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Monitoring The UN > The UN and Sustainable Development NarcoticsIn recent years, global trafficking in and abuse of narcotic drugs has reached alarming and wholly unacceptable proportions. It now represents a $500 billion a year business. The social and other costs of this phenomenon are enormous, and they are ultimately shared by everyone, as pointed out in a draft political declaration presented at the March 1998 Preparatory Session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND): "Drugs destroy lives and communities, undermine sustainable human development and generate crime. Drugs affect all sectors of society in all countries; in particular, drug abuse affects the freedom and development of young people, the world's most valuable asset. Drugs are a grave threat to the health and well-being of all mankind, the independence of States, democracy, the stability of nations, the structure of all societies, and the dignity and hope of millions of people and their families..." 1 all, drug abuse represents a terrible waste of human potential. For that reason, and because drug traffickers in league with organized crime promote global instability through the corruption of social, economic and political systems, it is also an issue of some urgency. As Pino Arlacchi, Executive Director of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme has been heard to say, "narcotics and organized crime are the major threats to the world in the next century." 2 What is the United Nations Doing to Meet This Challenge? The United Nations is firmly committed to combating the international drug problem, by means of a multi-faceted approach that is constantly adapting to changing circumstances. The CND, the chief drug policy-making body, heads this effort through monitoring activities and a regime of international drug control conventions. Within Member States, drug control efforts are integrated into sustainable development policies through the work of UNDCP, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Labour Office (ILO), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the United Nations Joint Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). 3 In the course of United Nations work with member countries, assistance is provided in developing programmes for the prevention of drug abuse and the treatment and rehabilitation of drug users. At its 1998 session, the CND called for continued efforts to reduce drug abuse worldwide through education and heightened awareness of the consequences for society, particularly its youth. It also advised that drug abuse be de-popularized by ensuring that pro-drug messages were cleansed from public information sources, like the Internet.4 Information exchanges are promoted and technical aid is provided in the area of drugs and law enforcement. The harmonization of law enforcement and drug control policy is encouraged through the international treaties supervised by the CND, because disparities in enforcement mechanisms from country to country and region to region allow drug traffickers to simply shift their operations to elude measures that have become effective. The United Nations has also called for vigilance amongst member states so that drugs produced for legitimate medical and scientific purposes do not exceed demand and find their way into illicit channels.5 In the crucial area of combating the organized crime and money-laundering associated with the global drug trade, the CND works closely with the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ).6 The United Nations drug control strategy, personified in Mr. Arlacchi, recognizes that going after the drug lords alone will not provide a solution. It is also necessary to attack the support for their business. To be effective, drug control efforts must acknowledge the social roots of the drug problem and combine law enforcement with social development, including poverty alleviation and what is called "alternative development."7 Alternative Development Alternative development, or "crop substitution," is a means of providing growers and producers with an alternative to drug crops. This strategy is intended to deprive drug traffickers of their supply and to rescue impoverished communities from dependence on illicit cultivation and the unscrupulous people who exploit their vulnerability. The hope is that these communities can be assisted in turning to legitimate and sustainable activities instead. A United Nations Fact Sheet associated with the June 1998 General Assembly Special Session on Drugs explained that: "In the rural areas of Asia and Latin America, about 700,000 families, or around 4 million people, depend on income derived from the cultivation of coca leaf and opium poppy. Most of them live below the poverty line and rely on this activity for some 50 per cent of their income. Although the drug trade often helps them cope with food shortages and the vagaries of agricultural markets, economic dependence on illicit crops is not sustainable in the long run. The cultivation of coca leaf and opium poppy leaves farmers wide open to exploitation at the hands of ruthless middlemen. They also face the constant threat of forced eradication of their crops. In countries such as Columbia, many eke out a miserable existence on large-scale commercial farms owned by drug traffickers. Most of the 700,000 families would willingly switch to other sources of income, given suitable alternatives."8 Drugs and Transnational Crime Vital to the assault on the global drug problem is closing the door on money laundering in the interest of depriving drug traffickers of the fruits of their odious activities. The 1988 United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances addresses itself to the issue of international trafficking and makes provision for the tracing, freezing and confiscation of illegal drug proceeds. However, more needs to be done, and it is being proposed that banking procedures be scrutinized more closely and that the international community work to reduce the number of "havens" within the global financial system where drug traffickers can hide their "dirty money."9 Between reduction in supply and demand, the United Nations hopes to arrive at "the elimination or substantial reduction of coca leaf, opium poppy and cannabis cultivation by 2008."10 Contact Addresses: The United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs Vienna International Centre PO Box 500 Tel: +43-1-26060 0 International Narcotics Control Board Vienna International Centre PO Box 500 Tel: +43-1-26060 0 United Nations International Drug Control Programme Vienna International Centre PO Box 500 Tel: +43-1-26060 External Relations and Public Information Office United Nations International Drug Control Programme PO Box 500 Tel: (43)-(1)-237603 Information Officer United Nations International Drug Control Programme Department of Public Information United Nations Tel: (212) 963-0353/4896 Link to Commission on Narcotic Drugs, Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, and crime as an issue in social development pieces on this site. Link to sites described on UNAC CND site. Archives The UNDCP World Drug Reports provide an excellent analysis of the global drug problem, current issues, and the United Nations work in the area. They are recommended reading. Resources 1 Political
Declaration @ http://www.un.org/ga/20special/poldecla.htm,
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