VULNERABLE SITUATION OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES IN FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS STRESSED IN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

26 June 1996

Press Release
ECOSOC/5647

VULNERABLE SITUATION OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES IN FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS STRESSED IN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

19960626 Lack of Education, Unemployment and Inadequate Housing Emphasized among Social Factors Contributing to Drug Abuse

In the fight against illicit drugs, developing countries found themselves in a very vulnerable situation since they did not possess the financial, material and technical capacity to counter the sophisticated and high-tech methods used by well-armed traffickers, the Economic and Social Council was told this afternoon as it continued its high-level discussion on international cooperation to combat illicit drugs.

Stressing that developing countries needed the support of the United Nations and of the international community in their efforts to combat drugs, the representative of the Philippines said cultivation of cannabis by the rural population and the drug syndicates remained a problem in his country. It was difficult to detect certain drugs, like methamphetamine, which were colourless and odourless, he added.

The representative of Denmark said it was extremely difficult to obtain acceptable results in the treatment and rehabilitation of drug abusers, thus, the importance of primary prevention could not be underestimated. Expressing support for a proposal on the elaboration of a declaration containing principles for demand reduction, he said such a text must emphasize that drug abuse, to a large extent, stemmed from lack of education, unemployment, inadequate housing and other social factors.

The monetary value of traffic in drugs now exceeded the value of international trade in arms and in oil, the representative of Australia said. Emphasizing the impact of drugs on the health sector, he said governments could not ignore that public health threats could be addressed in part by reducing needle-sharing. There was little point in introducing measures such as methadone programmes and needle exchanges to prevent infections if use of those services exposed individuals to law enforcement action.

The representative of Venezuela said that his Government was combating both production and consumption of illicit drugs. Venezuela's principal law enforcement agencies were now working closely with the Ministry of Finance to

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prosecute money laundering. Stressing that the basic motivation of drug trafficking was profit, he said Venezuela was now focusing on the activities of traffickers in legitimate business, finance and commerce.

Also addressing the Council this afternoon were the Minister for Home Affairs of Malta and the Minister of Justice of Swaziland. Statements were also made by the representatives of Ireland, Thailand, Lebanon, Morocco, Cuba, Belarus, Algeria, Kazakstan, Israel, Brazil and Syria. The Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund also spoke. The representatives of Greece and of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia exercised their right of reply.

The Council will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 27 June, to continue its discussion on international cooperation against the illicit production, sale, demand, traffic and distribution of narcotics and psychotropic substances.

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 before the Council, see Press Release ECOSOC/5644 of 25 June.)

Statements

NORA OWEN, Minister for Justice of Ireland, said that as her country assumed Presidency of the European Union on Monday, 1 July, it would make drug control a high priority. Among the initiatives it would oversee would be the conclusion of agreements between the Union and third countries on the identification, control and sale of precursors; adoption of measures to stop the delivery of drugs across the borders of the European Union by land, sea or air; and the enhancement of cooperation with countries and regions outside the European Union. Under a new Europol Convention, cooperation would be strengthened between European police and their counterparts elsewhere in the fight against drugs.

Organized crime was spreading its tentacles throughout the economy, she went on. Money laundering undermined legitimate economic structures and distorted the world trading system. Illegal drug profits were estimated to amount to $300 billion -- more than 300 times what the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) received in voluntary contributions. The emergence of new synthetic drugs was alarming. More and more producer and transit countries were facing the dangers of drug addiction. As the drug problem became more complex, new methods must be found to deal with it. The time for complacency was gone. "We will not let our societies or our peoples be destroyed by the illicit drug trade and we will never let our children's future be eclipsed by the evil of drug addiction."

ASDA JAYANAMA (Thailand) said that as a nation affected by the problems of drug production, trafficking and an epidemic of drug abuse, Thailand accorded a high national priority to the fight against drugs. His Government had pioneered rural development projects and crop substitution programmes in regions in which illegal drugs had traditionally been cultivated. At the same time, law enforcement was cracking down on trafficking networks.

International cooperation and collective action were essential to the fight against the drug problem on both the supply and the demand sides, he said. Such cooperation had resulted in a substantial reduction of poppy production in Thailand. His Government strongly supported an enhanced role for the United Nations in the fight against drugs, particularly through the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP).

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CAROL BELLAMY, Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said UNICEF addressed drug problems within the broad spectrum of child protection and rights. Its health strategy contained elements on substance abuse and demand reduction. Efforts were under way to ensure that drug abuse was incorporated into country-level programmes focusing on the health and development of children and young people.

