Pubdate: Wed, 09 Apr 2003
Source: IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency (Iran Wire)
Copyright: 2003sIslamic Republic News Agency
Contact:  http://www.irna.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2777

TOP UN ANTI-DRUG OFFICIAL SEES 'SIGNS OF PROGRESS' IN GLOBAL FIGHT AGAINST 
ILLICIT DRUGS

IRNA -- World governments and local communities have achieved promising 
results in the fight against illicit drugs by introducing innovative crop 
development strategies that give farmers an alternative to cultivating 
poppy and cocoa plants, the United Nations top anti-drug official said.

As the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs opened its forty-sixth session in 
Vienna Tuesday, Antonio Maria Costa, the Executive Director of the UN 
Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), introduced a mid-term progress report 
which examines whether the international community is on track to reduce 
illicit drug production, trafficking and abuse, said a press release by the 
United Nations Information Center here on Wednesday.

The Commission is the central UN policy-making body dealing with 
drug-related issues. This year's session, set to run through April 17, will 
feature a ministerial segment, marking the first five-year milestone for 
Member States to review their achievements and the commitments made in 1998 
at the twentieth special session of the General Assembly on the 
international drug problem.

During that summit in New York, more than 150 countries promised to achieve 
significant and measurable results to reduce the illicit supply and demand 
for drugs by 2008.

Introducing his report to the Commission today, Costa said that in recent 
years, efforts to reduce abuse of illicit drugs have shown signs of progress.

Based on reports from governments -- and for this year's session, 117 
governments have submitted responses to an UNODC biennial questionnaire -- 
the action plans and measures adopted in 1998 served as a catalyst for 
action in implementation of the international drug control treaties.

Costa said that, in recent years, a large number of governments have 
incorporated demand reduction into their strategies to deal with drugs, and 
have also launched information campaigns on drugs. "Now they see their 
national efforts integrated in -- and supported by -- the global strategy 
against illicit drugs," he said.

Citing 'encouraging progress towards still distant goals," Costa emphasized 
the positive experiences in four major elements of the international drug 
policy -- overall drug control policies, demand reduction, supply reduction 
and international cooperation. Here, he urged governments to work together 
in the fight against drugs, warning, "Otherwise, problems are only pushed 
around, from one country to another, in a zero-sum game."

During its deliberations, the Commission will also discuss new challenges 
encountered in recent years, including the dramatic increase in injecting 
drug use-related HIV/AIDS cases -- especially along drug trafficking routes 
- -- as well as the worldwide spread of synthetic drugs.
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager