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The 2009 Board's Annual Report presented in Jakarta

Jakarta (Indonesia), 24 February 2010 - The United Nations Information Centre in Jakarta in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) organized on 22 February a media briefing on the launch of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) Annual Report, featuring Indonesian Board's member, Dr. Sri Suryawati.

Dr. Suryawati has been a member of the INCB since 2007. She is the second INCB member from Indonesia, and the first to have been nominated to the board by the World Health Organization - WHO.

Speaking in Bahasa Indonesia, Dr. Suryawati began with a presentation on the origins of international narcotic drug control efforts and on the function and composition of the INCB. In speaking to reporters, she emphasized the importance of primary prevention of drug abuse, one of the main topics in the report. She also took a number of questions related to the regional trend of using young women as "mules" for drug trafficking. "These young women are often looking for work abroad, they are not necessarily well-educated, and they are vulnerable to being exploited" Dr. Suryawati said "so it's important to make the public aware of this".

The regional trend of increased illicit manufacture and trafficking of MDMA ("ecstasy") was also noted. While Indonesia used to be a transit country and a destination for the illicit traffic of drugs the country has now acquired a role in the illicit manufacture of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS), according to Dr. Suryawati. In 2007, 23 laboratories for the illicit manufacture of ATS type drugs were dismantled, of which 16 were used for producing MDMA. "Monitoring of illicit production, and further demand reduction efforts are what is needed" she said.

Dr. Suryawati also mentioned a successful case of cooperation between the National Narcotics Board of Indonesia and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in addressing illicit drug trafficking, including cooperation in the area of joint law enforcement operations. "Such regional cooperation is essential to combat narcotics" she urged.


In 2008, most of the countries in East and South-East Asia, including China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Japan, Korea, Singapore, The Lao People's Democratic Republic, Thailand and Vietnam, reported seizures of methamphetamine.

For more information on the launch of the INCB 2009 Report click here