"We often speak about young people's behaviour undermining their health, but frequently the attitudes and behaviour of adults and society are the causes of the problems facing young people", she said. The UNICEF worked to include children in its programmes not only as beneficiaries, but also as participants in the design or evaluation of projects. The Economic and Social Council must address the need for drug control efforts to focus on the health and development of adolescents. The UNICEF would work with governments in preventing young people from becoming involved in substance abuse and in helping them to recover from its dangerous effects.

BENNY KIMBERG (Denmark) said his country had implemented a pilot project directed towards drug abusers who had committed other crimes which aimed to enhance their quality of life without drugs. "At this stage, it is too early to draw any conclusions on the results." It was extremely difficult to obtain acceptable results in the treatment and rehabilitation of drug abusers. In that light, the importance of primary prevention could not be underestimated. Denmark supported proposals calling on the Drug Control Programme to develop a declaration containing principles for demand reduction. Such a text must emphasize that drug abuse, to a large extent, stemmed from lack of education, unemployment, inadequate housing and other social factors.

Denmark had been firm in its support for the Drug Control Programme, he said. Coordination was critical to optimizing United Nations drug control efforts. The System-wide Action Plan for Drug Abuse Control should be seen as a strategic tool for enhancing the relative impact of drug control activities, giving the Programme an effective catalytic role. Ultimately, the Plan's success was the responsibility of the Drug Control Programme.

RICHARD BUTLER (Australia) said the monetary value of traffic in drugs now exceeded the value of international trade in arms and in oil. There was a nexus between narcotics and clandestine arms trade, international crime, corruption and money laundering. Narcotics trade shared characteristics with other non-military threats to the security of States. It could not be defeated by military means and had to be tackled through international cooperation. Australia supported a comprehensive approach to drug-related problems, incorporating education, health, rehabilitation, youth affairs, banking and law enforcement.

He said the most effective way of dealing with the drug problem was through prevention. Also, the problem had to be seen in the context of

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workplace, leisure, school, the family and the community. Australia's harm minimization strategy involved demand reduction, supply control, controlled use, safer drug use and abstinence, without necessarily awaiting the elimination of drug misuse. There was a threat of HIV, AIDS, and hepatitis B and C reaching epidemic proportions because of needle sharing. Governments could not ignore that public health threats could be addressed in part by reducing needle sharing.

He stressed that harm reduction in Australia had not been undertaken in isolation from supply control. Similarly, there was little point in introducing measures such as methadone programmes and needle exchanges to prevent infections if use of those services would expose individuals to law enforcement action. Australia had created a National Heroin Overdose Working Party to address deaths from heroin overdose. It had developed educational messages about safe injecting practices and the need to call medical assistance in overdose cases.

MILOS ALCALAY (Venezuela) said that his Government was combating production and consumption of drugs. National legislation had been reformed in 1993 to address issues such as prevention, law enforcement, financial monitoring and drug treatment. Venezuela's principal law enforcement agencies were now working closely with the Ministry of Finance to prosecute money laundering.

Venezuela had recently encountered the phenomenon of "narco-terrorism" in which armed groups had cultivated poppies and coca, he said. The Government had responded with enhanced regional cooperation and the use of herbicides against areas of drug production. Once crops of drugs had been eliminated, those agricultural lands had been put to good use. Stressing that the basic motivation of drug trafficking was profit, he said that Venezuela was now focusing on the activities of traffickers in legitimate business, finance and commerce.

SAMIR MOUBARAK (Lebanon) said that war had brought destruction to his country and had also served the interests of drug traffickers who had taken advantage of the situation to produce narcotics. When the war ended, Lebanon embarked upon a national strategy to tackle the illicit drug problem. Fields producing opium and hashish had been destroyed. Based upon a UNDCP fact- finding mission carried out in May 1992, an inter-agency illicit crop mission was fielded which proposed an integrated development programme for the districts in which drug production had been concentrated. The main objectives of that programme were to rehabilitate and develop the agricultural sector, upgrade social services and improve income-generating activities.

Lebanon had also embarked on a demand-reduction programme and had restructured its legal and institutional framework, he said. Coordination between law enforcement agencies had been improved and technicians had been

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instructed in the use of remote-sensing technology. The Governor of Lebanon's Central Bank had made it clear that the country's traditional banking secrecy system would not be used for money laundering.

MOHIEDDINE AMZAZI (Morocco) said the socio-economic causes which gave rise to drug use needed to be explored. He supported the idea of growing alternate crops and said Morocco's strategy in combating drugs was based on reduction of supply, countering of trafficking and cooperation with the international community. Morocco was also taking measures which would lead to the issuing of stiffer sentences by competent authorities and the confiscation of property acquired through drugs. In 1995, it had established a development body for its northern region which had suffered the impact of drugs.

Morocco supported the activities of the UNDCP, he said. He stressed that necessary assistance should be given to countries which were working to eradicate the scourge of drugs. Morocco was committed to countering drugs which threatened the very basis of civilization. He hoped that sacrifices made by Morocco would be noted by United Nations bodies and by members of the international community.

ZENAIDA OSORIO VIZCAINO (Cuba) said that the international community had to face an international drug trade that some had estimated to be worth more than $800 billion annually. She hoped that the Council would endorse the holding of a special session of the General Assembly in 1998 dedicated to that issue. Drug trafficking corrupted whole societies and governments. Drugs also contributed to poverty, social exclusion and the victimization of less- advantaged people in developing countries. Often, efforts to combat drug trafficking had led to violations of the national sovereignty of developing countries.

The inhuman and cruel blockade of Cuba, imposed by the United States, had prevented her country from carrying out essential economic activities, she continued. Still, Cuba had managed to find resources to fight drug trafficking. During 1995, authorities had confiscated more than 361 kilograms of cocaine and 4,482 kilograms of marijuana. In the first half of this year, Cuban authorities had seized more than one ton of cocaine. Cuba was willing to undertake bilateral efforts to combat drug trafficking with any country, consistent with the principles of mutual respect and non-interference in internal affairs.

TONIO BORG, Minister for Home Affairs of Malta, said that in recent years borders had disappeared and new political trade and economic relations had come into being within a historically brief period of time. International crime had taken advantage of that situation. As a result, the drug problem today was beyond any one country's capacities.

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The 1988 Vienna Convention had been a landmark in the fight against illicit drug trafficking, he said. Over 130 of the 185 Member States of the United Nations had ratified that treaty. That was vivid proof of the commitment of nations to the fight against drug trafficking. Malta believed that regional cooperation was crucial. The Barcelona Conference of Euro-Med, embracing the 15 countries of the European Union and most countries bordering on the Mediterranean Sea, held last November, pledged to fight against expansion of organized crime and the illicit drug problem. Those countries would periodically meet to discuss practical measures to improve cooperation among police, judicial, customs, administrative and other authorities.

ALAKSANDR SYCHOU (Belarus) said that the steady growth in drug abuse and an opportunity to extract huge profits had created favourable conditions for drug dealers in Belarus. His Government had seen a clear tendency among organized local criminals and foreign drug suppliers to forge alliances. In 1990, three cases of smuggling were prosecuted in Belarus, yielding 960 grams of marijuana. But during the first six months of 1995, 33 cases of smuggling had led to the confiscation of 417 kilograms of opium, hashish, cocaine and heroin. Last year, 51 persons from 13 countries had been detained on drug charges.

Multilateral cooperation was essential to Belarus' national policy of drug control, he said. Belarus was party to all major universal international conventions and had concluded bilateral agreements to strengthen cooperation against money laundering and trafficking in precursor substances, as well as against illicit drug production and trafficking.

FELIPE MABILANGAN (Philippines) said his country associated itself with the statement of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China. Drug problem continued to destroy human lives, destabilize society, foment violent crimes, jeopardize legitimate business transactions, threaten and endanger the political, economic and social security of States. However, in the fight against drug abuse, the developing countries found themselves in a more vulnerable situation. They did not possess sufficient financial, material and technical capacity to counter illicit drugs. That liability became more acute when faced with sophisticated and high-technology methods used by well-armed traffickers. The developing countries, therefore, needed the support of the United Nations and of the international community in their efforts.

The Philippines continued to be a transshipment point for international drug syndicates, he said. Cultivation of cannabis both by rural population and the drug syndicates remained a problem. Cannabis and methamphetamine hydrochloride trafficking dominated the illicit drug market. The problem of detecting methamphetamine was compounded by the fact that it was colourless and odourless.

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MAWENI SIMELANE, Minister of Justice of Swaziland, said that there was an urgent need to address alarming and growing links between criminal organizations, terrorists, money laundering and the trafficking in arms and precursor chemicals. Governments needed to adopt adequate national laws and regulations, strengthen national judicial systems and carry out effective drug control activities.

Swaziland endorsed the role of the UNDCP as the main focus for concerted international action for drug abuse control, he said. The Programme had an important role to play in supporting regional, subregional and national strategies. He hoped the Programme's assistance programmes regarding national laws, policies and infrastructures would be strengthened.

