of the session, Deputy Prime Minister of Namibia, Libertina Amathila said, “The Declaration will be a valuable tool to spur national efforts and strengthen international cooperation.”
Setting the tone for drug control policy for the coming decade, the Political Declaration recognized that countries have a shared responsibility for solving the world drugs problem, that a “Balanced and comprehensive approach” is called for and that human rights need to be recognized. Crucially, it stressed health as the basis for international drugs policy.
In the Action Plan, Governments proposed measures to reduce the illicit supply of drugs as well as remedies for abuse and dependence and ways to control precursors and amphetamine–type stimulants. It placed emphasis on scientific evidence to support interventions; mainstreaming drug treatment and rehabilitation into national healthcare systems, and ensuring accessibility to drug demand reduction services. Governments agreed on the need for international cooperation to eradicate the illicit cultivation of drug–related crops and the importance of alternative development opportunities in areas that grow such crops.
UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa told the body that global drug control efforts had had “A dramatic unintended consequence: a criminal black market of staggering proportions.” In his report, Organized Crime and its Threat to Security, he said, “The crime and corruption associated with the drugs trade are providing strong evidence to a vocal minority of pro–drug lobbyists to argue that the cure is worse than the disease and that legalization is the solution.” But he warned that “This would be a historical mistake” because “There is no need to choose between health (drug control) and security (crime prevention)”. They are complementary and not contradictory commitments.”
UNODC and the African Union (AU) launched a joint initiative to support an African plan to fight burgeoning traffic in illicit drugs and related criminal activity on the continent over the next five years. Support for the AU Plan of Action on Drug Control and Crime Prevention (2007–12) was announced. The UN–AU project aims to strengthen the ability of the AU Commission and regional organizations, particularly the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in the areas of policy–making, norm–setting and capacity–building.
UNODC has been pushing for a pro–health agenda. During the CND, the Joint Programme on Drug Dependence Treatment and Care launched was launched with the World Health Organization, a milestone in the development of a comprehensive, integrated health–based approach to drug policy. It can help reduce demand for illicit substances, relieve suffering and decrease drug–related harm to individuals, families, communities and societies.
There were also agreements signed with Iran to reduce the vulnerability of women and Afghan refugees in Iran to drug abuse and the spread of HIV through drug use. A resolution was passed to improve forensic capability by quality certification of drug analysis laboratories and support for stronger regional counter–narcotics activities in East and West Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and another to improve data collection for evidence–based policy–making. The CND saw a high degree of consensus achieved since 1998 and impediments removed on issues such as harm reduction.
In his concluding remarks, Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of UNODC, added, “In addition to health and security, development is a crucial aspect of drug control. I applaud the decision that was taken on promoting best practices and lessons learned from positive alternative development experiences”.
The CND is the policy–setting body of UNODC in drug–control matters. Over 1,400 participants from 130 countries, international organizations and NGOs took part in the current session, which has been characterized by an open exchange of views – including in the press – and strong engagement by civil society groups. An innovation set in motion was the use of new media such as Twitter, Flickr and You Tube to bring the high–level segment to a larger global audience.
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Source: ReliefWeb
