EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF UNDCP PAYS TRIBUTE TO COMMUNITY INITIATIVES ON TENTH INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST DRUG ABUSE AND TRAFFICKING
Press Release
SOC/NAR/763
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF UNDCP PAYS TRIBUTE TO COMMUNITY INITIATIVES ON TENTH INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST DRUG ABUSE AND TRAFFICKING
19970624 ADVANCE TEXT VIENNA, 26 June (UN Information Service) -- Following is the text of a message from Giorgio Giacomelli, Executive Director of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) on the occasion of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (26 June):Public perception of the drug issue is clouded by the way it is portrayed in fiction and popular drama. Time and again we see in films and on television the problem as one to be tackled by the authorities of the State, especially those concerned with repression. The reality is that the drug abuse scenario is a broad and complex one, in which we are all actors with significant parts to play.
Drug abuse is first and foremost an individual tragedy. It affects a person's health and well-being, his dignity and self-esteem, his ability to hold down a job or to learn at school. And it destroys relations with family, friends and employer. Despite the popular fashion for portraying drug-taking as part of the normal development of young adults -- as "cool" and daring -- the reality is that experimenting with drugs is for some the first step down the slippery slope to degradation and self-destruction.
But that is only part of the story. Illicit drugs are a disruptive force in the community as a whole; they are both a product of and a begetter of crime. They are a disease which infects the institutions of the state, spawning corruption and instability, funding terrorism and subversion and trafficking in arms. In short, the drug phenomenon is a threat to every level of society -- to the individual, to our communities, to the State and to international peace and security.
Criminal trafficking groups have so many resources that even governments are hard pressed to match them. Yet trafficking is fuelled by demand. Here, as the Secretary-General has highlighted in his statement today, there is in fact a great deal that can be done, especially in preventing drug abuse before
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it starts, with the simple weapons of common sense and good will, which are available in every neighbourhood. In addition, many excellent services to treat and rehabilitate substance abusers are being provided by volunteers, charitable organizations and other private operators.
On this tenth International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, I wish to pay tribute to all these important and essential community initiatives. The United Nations International Drug Control Programme, in the exercise of the global mandate vested in it by Member States, is joining hands with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other groups in a rich variety of partnerships, from which we all emerge the stronger. Where we are in a position to provide support to a promising grass-roots initiative, we do so; and when organizations can help us, they readily let us tap their expertise, share with us the cost of joint activities, and even give us donations. We have also encouraged NGOs to network, to combine their ideas and know-how and learn from each other's experience. We must continue to move in this cooperative direction, reinforcing all our efforts by the pooling of resources.
For drug control is a responsibility which must be shared by all sections of the global community. A special session of the United Nations General Assembly will meet in June 1998 at which Member States will take stock of what has been achieved so far, and determine how best to reshape strategies in international cooperation in the light of that experience. The intervening period presents an opportunity for NGOs and other interested groups to make their contributions to this debate. The outcome of the session must be more than a lofty outpouring of statements -- we need to ensure that the promises made are translated into concrete actions on the ground. I am looking to the communities to monitor progress and ensure that pledges are kept.
We know that the eradication of drug abuse from the planet is a daunting task. But public opposition to drug abuse and all its attendant problems is gaining ground. With the combined forces of all levels of human organization and endeavour, I am convinced we can and will make headway.
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