NARCOTIC DRUGS COMMISSION APPROVES TWO-YEAR BUDGET FOR UNITED NATIONS DRUG CONTROL PROGRAMME

NARCOTIC DRUGS COMMISSION APPROVES TWO-YEAR BUDGET

FOR UNITED NATIONS DRUG CONTROL PROGRAMME

Kabul Office to Reopen Soon, to Work with New Afghan

Authorities to Sustain Programmes; Agency Head to Relinquish Post

VIENNA, 14 December (UN Information Service) -- Pino Arlacchi, the Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention, has informed the Commission on Narcotic Drugs –- the governing body for the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) -- at its reconvened forty-fourth session held in Vienna from 12 to 13 December 2001, that, in agreement with the United Nations Secretary-General, he is relinquishing his duties with effect from 1 January 2002.

Approving the budget of the Drug Control Programme for the next two years, Member States expressed their support for the ongoing management reforms within the Office, including the new collaborative procedures and transparency in project approval process, as well as a greater staff involvement in all phases of project implementation.

Successes in implementing the global drug control strategy, including efforts to eradicate opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, were noted, as were effective alternative development projects replacing drugs cultivation in a number of countries -- including Bolivia, Peru, and the Lao People's Democratic Republic -– and the consolidation of previous results in Pakistan and Thailand.

The UNDCP is planning to reopen its Kabul office in order to work more effectively with new Afghan authorities in sustaining the drug control achievements of this year in which, following the Taliban ban on opium poppy cultivation, areas under cultivation have been reduced by 91 per cent and production by 94 per cent.

The Narcotic Drugs Commission, concluding its two-day meeting in Vienna, supported efforts by the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention to create more synergy between its drug control and crime prevention programmes with the possibility of developing more joint projects using available resources.

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