PREVENTIVE EDUCATION AGAINST DRUG ABUSE EMPHASIZED BY DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF UNESCO IN HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

25 June 1996

Press Release
ECOSOC/5645*

PREVENTIVE EDUCATION AGAINST DRUG ABUSE EMPHASIZED BY DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF UNESCO IN HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

19960625 Drug abuse among young people was accelerating worldwide, the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) told the Economic and Social Council this afternoon, as it continued its high-level discussion of international cooperation against illicit drugs.

Federico Mayor said that UNESCO had been working in the field of preventive education in the belief that fostering positive values and warning against drug abuse should be an integral part of every child's education.

Also addressing the Council, the Minister for Social Affairs of Norway, Hill-Marta Solberg, said that now that the traditional distinction between producer and consumer countries had been wiped away, the international community should concentrate on reducing poverty and contributing to social development. Her Government had been pleased to see the importance of combating drug abuse and illicit trafficking reflected in the final documents of the Copenhagen World Summit for Social Development.

Stating that numerous peasants currently grew narcotic plants out of economic necessity, the representative of the European Commission, speaking on behalf of the European Community, said they had to be induced to abandon illicit cultivation. He suggested that increased preferential access to external markets should be provided to them.

There was a fine balance between repressing crime and maintaining human and civil rights, the representative of South Africa said. In order to achieve that balance, his country would need the advice of other democratic countries as it had increasingly emerged as a transit point for illicit drugs and money laundering.

__________ * In Press Releases ECOSOC/5642, 5643 and 5644, issued on 24 and 25 June, the reference to the Council's current session on the second line at the top left of the first page should read Substantive Session and not "Organizational Session for 1996".

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The representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said that his agency's initiatives in drug control had expanded in line with available resources. The UNDP now supported drug-related activities in all five regions in which it was operating.

The representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said both drug-related and population issues dealt with empowering individuals. Emphasizing that empowerment was instrumental in enabling women to resist the temptation of drug abuse, she said drugs and poor reproductive health were closely related. Stressing the need for collaboration between the United Nations International Drug Control Programme and the UNFPA, she said efforts were under way to integrate drug prevention components into the Fund's programmes.

Statements were also made by the representatives of Poland, Bulgaria, Russian Federation, India, Portugal, China, Paraguay, Spain, Japan, Ghana, Jamaica, Peru, Netherlands and Uruguay.

The Council will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow to continue the high- level segment of its 1996 substantive session.

Council Work Programme

The Economic and Social Council met this afternoon to continue its high- level segment, which is discussing international cooperation against the illicit production, sale, demand, traffic and distribution of narcotics and psychotropic substances and related activities. (For a summary of the Secretary-General's report on that theme, see Press Release ECOSOC/5644, issued today.)

Statements

ZBIGNIEW M. WLOSOWICZ (Poland) said that highly skilled organizations, linked to international crime, were using new technologies to carry out their operations in Poland. The international community should develop a common legal framework, integrating the national legislation of all States. In order for law to play its preventive role, it was indispensable that money laundering be recognized as a criminal act.

The reduction of both supply and demand of illicit drugs were mutually reinforcing elements of a multidimensional strategy, he said. Preventing drug abuse should be included into each country's overall economic and social planning and should be closely linked with social development policies. Combating illicit traffic and drug abuse called for an approach that involved the widest possible range of social actors, including non-governmental organizations, professional and commercial institutions, universities, schools, associations and representatives of the media.

ANGEL VINAS, representative of the European Commission, speaking on behalf of the European Community, said the fight against the demand for drugs must be conducted at the national and local level and must be all- encompassing, covering plant-based narcotic, synthetic and psychotropic drugs. Since 1987, the European Community had committed over $140 million to combating illicit drugs through international and bilateral efforts. Sixty per cent of those funds had been committed to fighting against demand and another 30 per cent to the fight against drug production.

