The United Nations Consultative Group on Narcotics Problems in Asia and the Far East met in Tokyo from 3 to 12 February 1964. It was organized as a regional project under resolution 1395 (XIV) of the General Assembly of the United Nations, which established the continuing programme of technical assistance in narcotics control. It followed a recommendation made by the South-East Asia Consultative Group on Narcotics Control which met in Bangkok in December 1960 (in pursuance of the same resolution of the General Assembly) and drew special attention to the useful purposes that could be served by regional conferences for the exchange of knowledge and experience and for the development of closer co-operation among governments in the field. The Tokyo meeting was preceded by the Study Tour of Seaports and Airports in Eastern Asia which took place in November and December 1961.
Pages: 39 to 46
Creation Date: 1965/01/01
The United Nations Consultative Group on Narcotics Problems in Asia and the Far East met in Tokyo from 3 to 12 February 1964. It was organized as a regional project under resolution 1395 (XIV) of the General Assembly of the United Nations, which established the continuing programme of technical assistance in narcotics control. It followed a recommendation made by the South-East Asia Consultative Group on Narcotics Control which met in Bangkok in December 1960 (in pursuance of the same resolution of the General Assembly) and drew special attention to the useful purposes that could be served by regional conferences for the exchange of knowledge and experience and for the development of closer co-operation among governments in the field. The Tokyo meeting was preceded by the Study Tour of Seaports and Airports in Eastern Asia which took place in November and December 1961.
The meeting was attended by participants from the following countries and territories: Afghanistan, Burma, Ceylon, China (Taiwan), Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea and Thailand. In addition, there were observers from Australia, France and the United States of America, as well as representatives of the Permanent Central Opium Board and Drug Supervisory Body, the World Health Organization, the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and the United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders.
The conclusions and recommendations adopted by the Group during the course of its deliberations are as follows:
At the core of the narcotics problems in the region was the existence of indigenous opium production in the northern parts of south-east Asia which was largely illicit. The Group noted that it was this area, generally known as the Burma-Thailand-China-Laos border regions, which was the source of much of the illicit opium traffic and consumption in the region, and now of the expanding traffic in opiates. In view of the strict control exercised in India, the quantity of opium diverted to illicit channels was insignificant there. The prohibition of opium production in Iran had stopped supplies from that source.
It appeared that there had been no material change in the indigenous opium situation since the meeting at Bangkok in 1960, but action had been taken on the lines then suggested. In Thailand, for example, the hill tribes project was well under way. A survey of the tribes concerned had been undertaken with the help of the United Nations and it was hoped that the results would guide the Government's future action. Experiments were at present being carried out in two pilot projects at Tak and Chiang Dao in Thailand.
In Burma, the Government had established an Opium Enquiry Commission to survey the narcotics situation throughout the Union of Burma and to make recommendations to the Government. The United Nations had been asked for assistance, and it is hoped that a planned drive against opium production and consumption will soon be under way.
In Laos, opium was being produced by hill people in the northern part of the country, intended mainly for domestic consumption; the quantities seized had not been very large.
The Consultative Group could not obtain any clear picture of the quantities of opium being produced in the Burma-Thailand-China-Laos border areas. It was given various estimates. It appreciated that, in view of insecure conditions in some parts of the region, the governments found it hard to take effective repressive action.
The Group received information on the progress made by Iran in its fight against opium. It was encouraging to see that in this country the Government's bold programme was producing results which were of incalculable benefit to the country as a whole.
The Group welcomed the measures already taken by the countries concerned to deal with indigenous illicit opium production. It expressed the view that, in view of the entry into force of the 1953 Protocol, these countries would have to make a special effort to control this production. It was also, of course, in the interest of the "victim" countries to contribute towards such control. The Group observed that the level of prices on the illicit market gave a fair indication of the extent of illicit production or imports of illicit opium.
The Group wished to emphasize that the essential long-term key to the regional narcotics problem as a whole was to tackle the indigenous illicit production of opium in the region. With the present scale of production of opium, gauged on the basis of seizures and estimates, palliative measures would be costly and extensive.
