Director General/Executive Director
Mr. President,
Esteemed Members of the Security Council,
Thank you for the opportunity to update the Council on UNODC's work against illicit drugs and their impact on health, development and security in Afghanistan.
Since I last reported to you, UNODC has published its Afghanistan Opium Survey 2016 showing a worrying reversal in efforts to combat this persistent problem.
Opium poppy cultivation has increased by ten per cent and production by 43 per cent. Production has been driven by a 30 per cent rise in the average opium yield.
The number of poppy-free provinces has fallen from 14 to 13 compared to last year, while eradication is in freefall, dropping 91 per cent.
It is against this background, as well as the bitter ongoing insurgency, that UNODC's efforts, and those of our partners, continue in Afghanistan.
The Brussels Conference and the resulting communique underlined the need for these activities.
Countries and organizations committed themselves to a sustained and integrated approach to dealing with the production and trafficking of illicit drugs and precursor chemicals.
Fighting organized crime, including money laundering, corruption and the financing of terrorism was highlighted, as well as the need to treat and rehabilitate drug users.
The communique expressed the international community's determination to counter all forms of terrorism and violent extremism.
Our own activities, delivered through our integrated and comprehensive projects and programmes, are targeting these and other challenges.
UNODC's Afghan Country Programme, linked to our Regional Programme for Afghanistan and Neighbouring Countries, assists in building capacity in the ministry of counter narcotics and the counter narcotics police and in precursor control.
Earlier this month, I visited the "Domodedevo Project," supported by Russia and Japan, which is improving, through professional training, the capacity of the Afghan counter narcotics police to combat illicit drugs.
UNODC is promoting cooperation in the region through our Regional Programme; the Triangular and AKT Initiatives; the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre; and the GCC Criminal Information Centre to Combat Drugs.
To build links between these regional bodies operating along the major opiate trafficking routes, UNODC has introduced a "Networking the networks" initiative to leverage information sharing. Our work forms part of an overall interregional drug control response to drug trafficking.
These activities also include support, including in the field, for the Paris Pact Initiative.
UNODC recently established an Air Cargo Unit at the Kabul international airport. Afghanistan is now one of the first countries to implement the Container Control Programme AIR segment.
In the essential area of health, UNODC supports treatment services in the country founded on scientific evidence and human rights, especially for vulnerable children and youth exposed to drugs, as well as their families.
Afghan heroin is also linked to terrorism and the insurgency. The bulk of opium cultivation takes place in areas controlled by the Taliban, and they are receiving tens of millions of dollars by taxing drug trafficking. UNODC welcomes the Afghan government's decision to develop a national action plan on violent extremism and we assist in its implementation.
The adoption of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development is driving momentum for more ambitious alternative development projects for Afghan farmers currently growing illicit crops.
UNODC appreciates donor interest in alternative development projects carried out in Afghanistan in cooperation with other UN agencies and the government.
Illicit drugs fuel corruption. UNODC, as the guardian of the UN Convention Against Corruption, is working with Afghan counterparts on drafting a new comprehensive Anti-Corruption Law based on international standards and best practices.
Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda promotes peaceful and inclusive societies. UNODC is working with the competent authorities to enhance the capacity of financial intelligence units, the regulator and criminal justice institutions to analyse, detect, investigate and prosecute economic crime cases.
The new National Peace and Development Framework, and National Drug Action Plan, underscore the Afghan government's willingness and determination to counter illicit production, trafficking and to reduce demand.
Mr. President,
UNODC will continue to work over the long term with partners, including the Afghan government, to counter illicit drugs, crime, corruption and terrorism in Afghanistan, in West and Central Asia, as well as along the main drug trafficking routes to the rest of the world.
In pursuit of this strategy, UNODC is helping to integrate these activities into planning for the economy and national security.
Afghanistan is hard pressed by the impact of illicit drugs and I would call on the international community to remain fully committed to helping to alleviate this destructive threat. Thank you.