Statement by
Eduardo Vetere
Director
Centre for International Crime Prevention
on behalf of
Under-Secretary-General
Pino Arlacchi
Executive Director
to the Opening Session of the Third Review Meeting
of the Memorandum of Understanding on
Subregional Drug Control Cooperation
Dushanbe
17-18 September 2001
Your Excellency, distinguished President Rakhmonov,
Your Excellencies, Heads of Delegations,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am honoured to bring you warm greetings from Under-Secretary-General Pino Arlacchi, who attended your last Review Meeting personally. Unavoidable scheduling problems prevent him from being here today, and he has asked me to welcome you to this meeting on his behalf and to convey best wishes to the Government and people of Tajikistan on the tenth anniversary of independence.
First of all, I want to thank Tajikistan for hosting this Third Review Meeting of the Memorandum of Understanding on drug control cooperation in Central Asia. This is the fifth anniversary year of the MOU and a good opportunity for a joint assessment of the on-going cooperation and for affirming a course of action for the future.
The last five years have been very productive, in fact. This region has put in place a range of cooperation mechanisms that address drug control and crime prevention. There is overlap between some of them, but this is not negative overlap. When we build a house, for example, we make sure that the tiles overlap. If not, the rain will pass between the tiles.
Much the same can be said about regional cooperation. Each cooperation mechanism plays its part, and the overlap provides a reinforcement of the entire process. The various groupings are based on different contexts of common interest.
This MOU initially brought together five newly independent countries that shared a common geographical position in a region highly vulnerable to drug problems. Good transport links to Europe made these five countries very attractive to drug traffickers seeking new routes to European markets. The Central Asian countries themselves also offered new markets and even potential for new areas of illicit cultivation. So cooperation among them was essential to prevent a spillover of serious drug problems from South West Asia - production, trafficking and abuse.
UNDCP was pleased to be a party to the MOU, which was also joined later by Russia and by the Aga Khan Development Network. At this meeting, consideration will be given to the addition of another member, Azerbaijan. It is clear that the MOU is alive and dynamic.
The Economic Cooperation Organization - ECO - offered a broader regional grouping which the Central Asian States had joined in 1992. In recent years, ECO has established an active drug control strategy that looks at the needs of the region stretching from Pakistan in the east to Turkey in the west. This is a critical region for drug control, and UNDCP is pleased to be working closely with ECO as well.
A number of other regional groupings give attention to drug control and include in each case all or some of the Central Asian States. Certain of these initiatives are related directly to cooperation against drug trafficking, notably the 1996 agreement among four countries. Other groupings within Central Asia and in the CIS context facilitate operational cooperation against various forms of organized crime.
The Shanghai Forum, which dates from 1996, brings Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan together with Russia and China to address issues of regional security, including drug trafficking. Uzbekistan has recently joined the group as well, which is now called the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Stemming the flow of drugs out of Afghanistan is of key importance to the region. In this connection, the Six plus Two grouping has enabled practical discussions of strategy and cooperation among the countries that border Afghanistan, plus Russia and the United States.
UNDCP has worked closely with the group over the past two years. In fact, a Six plus Two technical meeting has just been completed in Islamabad, with UNDCP support. The meeting reiterated the deep concern of the countries most immediately affected by Afghan drugs. The meeting noted steady progress in the implementation of the Regional Action Plan adopted one year ago by the Six plus Two group.
We can also see cases of clear focus on Central Asia in much broader contexts. Recognizing the linkages between drug smuggling and other forms of organized crime, the co-chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe joined with ODCCP in sponsoring last October's Tashkent Conference on Enhancing Security and Stability in Central Asia. This event was a milestone in regional cooperation. The final documents, approved by all Central Asian governments, provided clear commitments to further concrete collaboration.
This was reinforced in the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs in March, through a resolution welcoming the close links established among the Central Asian countries to address the drug problem and encouraging the international community to provide additional support to the region.
The message is clear. The Central Asian governments are in full agreement on the need to work together to fight drug traffic and related crime. Through the activities that have grown out of these regional initiatives, including the projects in cooperation with ODCCP, the governments have proven that they want to convert the various agreements into action and are not content with only words.
The need for further action remains acute. The proximity of Central Asia to Afghanistan has meant an increasing drug flow through the region in the past decade, headed for the Russian and European markets. Heroin seizures and prices show that this trend is not decreasing, despite the reduction of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan. Stockpiles remain, and the delicate global balance between supply and demand for illicit opiates ensures that the situation will remain volatile for the foreseeable future.
As in the case of many other parts of the world, the illicit drug traffic is leaving behind in Central Asia a trail of drug addiction, affecting most severely the youth. This has the potential to compromise the very future of the countries. Furthermore, the deadly linkage with HIV/AIDS is now starting to be felt and needs to be urgently addressed.
We see little sign of a reduced threat as we look to the future. So it is encouraging to note the increased attention being given to demand reduction. I cannot overstate the high degree of risk. There is no immunity to drug abuse.
Indeed, the region is moving towards a balanced approach, involving action against drug traffic, attention to traffic in precursor chemicals, a range of measures to prevent drug demand, vigilance against illicit cultivation, continued development of the legislative base and efforts to improve data collection and analysis on all aspects of the drug problem and related issues.
I take this opportunity to announce the launch in the coming days of a research project on organized crime. Within a short time, the project should provide a picture of the involvement of organized criminal groups in illegal activities, including drug trafficking. This will be a good complement to the existing research project o the nature and extent of drug abuse.
I would also like to bring to your attention a special event soon to take place in this region. As you know the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime was signed last December in Palermo by a record number of governments. It is now a matter of urgency to ensure ratification of this state-of-the-art instrument and its three Protocols. We are organizing on 3 and 4 October in Teheran, in cooperation with ECO and the Government of Iran, a Ministerial Seminar to give impetus to the ratification process in the ECO countries. I encourage you to participate in the seminar at the highest possible level.
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, ODCCP is fully committed to support the work being done in this region, which remains of high priority to the international community. We count on the donor community to reflect this priority by providing the needed resources.
We have a good base on which to build for the future. I say "we" because the UN is also a signatory to the MOU. Through continued commitment to a proactive stance on drug control and related crime and security issues, through continued commitment to close cooperation across national borders, through continued commitment to a pragmatic approach, we can together achieve our objective and ensure a bright future for our children.
I thank you for your attention.