Much of the affected area was in need of settlement and of economic and social development. It was not practicable to tackle the opium element in the situation in isolation. The level of living, particularly the agricultural economy of the tribes, had to be developed as a whole at the same time as normal administration was progressively introduced. Community development techniques might well play a useful part.
Recommendations
The Group recommended that:
In countries of south-east Asia where illicit opium production is known to exist surveys should be immediately undertaken as a first step, to establish the scope of the problem as the basis for effective government programming. If need be, such surveys might be carried out in co-operation with the United Nations and its specialized agencies;
These countries should also make detailed plans for the control of opium cultivation on an adequate scale of operations and on a long-range basis. It was noted by the Group that the crux of the problem lay in localizing and gradually closing in on centres of illicit cultivation and in obtaining the total world licit requirements from as small and well defined areas as possible. "Victim" countries and international bodies should be invited to participate in any form of assistance that may be needed;
Burma, Thailand, Laos and other interested countries may wish to hold a meeting in the near future to review the problems of opium control, to exchange experiences thereon and to consider what joint measures should be taken. If need be, such a meeting might be organized under the auspices of ECAFE.
Information given the Group went to show that the heroin traffic was on the increase in the region, parti- cularly in Hong Kong, Japan and Thailand. In Japan, Macao and the Republic of Korea, however, the amount of heroin seized had considerably decreased in 1963, but there were indications that the traffic may be extending to other countries in the region.
An interesting point was that the base material used in the manufacture of heroin was morphine blocks of the "999" type. This was in contrast with the situation in Iran, where heroin was being illicitly produced from opium.
The Group observed that as repressive action in Bangkok became more severe, the clandestine manufacture of heroin shifted to the provinces. For a number of years, it had been observed that the clandestine manufacture of opiates tended to move closer to the areas of opium production. Obviously, this made interception of subsequent trafficking in drugs extremely difficult.
Illicit manufacture of heroin was closely linked to the existence of international gangs of drug traffickers. A movement of experts in opiate manufacture from one country to another in the region had been reported. This was viewed as a disturbing trend and a real danger of an expansion of the areas in which the manufacture of heroin had previously been known.
The Group wished to record its appreciation of the efforts being made in Hong Kong, Macao and Thailand against the clandestine manufacture of heroin. Its attention was drawn to the need for strict control of acetic anhydride, a substance used in the manufacture of heroin.
The traffic in morphine blocks was particularly disturbing. The Group could obtain no precise information on the exact areas where these blocks were manufactured. There were indications that morphine was being manufactured close to the Burma-Thai frontier areas, sometimes by groups that moved from place to place. In view of the increase in heroin manufacture, the Group wished to draw the attention of all governments to the dangers of the continuing morphine manufacture in this area.
Recommendations
The Group recommended that:
The attention of governments should be drawn to the expanding heroin traffic in the region;
Governments should make all efforts to detect clandestine manufacture of heroin and suppress it;
Governments concerned should exercise, as far as is practicable, control over the import of acetic anhydride and its distribution in domestic trade and manufacture;
Governments concerned should exercise control or police surveillance over the chemicals used to manufacture morphine base from opium;
The governments concerned should make efforts to detect and suppress the illicit manufacture of morphine in block or powder form, which is the basis of the heroin traffic;
A joint consultant with experience of field conditions in this particular problem, appointed by the United Nations, should investigate the interlocking regional traffic in opium, morphine and heroin, working in close co-operation with the authorities of the countries concerned, his recommendations to be for their use;
Countries which had problems with the illicit production of opium or opiates are advised to make a special study of the prices prevailing on the illicit market when making their plans to repress such production.
Control of narcotic drugs
Conclusions
The Consultative Group reviewed information on the system of international narcotics control, its purposes and main provisions, the functions of the international bodies set up under the narcotics treaties, and the obligations devolving upon the parties to these treaties.
It noted that the international regime set up under these treaties requires governments to exercise control over the production and distribution of narcotic drugs, to take measures to combat the illicit traffic, to maintain the necessary administrative machinery, and to report to international organs on their actions.
