INTERNATIONAL 'RAINBOW' MEETING IN RIMINI, ITALY, HEARS MESSAGES OPPOSING DRUG LEGALIZATION
Press Release
SOC/4478
INTERNATIONAL 'RAINBOW' MEETING IN RIMINI, ITALY, HEARS MESSAGES OPPOSING DRUG LEGALIZATION
19981002 (Reissued as received.)VIENNA, 2 October (UN Information Service) -- A resounding no to legalization, and yes to strengthening programmes for prevention and treatment and rehabilitation of the victims of drug abuse, were the main messages delivered to delegates attending a meeting in Rimini, Italy, on drug abuse. More than 600 delegates from communities all over the world -- and 400 students -- are taking part in the fourth international meeting of the Rainbow International Association against Drugs, which opened yesterday.
In his keynote video message to the participants, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan stated "In participating in this campaign, you have shown that the time has come for the peoples of all nations to say no to drugs and to say yes to the challenge of working together for a world free from the scourge of drugs".
And yesterday the central message to the meeting was a clear "no" to any form of cohabitation with illicit drugs, and an emphasis on the importance of reducing the demand for drugs through prevention and rehabilitation.
"The fight for a drug-free world is not utopia, as proven by the strong commitment shown by the international community at the recent special session of the United Nations General Assembly on the world drug problem", Pino Arlacchi, Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention, told the gathering. He said the United Nations would continue providing assistance to those countries which needed it, and would work to ensure that national and international strategies against the drug problem emphasized the need for prevention and treatment, especially among the young and the vulnerable.
In their respective addresses to the participants, Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs Lamberto Dini and the President of the Italian Senate, Nicola Mancino, underlined their opposition to any form of legalization of drugs. "There are no hard or soft drugs", said Mr. Dini. "Drugs are drugs and they undermine the individual."
- - Press Release SOC/4478 2 October 1998
Among the participants in the three-day meeting are representatives of national drug control institutions, the private sector, the media and delegates from more than 100 communities working in the field of drug abuse treatment and prevention around the world.
The Rainbow Association Against Drugs was originally established by a number of communities from the Netherlands, Denmark, United States, and Sweden. The Community of San Patrignano, which organized the event, is one of the Association's founding members.
* *** *