Numerous peasants currently grew narcotic plants out of economic necessity, he said. They had to be induced to abandon illicit cultivation. Additionally, it had to be ensured that rural populations participated in decision-making matters concerning their livelihood. Increased preferential markets access to external markets must be provided. The European Community had granted special duty-free market access benefits to Central American countries for several agricultural and fishery products. The Community had contributed an additional 10 per cent of its funds for direct support in the preparation of national drug-control master plans and for assisting third countries in capacity-building.

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FEDERICO MAYOR, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said that drug abuse among young people was accelerating worldwide. The international community could fund hundreds of millions of anti-personnel mines, but it could not find funds to treat drug addiction.

There were many excellent examples of commitment to reduce the supply of drugs, he said. The UNESCO had been working in the field of preventive education in the belief that fostering positive values and warnings of the dangers of drug abuse must be an integral part of every child's education.

Too many countries allowed money laundering, he said. Stopping that practice was essential to the war against drug addiction. "I am a brain biochemist. Those who traffic with drugs, kill. Those who promoted money laundering, kill. How many lives have been the toll of this intolerable trade of our times?"

JOE MATTHEWS (South Africa) said his country's emergence from isolation was a mixed blessing. South Africa had increasingly emerged as a transit point for drugs from various parts of the world. The consumption of mandrix and cannabis was expanding in the country. South Africa was closely working with its neighbours to combat the onslaught of drugs. The country had also become vulnerable to global money laundering. Due to lack of existence of legal mechanisms, it was difficult to know the extent of money laundering even as the country's sophisticated financial institutions became a source of those operations. Therefore, a government committee had been created to draw up a crime-prevention strategy.

South Africa's culture was against excessive police intervention, he said. There was a fine balance between repressing crime and maintaining human and civil rights. To achieve that balance, the country would need the advice of other democratic countries. It would need the assistance of the international community in training officials to fight crime. Tomorrow, South Africa's Parliament would be considering and would adopt legislation on money laundering, he announced.

IRINA BOKOVA (Bulgaria) said her country was confronted with ever- growing problems due to its location on the so-called Balkan route of illicit trafficking. In addition to international cooperation, regional and subregional cooperation was required in combating illicit drugs. Demand reduction could be brought about through public awareness and preparedness, including training of teachers on primary intervention in schools and work with children at risk, including street children.

The creation of a common national information system for monitoring and control on precursors and chemicals remained one of the areas where international technical assistance was needed, she said. The United Nations

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system needed to improve its operational interaction with relevant intergovernmental organizations such as the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe.

HILL-MARTA SOLBERG, Minister for Social Affairs of Norway, said that now that the traditional distinction between producer and consumer countries had been wiped away, the international community should concentrate on reducing poverty and contributing to social development. Norway was content that the importance of combating drug abuse and illicit trafficking was reflected in both the Declaration and the Plan of Action adopted by the Copenhagen World Summit for Social Development.

The three United Nations drug control conventions had provided a solid framework for government action and international cooperation, she continued. The Organization's system-wide plan of action would be a key element towards future progress in the fight against illicit drugs at the international level. There was no reason for governments to be resigned to the problem of drug abuse. Norway rejected all proposals aimed at liberalizing the non-medical use of drugs. Such a move could only lead to an expansion of demand.

RAFEEUDDIN AHMED, Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said the Programme's initiatives in drug-abuse control had continued to grow in line with the available resources. The introduction in 1992 of a special programme resources line of $3.5 million for drug-abuse prevention and control during the fifth programming cycle had enabled the UNDP to support a range of drug-related activities in all five regions, and to better integrate drug-control issues into sustainable human development activities, particularly at the national level. The UNDP resident representatives were making serious efforts to coordinate and harmonize drug- related activities within the overall national development agenda.

At the subregional and regional levels, the UNDP had, on its own, as well as in partnership with the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), launched a number of innovative activities which sought to place the issue of illicit drugs within the wider context of sustainable human development, he said. Together with the UNDCP, it had recently launched a subregional initiative with the participation of the governments of Cambodia, China, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Thailand and Viet Nam, which focused on demand-reduction strategies within the context of social development.