Governments are obligated to limit the use of narcotic drugs to medical and scientific purposes and to restrict supplies to the approximate amounts needed for them. Persons engaged in the production of narcotic drugs must be licensed for that purpose. Imports and exports are also subject to a licensing system, and exports may not be permitted unless the government of the importing country certifies its previous consent. Governments have to establish advance estimates of their narcotic requirements and have to allocate quotas to manufacturers and importers in order to regulate supplies, which must not exceed the estimates. The retail sale, dispensing or administration of drugs is in general permitted only on medical prescription. Persons dealing in narcotics are required to maintain records of their transactions, which are inspected by government officials. Under the terms of the 1953 Protocol opium-producing countries must establish a strict system of control over the production of opium, amounting to a national opium monopoly. Opium-producing countries which are not parties to the Protocol have been invited by the Economic and Social Council to apply its provisions.
Each government must maintain a special administration for the application of the narcotics treaties in the territories within its jurisdiction-for the control of the trade in narcotics, the campaign against drug addiction and the suppression of illicit traffic. Wherever the constitution and the administrative system of the country permit, this special administration should be in the charge of a single authority.
An international reporting system is provided for. Governments must furnish to international control organs annual reports on the working of the narcotics control system in their territories; laws and regulations enacted to carry out the provisions of the narcotics treaties; annual advance estimates of their narcotic requirements; statistical returns on production, manufacture, consumption, stocks, trade and confiscations on account of illicit import and export; and information on the manufacture of narcotic drugs.
The Group also reviewed the respective roles of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the Permanent Central Opium Board and the Drug Supervisory Body and the Expert Committee on Addiction-producing Drugs of WHO.
With regard to participation in the multilateral treaties on narcotic drugs, it was noted that countries would benefit by becoming parties to the existing treaties in view of their interlocking nature and their comprehensive scope. The Group noted that the Economic and Social Council had invited governments to become parties to the 1953 Protocol and that both the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council had urged governments to ratify or adhere to the Single Convention, 1961.
There was in the region a general pattern of well-established legislation and administration for the control of narcotic drugs. Nevertheless, the Group thought that governments might wish to review their control systems from time to time in the light of the recommendations made by the international bodies. For this purpose, the services of the Division of Narcotic Drugs of the United Nations Secretariat, and in particular of its outposted officer, should be fully utilized. It was therefore essential that the officer outposted to this region should be familiar with the area and its problems and should be assured of the close co-operation and confidence of the governments in the region. Furthermore, where a need was felt for the training of officials in the field of general narcotics administration, governments should avail themselves of the facilities offered under the programme of technical co-operation in narcotics control.
Recommendations
The Group recommended that:
Countries in Asia and the Far East should accede to those multilateral treaties to which they are not already parties;
Governments of countries in the region should establish a special administration for narcotics control, where this has not already been done, which should be in the charge of a single authority wherever the constitution and administrative system of the country permit;
Governments of countries in the region should review their legislation and administration for narcotics control in the light of the recommendations of international bodies;
Fuller use should be made of the services of the Division of Narcotic Drugs and, in particular, of its outposted regional narcotics officer;
Governments should make use of the facilities available under the programme of technical co-operation in narcotics control for the training of officers in general narcotics administration.
Repression of illicit traffic
Conclusions
The illicit traffic in the region is largely in opium, morphine base and heroin. Much of the opium which flows into the illicit traffic and almost the entire supply of morphine base and heroin is illicitly produced and manufactured in a number of countries situated within the region and outside it. The flow of the traffic is in general from the source areas in the northern part of the region, through Thailand and Burma and into the "victim" countries such as Hong Kong, Macao, Japan, China (Taiwan), and the United States of America. Somewhere along this route opium is converted into morphine base or heroin. A traffic in opium and opiates was noted involving Malaysia, particularly Singapore. There was also a smaller traffic towards Indonesia and Australia. The Group was informed that there was a traffic in opium and the opiates towards the Republic of Korea, some part of it coming from mainland China.
An illicit traffic in amphetamines was noted in Japan, the supplies coming from domestic illicit sources; this problem has, however, become less serious.
