PRESS BRIEFING BY UNDCP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Press Briefing

PRESS BRIEFING BY UNDCP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

At a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon, Pino Arlacchi, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna and Executive Director of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), announced that the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan had banned the cultivation, use and trade in opium.

Calling it a major breakthrough, Mr. Arlacchi told correspondents that the Taliban authorities had formally communicated its decision to prohibit the cultivation, use and trafficking of hashish and heroin in a letter to the UNDCP office in Islamabad. It categorically stated that the use of opium was forbidden under Islamic Sharia, and that the trade in opium was considered smuggling and would be punished accordingly. The cultivation of opium was also a taboo.

In stating their determination and readiness to combat the drug epidemic, Mr. Arlacchi said the authorities had underscored the need for development assistance from the world community and international organizations in order to provide an attractive alternative to poppy cultivation and to persuade poppy farmers to abandon their illicit cultivation. The UNDCP had already launched an extensive programme in Afghanistan and had been assured full access to every poppy growing are in the country. The authorities was prepared to allow the UNDCP to establish a strict monitoring system to ensure that poppy cultivation would not simply shift from one area to another. Satellite monitoring was being discussed. The UNDCP was encouraging the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to broadcast the poppy prohibition to farmers.

Mr. Arlacchi said the UNDCP would mobilize the international community, including other United Nations agencies, to contribute to a coherent and integrated campaign against poppy. He would be visiting Afghanistan next month to see things for himself.

Responding to a correspondent's question, he said the UNDCP would need $25 million to implement its long-term plan to eliminate all poppy production in the area within five years. Afghanistan produced 2,800 tons of opium annually, accounting for 50 per cent of the world supply and 80 per cent of the European opium supply. Opium cultivation provide an income of about $100 million for 1 million peasants every year.

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