Director General/Executive Director
Excellencies,
Distinguished participants,
It is an honour to be here with you for this discussion on the evolving threat of synthetic drugs.
Regional organizations like the OSCE remain essential partners for the UN in addressing such transnational challenges.
Just this week the General Assembly is holding a high-level debate on cooperation with regional organizations to advance crime prevention and criminal justice responses.
UNODC and the OSCE have been working together under our joint plan of action to support Member States.
Together, we are working to address a range of comprehensive security threats, including transnational organized crime and trafficking, violent extremism leading to terrorism and money laundering, and to promote security sector reform as well as health-centred responses to illicit drugs, including opiate trafficking from Afghanistan.
The problem of synthetic drugs has arguably received less attention than the threats posed by plant-based drugs. But awareness has increased as the synthetic drugs market continues to grow.
The market is more diverse than ever, presenting specific challenges for public health and safety, as well as for monitoring, detection and identification, legislative measures and precursor control.
Non-medical use of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl and its deadly analogues has led to increasing overdose rates, notably in North America, and use of tramadol, an opioid painkiller that remains outside international control, has emerged as a severe threat in many African countries.
Traditional synthetic drugs, such as methamphetamine, amphetamine and "ecstasy"-group substances also remain a serious challenge.
The methamphetamine market is growing rapidly in Asia, and we are seeing an expansion of use and trafficking to new European markets.
Another serious threat is the emergence of New Psychoactive Substances in recent years.
Monitoring mechanisms need to be sensitive to the fluidity of the NPS market and be able to detect newly emerging trends and threats.
In addition, early warning systems can serve to raise awareness of the health risks posed by NPS and provide much-needed platforms for sharing information.
At the global level, the UNODC Early Warning Advisory on NPS monitors new substances and serves as a knowledge hub and means for sharing best practices.
The international community, through the Vienna-based UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, has achieved some successes in getting to grips with NPS and other synthetics.
The Commission has moved quickly to schedule fentanyl and its analogues. At its session in March, the CND put a number of additional new substances under international control.
The March session adopted the Ministerial declaration on strengthening actions at the national, regional and international levels to accelerate the implementation of joint commitments to address and counter the world drug problem.
This forges a common path for the next decade, based on the agreed framework provided by the international drug control conventions, to advance balanced, health- and rights-based approaches to drug supply and demand.
UNODC is supporting such action through our integrated country, regional and global programmes, in partnership with OSCE participating States and partners for cooperation.
To specifically respond to the opioid crisis, our Office has developed a comprehensive, strategic response to support affected countries to predict, prevent and protect against such challenges
The UNODC integrated Opioid Strategy addresses five pillars, namely:
At the CND in March we launched the UN Toolkit on Synthetic Drugs as part of the strategy.
This online, interactive platform offers a wide range of practical tools and resources from the UN system and other partners to support Member States in addressing the opioid crisis.
I invite the OSCE to contribute its expertise to the toolkit.
UNODC also provides research and analysis to inform efforts to address drug challenges.
The 2019 edition of our flagship World Drug Report will be launched on 26 June, the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
My colleagues from UNODC will be participating in sessions of this conference to tell you more about our support to Member States, including to promote evidence-based treatment, rehabilitation and reintegration.
I thank the Slovak Chairmanship and Secretary-General Greminger for holding this discussion. UNODC stands ready as ever to further strengthen our cooperation for comprehensive security in the OSCE area and beyond.
I wish you fruitful discussions. Thank you.