In Hong Kong, heroin was being consumed in conjunction with barbitone. In Macao heroin was similarly being used with barbitone and other substances.
There was a traffic in opium, mostly internal, in India, and occasionally a fraction of such opium was to be found in the regional traffic.
In Iran, the bulk of the opium seized crossed the frontiers with neighbouring producing countries.
Seizures of cannabis drugs were reported from some parts of the region, particularly on the northern borders of India and in Burma, Ceylon and Pakistan.
The traffic in drugs in general moves across land frontiers and is also carried by ship and aircraft over long distances. Every conceivable method of transport and concealment is used. Despite appreciable seizures in the countries of the region, the Group noted, the traffic persists on a large scale, is highly profitable, and in several respects has wide international ramifications. The drug traffic is reported to be linked with other forms of criminality.
Because of the international nature of the regional drug traffic, the Group emphasized the necessity of continued international co-operation to combat the traffic. Several participants gave details of the exchange of information on trafficking with other countries in the region and of joint investigation of some important traffic cases. The Group hoped that this exchange would be intensified and broadened, and considered that to make it effective, governments should centralize the channels of communication between countries. In this connexion, it was thought that the utilization of ICPO's services and machinery in the region, including its international radio communication system, would be very helpful.
The Group stressed the value of close co-operation between adjoining countries in the control of smuggling across land frontiers, e.g., Burma and Thailand, Iran and Afghanistan, etc. Frontier control arrangements sometimes have important general security aspects which would involve the negotiation of a specific agreement to facilitate the elaboration of the details by the local enforcement authority, as a preliminary step. The Group hoped that the governments concerned would seriously consider establishing such agreements where needed. The outposted narcotics officer of the United Nations Secretariat in the region could usefully assist in furthering such co-operation.
The use of dogs in the detection of caches of opium and cannabis drugs was brought to the attention of the Group. It was pointed out, however, that there were limitations to the use of dogs for rummaging ships.
The Group observed that the enforcement services in the region, such as health authorities, police, customs, excise and gendarmerie, and their policies are well established, and considered that the efficiency of these services is a primary requisite in combating illicit traffic. It was noted, however, that in many countries in the region such services are poorly provided with material and equipment, which considerably handicaps them in their fight against well-organized traffickers. Furthermore, some countries might wish to consider arrangements for co-ordinated direction of the enforcement services in relation to other governmental activities concerned with narcotics control.
The Group recognized that the repression of illicit opium cultivation may sometimes be difficult in view of the nature of the terrain and the migratory habits of the tribes involved. The Group considered, however, that every effort should be made by the producing countries to intercept the opium traffic at mountain passes and other accessible points, particularly during the harvesting season, thereby making it less attractive to growers. The Group also thought that in areas where opium was licitly produced all efforts should be made to allow such production only in contiguous areas where control of leakage could be checked.
The Group was informed of the effectiveness of severe prison penalties as a deterrent to trafficking. It noted that the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and ICPO had endorsed this view. The Group was of the opinion that governments should impose severe prison sentences for convicted drug traffickers, and hoped that governments would give serious consideration to this matter.
Several participants mentioned the valuable co-operation they were receiving on a bilateral basis from countries in the region in the fight against the illicit traffic. The Group wished to express its appreciation of such co-operation, and it hoped that it would be continued and broadened.
Facilities for training enforcement officers were brought to the attention of the Group. The representative of ICPO mentioned that a training seminar for narcotics enforcement, conducted with the help of suitable experts, would be held in Paris in November this year, with the possibility of certain fellowships from his organization. Some fellowships and/or expert advisers were available under the United Nations programme of technical co-operation in narcotics control. Some might also be available under the Colombo Plan. The Group was also informed of the possibilities of bilateral assistance for training enforcement officials. The Group thought that governments might wish to avail themselves of these opportunities, limited though they might be.