In the Latin American and Caribbean region, the UNDP had initiated a project to assess the macroeconomic impact of drugs in Bolivia, Colombia and Peru, he said. In the Arab region, it had been involved in a research project on relevant aspects of health, gender and drug-abuse control. Lessons learned to date from UNDP's involvement in the issues of illicit drugs included the conclusion that cross-sectoral, integrated programmes with people-centred

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participatory approaches were an effective way to promote an inter-agency collaborative approach to addressing the problem.

SERGEY LAVROV (Russian Federation) said international cooperation in the control of illicit traffic in precursor chemicals should be developed. Punishment of those involved in illicit drug trafficking and the elimination of safe havens for such individuals remained very important issues. The Russian Federation was about to sign and ratify the European conventions on extradition, of 1957, and on mutual legal assistance on criminal matters, of 1959.

He said the illegal drugs situation in Russia remained complicated. The number of consumers of illicit drugs had been growing at a high rate, entailing a rise in drug-related crime. The smuggling of drugs into the country had also been growing dramatically. Large-scale measures, including legislative bills, were being taken to counter the illicit traffic and drug abuse.

Some results had been achieved, he said. Growing efforts were being made to enhance the efficiency of controls of the production and distribution of narcotic drugs. Research was under way to improve aerospace methodology of detecting illicit crops. There were also promising trends in scientific research relating to various fields of a crackdown on illicit drugs. Russia had been energetically promoting international cooperation in combating the drug threat. In addition to participating in all universal treaties, it had 46 bilateral intergovernmental and inter-agency agreements with 44 countries. Priority attention was being paid to the establishment of a system of collective fight against the drug threat within the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

PRAKASH SHAH (India) said that the narcotics menace and its "unholy twin", terrorism, had become the bane of modern civilization. The drug menace undermined the foundations of organized society, establishing a close nexus between narcotics, gunrunning and terror. India believed that more information was needed about the economic implications of illicit drug trafficking. Drug abuse prevention programmes should tackle every aspect of the issue.

India accorded a high priority to bilateral cooperation in combating international drug trafficking, he said, adding that his Government had bilateral agreements for mutual cooperation with several States. India was also pursuing regional agreements within the context of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

JOSE LUIS LOPES DA MOTA (Portugal) said the phenomenon of drug trade and use had grown alarmingly. Crime connected to drug trade had exacerbated, and synthetically produced drugs had emerged. The cost borne by health systems

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around the world was enormous. In Portugal, the use by young people of illicit substances and the number of people under police investigation had increased in the past few years. Between 1994 and 1995, the number of people under police investigation and accused of drug trade or use had increased by more than 30 per cent.

Prevention was a priority in countering illicit drugs, he said. Awareness of citizens and their participation through non-governmental organizations in combating illicit drugs should be encouraged. Although the responsibility for countering drug trade lay with the governments, society should be involved in the debate on that issue.

WANG XUEXIAN (China) said that drug-related violence had affected social stability and economic development in many countries. The control of drug trafficking was a common responsibility of drug producing, transiting and consuming countries. Developing countries, which faced greater difficulties in their struggle, should receive more financial and technical assistance from the international community. The sovereignty and territorial integrity of every country should be strictly respected; no one should interfere in the internal affairs of other countries under the pretext of anti-drug cooperation.

China had undertaken vigorous anti-drug policies, he said. A National Narcotics Control Commission guided anti-drug efforts; legislation governing drug abuse had been strengthened; drug-awareness education had been expanded; and the management of narcotic drugs and chemical precursors had been improved, to prevent their flowing into illegal channels.

JOSE FELIX FERNANDEZ ESTIGARRIBIA (Paraguay) said there was a close relationship between drug trafficking and socio-economic development. The problem of drugs cut across borders and applied to all different countries and regions. Much drug cultivation stemmed from the inability of farmers to make a living any other way.

