Pubdate: Fri, 27 Apr 2007
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2007 Southam Inc.
Contact:  http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Author: Antonio Maria Costa
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
Note: Antonio Maria Costa is executive director of the United Nations 
Office on Drugs and Crime.

WAGING WAR ON AFGHAN CRIME

VIENNA - The latest news from Afghanistan is not what any of us 
wanted to hear right now. The winter opium survey recently completed 
by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime suggests this year's harvest will 
be even higher than the record 6,100 tonnes that we reported last year.

That means another windfall for criminals and terrorists, continued 
corruption and more heroin on global markets, spreading drug addiction and HIV.

Canada's announcement earlier this year of a generous aid package for 
Afghanistan -- $200-million for reconstruction and development -- was 
therefore particularly welcome. The package includes up to 
$27-million for fighting drugs and crime. This money is badly needed.

Afghanistan's fate will not be decided by military victories alone. 
It will depend on the ability of the state to control its borders, 
establish the rule of law and develop its economy. This will not 
happen under present conditions. The south of the country is ruled by 
the bullet and much of the rest of the country is ruled by bribes.

As long as drugs, the chemicals used to make them, insurgents and 
laundered money can move freely across Afghanistan's borders, there 
will be no peace in the region. As long as violence and corruption 
determine who wields power, there will be no justice.

How can $27-million make a difference? After all, it's the equivalent 
of the cost of only one month of Canada's military operations in the 
Afghan province of Kandahar, or a minute fraction of the street value 
of all the heroin produced in Afghanistan.

The odds are certainly stacked high against us in the Afghan opium 
war, but they are not unbeatable. Here are a few suggestions. - 
First, isolate the worst opium provinces. At the moment, six of 
Afghanistan's 34 provinces are opium-free. Some are among the poorest 
in the country, while many of the richest and most fertile have the 
highest rates of opium cultivation. Clearly, poverty is not the only 
determining factor.

Opium-free provinces are led by honest governors, they are closer to 
Kabul, more accessible to aid agencies and less vulnerable to insurgency.

Compare that to the lawless south, where drug lords either encourage 
farmers to grow opium(including through cash advances) or force them 
to do so, as well as guaranteeing to protect their land.

The international community should therefore focus its development 
efforts on those provinces where it can make a difference in the 
short term, rewarding good behaviour and providing an example for 
others. It can improve roads, irrigation, education and healthcare 
and provide micro-credits that will demonstrate to the people of 
Afghanistan that there are viable alternatives to growing illicit crops.

The goal for 2007 should be to double the number of opium-free 
provinces from six to 12, creating an opium-free belt across the 
middle of the country. - Second, lift the veil on corruption. It is 
no mystery to Afghans how civil servants who earn $200 a month can 
drive new Mercedes and live in villas. Or why the fields of major 
landowners are untouched by eradication efforts. Or why corrupt 
officials and drug traffickers never come to trial. In Afghanistan, 
justice is for those who can afford it.

Convicted felons rarely land up behind bars and when they do there is 
no guarantee they will stay there. Three dangerous criminals recently 
bribed their way out of the front door of a maximum-security prison 
that had been renovated at the cost of millions of Western dollars. 
This is a sad allegory of the sorry state of criminal justice in 
Afghanistan. - Third, strengthen law enforcement and go after the 
major traffickers. The UN Security Council has decided to put 
traffickers involved in the Afghan drug trade on an international 
most wanted list, freeze their assets, impose travel bans and, where 
appropriate, extradite them to face justice. This is a welcome step.

But to make this possible, Afghanistan needs a more professional 
police force, the capacity for intelligence-led investigations, a 
functioning criminal justice system and greater control over its 
borders. Here Canada's money will be well-spent.

For example, opium can only be made into heroin by adding chemicals 
like acetic anhydride for which there is no licit requirement in 
Afghanistan. Thousands of tons of these chemicals are being illegally 
trucked into the country every year. If these shipments can be 
stopped, Afghanistan's heroinproducing capacity will be severely 
diminished. - Fourth, encourage closer regional co-operation to 
improve border management. Afghanistan's friends and neighbours have 
a vested interest and a shared responsibility to stem the flow of 
illicit cross-border traffic.

Canada has been taking a hard look at its hard mission in 
Afghanistan. There are clearly grounds for concern. An impending 
spring offensive by the Taliban and another bumper opium harvest will 
not make matters easier.

But the decision to tackle drugs and crime increases the chances of 
Canada seeing a positive return on its significant investment of 
blood and treasure in Afghanistan.

Antonio Maria Costa is executive director of the United Nations 
Office on Drugs and Crime.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman