Director-General/Executive Director
26 June 20 14
Mr. Chairman,
Excellences,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Welcome to this special CND meeting for the release of UNODC's flagship publication, the World Drug Report 2014.
Today is the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. It is, therefore, a suitable day on which to highlight the tremendous damage that illicit drugs cause to individuals and communities.
Across the world, illicit drugs and organised crime endanger stability and peace, as well as the rule of law and human rights.
Yesterday, I was in New York where I participated in the Security Council meeting on Afghanistan. Following the three hour debate, the Council adopted a very strong presidential statement which is published as Document S/PRST/2014/12.
The Security Council, in particular, and I quote from the document, "recognised the threat posed by illicit drugs to international peace and stability in different regions of the world and the important role played by UNODC in this regard."
For these reasons, in the year 2014, drug trafficking is no ordinary crime; it has the reach, fuelled by billions of dollars and terrible violence, to erode societies and sabotage development.
Against this background, the World Drug Report provides detailed research on illicit drugs and how it impacts on people and societies.
The report represents the very rock bed of UNODC's work, and it accords with the golden principle that before successful action comes solid assessment, and sound analysis.
This year, the World Drug Report shows that around 243 million people, aged 15 to 64, or around 5 per cent of this group, consumed an illicit drug in 2012.
Out of this number, problem drug users, those who have the most profound difficulties with drug consumption, account for around 27 million, or 1 in every 200 people.
But, the report shows that we also confront serious gaps in the way that drug abuse is treated. Only 1 in 6 drug users around the world receive the drug dependence treatment they need.
We also know that there are 12.7 million individuals who inject drugs, and of this number, some 1.7 million are living with HIV; 52 per cent of those injecting drugs have Hepatitis C.
These disturbing figures reinforce the need for better access to evidence-based HIV prevention, treatment and care services.
I encourage every country to adhere to the principle that those suffering from drug use disorders are to be accorded the same rights to treatment and care as anyone suffering from any disease.
In terms of the different types of illicit drugs, we continue to confront towering increases of opium from Afghanistan, which accounts for 80 per cent of the world's opium production.
In 2013, the area under poppy cultivation in this country reached an historical high of 209 thousand hectares. Opium production increased by 50 per cent, compared to 2012, rising to 5.5 thousand tons.
There is a similar trend in Myanmar where the area under opium poppy cultivation is also increasing and accounts now for 57.8 thousand hectares.
We are also seeing drug users in the US, Oceania, some European countries, and Asia switching between heroin and pharmaceutical opioids.
This trend appears to be driven by low prices and accessibility. In the United States, the trend has translated into a worrying movement away from pharmaceutical opioids and towards heroin.
On a more positive note, cocaine production continues to decline.
Our recent coca surveys also show that, in Peru, cultivation is down by 17.5 per cent from 60.4 thousand hectares to 49.8 thousand hectares. Bolivia has also seen a decline of 9 per cent in cultivation. Colombia remains stable at 48 thousand hectares cultivated.
Globally, cannabis use remains stable, and it is too early to appreciate the impact of new regulatory frameworks in some US states, and Uruguay.
ATS continue to be a matter of concern. Seizures of methamphetamine have doubled between 2010 and 2012; 144 tons of ATS were seized globally in 2012.
NPS are another serious challenge to the international community; their number on the global market has doubled in the last five years.
This year, the report has a special focus on precursor chemicals, which are the lifeblood of the illicit drugs industry.
15 per cent of diverted acetic anhydride, used in the manufacture of heroin, and 15 per cent of potassium permanganate, used to produce cocaine, were intercepted between 2007 and 2012.
If we are to truly succeed in stopping the flow of precursor chemicals, we need to strengthen and reinforce the international control system over these chemicals.
The World Drug Report details the trends and movements of drugs, but, as I mentioned earlier, it is also the foundation for UNODC's global efforts to help countries counter these criminal businesses.
Our action is founded on a balanced approach, that promotes shared responsibility among all nations for the world drug problem, and creates the integrated programmes to counter illicit drugs, on both the supply and demand sides, through better regional, inter-regional and international cooperation.
In doing so, I want to stress three key elements in our efforts. I believe they are interrelated and closely connected.
First, reducing the vulnerability of farmers and communities to the illicit economy through alternative livelihood and improvements to the quality of their lives; including in the areas of health care, education and job creation.
Second, ensuring that the crucial voice to be heard in the provision of treatment for drug users is the voice of science. Evidence-based treatment must become the norm around the world.
Third, with science as our platform, delivering the evidence-based awareness raising and the education necessary to help young people live a decent life, free of drugs.
The young people of today, may become the drug users of tomorrow. They are smart, and we must be smart too, as well as convincing in our arguments. The simple "no" to drugs must be replaced by evidence, explanation, and encouragement.
The World Drug Report gives us a realistic picture of the current global drugs' situation, but every picture needs a frame.
That can only come from the process the UN is currently engaged in, as we move towards the UNGASS 2016.
The High-Level review, held in March under your stewardship, Mr. Ambassador, was a major milestone on this path.
The HLR was not a simple exercise in taking stock, it delivered an open dialogue among Member States, the scientific community, civil society and young people, on how best to confront the world drug problem.
We know from the HLR that efforts to implement the 2009 Political Declaration and Plan of Action are helping to contain the world drug problem, but there are challenges.
Now, with the Joint Ministerial Statement, we have a shared understanding of the way forward.
It is a road founded on the international drug conventions as the health and human rights-centred cornerstone of the contemporary drug control system.
You, Member States, have reiterated on many occasions, including at the HLR, that the existing conventions remain valid, and have the necessary flexibility to address the challenge of drug use and abuse within their framework.
I hope that the international community will continue to work in the spirit of cooperation to build more effective policies and to find joint solutions to the wold drug problem, up to and beyond 2016.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
From production and illicit trafficking to consumption, and from precursor chemicals to drug trends and global patterns, the World Drug Report touches on so many important issues that shape our understanding of drug use and illicit trafficking.
But, we must not forget that behind the figures and the facts are the destinies of hundreds of thousands of people whose lives have been shattered by illicit drugs.
As the report shows, every year, up to 200,000 women and men continue to lose their lives, many of them due to overdoses that are preventable.
UNODC's mission is to provide support and assistance to the users of illicit drugs directly through treatment or prevention, and on the basis of our global efforts to reduce supply, while also keeping human rights considerations at the centre of our responses.
In doing so, our work is about sending a clear message that drug use disorders are treatable and preventable. And, about offering hope where before there was only desperation.
Thank you.