Paraguay was convinced that concerted international action, as embodied in United Nations conventions aimed at drug trafficking, was needed, he said. At the national level, his Government was carrying out an anti-drug policy that focused on money laundering. From a moral, ethical and juridical perspective, it was unacceptable that large amounts of money should be made by those who abetted and facilitated illegal drug trafficking.

GONZALO ROBLES OROZCO (Spain) said his Government was putting in place a national plan on drugs based on prevention, assistance and control and with priority given to prevention and updating of legal instruments relating to money laundering and drug trafficking. The necessary mechanisms would be put into practice to develop a "drugs rejection culture" based, among others, on including in school curricula global programmes on health awareness with

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specific and explicit education on healthy life styles, developing a policy focused on young people, offering occupational alternatives, developing preventive actions and specific training against alcohol abuse, especially for adolescents.

He said that the assistance and rehabilitation policy that the new Spanish Government would put into force considered drug abusers as sick people who should be helped. Special attention would be given to minors. He called for coordination among national and international public and private institutions to fight money laundering. His Government would update drug legislation and reinforce police forces to fight against the social consequences of organized crime. A new legislation that created a fund from confiscated assets of drug traffickers was already in force, and it would allow more financial resources to be dedicated to fight the drug problem.

HISASHI OWADA (Japan) said drug abuse was taking new and more varied forms, as could be seen from the spread of synthetic or designer drugs. Japan was convinced that the United Nations should be the main focus in the fight against drug abuse and illicit trafficking. It supported the United Nations System-wide Action Plan on drug abuse control as a vital tool for coordination of activities within the United Nations system in that area. Stressing the importance of the activities of the UNDCP, he expressed concern that voluntary contributions from Member States had been declining. Japan had been the biggest contributor of general-purpose funds to the UNDCP since 1994, and had this year increased its contribution to $6.7 million from $6 million in 1995.

Japan was working to combat demand for drugs through education, he said. It had been maintaining close cooperation with other countries to identify and crack down on drug sources and supply routes. It was also cooperating with law enforcement agencies in drug-producing and transit countries. Japan supported the subregional approach of the UNDCP because of the borderless nature of the problem, and it recognized the causal link between poverty and illicit drugs.

K.A. BONFUL, Deputy Minister for the Ministry of the Interior and Chairman of the Narcotics Control Board of Ghana, said his Government had adopted various strategies in the war against drug abuse and illicit trafficking which had yielded positive results. Enforcement measures had led to significant arrests and seizures. A sustained programme of education and prevention strategy that embraced both public and private school education was also in place. The drug problem, however, was far from being resolved.

He went on to say that some weaknesses in Ghana's drug control efforts were being addressed. Specifically, he said the liberal interpretation of the drug law in the imposition of penalties had been effectively discussed with the judiciary. Furthermore, the Narcotics Control Board of Ghana, in collaboration with the UNDCP, was in the process of organizing a three-day

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workshop aimed at sensitizing magistrates, judges and prosecutors on the drug menace and the need to properly enforce narcotic laws.

He called attention to the west African subregional approach to the drug war effort. Ghana had been one of the advocates of such an approach and had participated in the UNDCP ministerial conferences in Côte d'Ivoire in 1993 and 1994. He urged the UNDCP to ensure that a technical committee established at one of those conferences would become operational. Ghana shared the view that accurate information on criminal activities of drug dealers was needed for an international strategy to combat them to be effective, calling for the development of effective mechanisms towards that end.

KERSTIN TRONE, Deputy Executive Director for Programme, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), said there was a linkage between drug-related problems and socio-economic development. Both drug-related issues and population issues were multisectoral and cut across a wide spectrum of development. In addition, both issues at the core dealt with empowering individuals, especially women and the poor. Empowerment was instrumental in enabling women to resist the temptation of drug abuse and it ensured that the human rights of women were protected. However, such empowerment had to take place early in life. Adolescence was a very vulnerable period of life and situations where families were fragmented, often led to experimentation with drugs.