RAMTANE LAMAMRA (Algeria) said the UNDCP had been able to focus the attention of States on promoting prevention and strengthening law enforcement in countering the threat posed by illicit drugs. In less than a decade, Africa had seen consumption of drugs rise, and the continent had become a transit route for drugs. Algeria, for a long time, had not faced a drug problem due to its social situation. Currently, from 70 per cent to 75 per cent of the drugs to be found in the country were in transit. Most drugs consumed in Algeria were made of natural substances. However, instances of use of psychotropic substances seemed to be rising. A relationship between drug traffickers and terrorism had emerged.

Algeria had aimed prevention efforts at various sections of the population, including youth, he said. Borders had been tightened and laws provided severe punishment for drug traffickers. The international community's will to combat drugs had been demonstrated by the attention paid to the problem in both the General Assembly and the Council. It was imperative that States commit to the well-being of the future generations.

AKMARAL ARYSTANBEKOVA (Kazakstan) believed that to resolve the illicit drug problem around the world, the United Nations system had to better harmonize various measures taken against drug abuse. Her Government agreed with the need to better control narcotics. States should better coordinate their efforts at the national, regional and global levels.

Kazakstan attached particular importance to international cooperation in the fight against drugs, she said. In the context of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), her Government had signed several multilateral agreements aimed at combating drug trafficking and criminal activity on the territory of the member States of the CIS. Strengthened cooperation in the economic and humanitarian spheres was also important to the struggle against drugs. Kazakstan had recently hosted a conference of ministers for the interior of the CIS on the coordination of measures to be taken against drug trafficking.

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EITAN GORNI (Israel) said that in the past six years his Government had signed bilateral agreements on cooperation against drug trafficking with several former Soviet republics. In recent years, new channels of information had been opened between Israel and its neighbours. Senior officials of the UNDCP had paved the way for the beginning of subregional cooperation between Israel, Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinians in that regard. The first subregional drug control technical meeting had been held by those parties in Cairo in July 1995.

Israel had made a concerted effort in the areas of treatment, rehabilitation and education designed to stem the demand for narcotics and other illegal drugs, he said. Education programmes were being conducted in 60 per cent of the nation's schools, and some 4,500 addicts were being regularly treated.

ADHEMAR G. BAHADIAN (Brazil) said that in recent years drug traffickers had taken advantage of growing economic interdependence. To combat the scourge of illicit drugs, the international community must accept the principle of shared responsibility, as set forth in the 1987 International Conference on Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. The fight against the illicit production, sale, demand, traffic and distribution of narcotics required action at all levels and in every different sector. Brazil had recently undertaken a National Anti-drug Action Programme with emphasis on prevention, law enforcement and the rehabilitation of drug addicts.

New legislation in Brazil, designed to implement provisions of the 1988 Vienna Convention, had instituted controls over chemical precursors, he said. The Brazilian Congress was now considering draft legislation establishing criteria for distinguishing between consumers and traffickers, for characterizing money laundering as a specific criminal offence and for controlling that activity in line with the 1988 Vienna Convention.

AHMAD HALLAK (Syria) said that combating narcotics trafficking would never be successful without a global effort that dealt simultaneously with production, distribution and demand for drugs. Syria this year had adopted legislation which made it illegal to use narcotics. At the regional level, Syria had taken part in bilateral and multilateral meetings aimed at ending illicit drugs trafficking.

International cooperation was critical to combating drug trafficking, he said. Government agencies in Syria worked closely with specialized Arab institutions such as the League of Arab States and the Arab Council of Ministers of the Interior. Syria was attempting to impede the use of its territory as a transit area for drugs. His Government was cooperating with the Interpol, with which it had captured large quantities of narcotics in recent years.

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Right of Reply

JOHN ANDREADIS (Greece) said he objected to the statement made this morning by the representative of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. That State was to be provisionally referred to as the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia according to Security Council resolution 817 (1993). He also objected to the representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank referring to that State as "Macedonia", and asked them to refrain from using that name.

OLIVER KRLIU (The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) said the relations between his country and Greece had been developing satisfactorily. Council resolution 817 had been wrongly interpreted by Greece. The constitutional name of his country was Macedonia, the resolution only referred to its nomenclature in the United Nations.

Mr. ANDREADIS (Greece) said there was no question of wrongly interpreting the resolution. Its text was self-explanatory. Moreover, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia had been referred to as "Macedonia" in the premises of the United Nations, where the resolution applied.

Mr. KRLIU (The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) said it was unthinkable and contrary to the provisions of the United Nations Charter to ask a sovereign Member State to not use its constitutional name.

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