Drugs and poor reproductive health were closely related, she said. Crack cocaine was supported by trading sex for drugs and among intravenous users needle sharing led to the spread of HIV. Such problems could not be solved through isolated programmes. Therefore, collaboration between the UNDCP and the UNFPA was crucial. Consultations had already taken place in the field offices of the two agencies in several countries to integrate drug prevention components into UNFPA programmes. Among others, she cited programmes that had been geared towards encouraging responsible behaviour, reducing demand for drugs and promoting the healthy development of adolescents and youth. The emphasis had been on empowering young people through information and education.

PATRICIA DURRANT (Jamaica) said that the UNDCP had been a key partner in Jamaica's efforts in narcotics control. National legislation was now being formulated which would address the issue of money laundering. Towards that end, an asset forfeiture and money-laundering unit had been established in the national police force. At the regional level, Jamaica continued to work closely with the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, based in Trinidad and Tobago. The greatest achievement in the area of drug enforcement for 1995 had been the establishment in Jamaica of the Caribbean Regional Drug Training Centre, scheduled to begin operation next September. The use of Caribbean islands as a transshipment point for illegal drugs continued to be an issue of regional concern.

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It was no mystery that drug demand was market-driven, she said. Initiatives to reduce the supply of narcotic drugs must, therefore, be matched by initiatives to reduce demand in receiver countries. The decision by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to assist countries with banking supervision had been a welcome addition to efforts to stem money laundering. The international financial community had a moral responsibility in that regard. While international assistance to developing countries had traditionally focused on crop eradication and enforcement, Jamaica hoped that the issue of alternative production would be given greater support.

FERNANDO GUILLEN (Peru) said that the problem of international drugs should be addressed in a coherent manner which would use resources efficiently. A multidisciplinary approach was required in order to overcome the stereotypes which had dominated traditional policies.

At the national level, Peru was employing the police to interdict drugs and was employing military forces only in situations which actively threatened national security, he said. Exceptional allowances were being provided to those who assisted in the seizure of drugs and the leaders of organized drug cartels. The Government was strengthening its judicial organs and was adopting policies which controlled precursor drugs and aimed at crop substitution. Peru was also taking into account the environmental aspect of the drug problem.

J. KOHNSTAMM (Netherlands) said Dutch drug policy aimed to discourage the use and traffic in all drugs. The police and the judiciary worked hand in hand with the social services and health authorities in tackling the various aspects of the drug problem. In the Dutch strategy, special attention was given to reducing the use of hard drugs by separating the market for users of soft drugs from the former. The Government had no doubt that the policy had been successful.

His country had developed a special policy to deal with petty crimes and other problems related to the use of drugs prevalent in big cities, he said. Extra financial resources were given to the big cities, with the municipal authorities, in turn, committing themselves to achieving tangible results. Among measures the larger Dutch cities were implementing, he cited creating jobs, improvement of safety and security in urban centres and intensifying social assistance to drug users.

As a consequence of its carefully balanced mix of policies, he continued, the Netherlands had low overdose fatality and morbidity rates among drug addicts, as compared to many other countries. The number of hard-drug addicts appeared to have stabilized at 0.1 per cent to 0.2 per cent of the population for more than 10 years. There had been, during that period, an increase in the average age of those users, which was now high -- around

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thirty-five or thirty-six years old. The rise in crime resulting from trade in and production of drugs required international approach, he stressed.

ALBERTO SCAVARELLI (Uruguay) said that the struggle against illicit drugs had taken on global characteristics. It, therefore, required concerted effort on the part of many governments. Institutions should be strengthened, and issues must be addressed democratically. As the problem was multi- sectoral, efforts must target diverse issues, such as precursor chemicals, drug trafficking and crop substitution.

Uruguay believed that a balanced reduction of both demand and supply must be the basis of action for the international community, he said. It would not be effective for the international community to continue talking about producing, transit or consuming countries. Countries could not be defined by the negative phenomena that could be found in their communities.

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