Recommendations
The Group recommended that:
Countries of the region should give greater attention to the repression of the illicit traffic, in particular by placing more resources and better equipment at the disposal of their enforcement services;
The exchange of information on the illicit traffic between countries of the region should be intensified and broadened. This should be done via the ICPO (INTERPOL) National Central Bureaux or, where this is not applicable, through other government channels;
Governments with common land frontiers where close control is desirable should consider in what ways this could be implemented, utilizing, if need be, the services of the Division of Narcotic Drugs of the United Nations;
The courts should impose severe prison sentences on convicted drug traffickers as a deterrent to illicit traffic;
In areas where opium is illicitly produced, governments should make special efforts to intercept the opium traffic at mountain passes and other accessible points, particularly during the harvesting season;
All assistance should be given in the training of enforcement officials on a bilateral basis, and governments should utilize the existing facilities of training available with the United Nations, ICPO and the Colombo Plan.
Problems of drug addiction
Conclusions
The Consultative Group noted that drug abuse was a part of the broader question of public health, in particular mental health, which had roots in social processes. Therefore, the Group felt that drug abuse could not and should not be studied in abstracto, but always in relation to the cultural, traditional, social and economic conditions in a given area, and that no addict could be treated without due consideration of his environment.
It found that in some parts of the region drug abuse tended to be considered as shameful and incompatible with the economic and social development of the country. This was relatively new, and of a good omen.
It concluded that although drug abuse was often widely spread in the lower strata (and this, of course, should be understood as a very relative term) of society, other social groups should not be disregarded.
It noted that, with the partial exception of registered addicts in some countries, the data regarding drug abuse in the region were based only on crude estimates.
As far as the misuse of opium was concerned, it gained the impression that there was no noticeable diminution, particularly in the areas of known illicit production.
It found that heroin addiction was growing steadily in some parts of the region and appearing in areas where it had been hitherto unknown, especially after abrupt suppression of opium cultivation or use. A causal relationship between the suppression of opium and the appearance and growth of heroin addiction had not been established with certainty, but the possibility of heroin addicts switching to other dangerous drugs should be kept in mind in future planning.
The Group noted that there was continued consumption of cannabis in the region and that there was no scientific evidence of a direct relationship between that consumption and heroin addiction.
The Group viewed with great concern the spreading of the abuse of such drugs as amphetamines and barbiturates (either alone or in conjunction with heroin) and early signs of a problem of alcoholism in a number of countries.
The Group wished to emphasize the gravity of the problem of drug abuse for the countries concerned and the necessity of appealing to public opinion to help the governments in solving it through educational programmes, which were at present rare.
Recommendations
The Group therefore recommended that:
Research should be undertaken into such important aspects of the use and abuse of drugs as: epidemiology, with adequate techniques of sampling, recording, evaluating; sociological and cultural features, psychological reasons, etc. by a specially trained, full-time professional research staff;
Operational research should be carried out as far as possible - i.e., follow-up studies with objective assessment of results obtained from specific countermeasures - detailed and complete statistics being of course necessary;
Governments should take measures to improve their system of recording addicts in order to determine more accurately their number for treatment and rehabilitation programmes and planning purposes;
Education of the public and professional groups, stressing objective, factual, understandable data carefully suited to the specific social and cultural traditions of a given country, should be undertaken at all levels, with particular emphasis on youth, as one of the best means of prevention yielding tangible results at small cost. One aim would be to correct false beliefs in beneficial drug effects (other than those medically indicated) as well as to warn against the detrimental effects of drugs;
A study might be made to examine whether a free or subsidized programme of social entertainment to divert the mind of the addict at the crucial hours of the use of drugs would act as an effective preventive measure;
Governments should watch with utmost care for any sign of the abuse of alcohol, barbiturates, amphetamines or other drug and take the appropriate measures of treatment and control;
Since increasing total consumption generally means abuse, governments should watch for any increase in the licit use of narcotic drugs and related drugs;
Illicit possession of drugs by the addict for his own use should be treated less severely than possession by traffickers;
No encouragement should be given to narcotics consumption by licensing opium dens;
The present overriding emphasis on law enforcement in the countries in the region should be balanced by greater emphasis on the social and health approaches.
Treatment and rehabilitation of addicts
Conclusions
The Group noted that a prerequisite for the treatment of drug addicts should be to find the psychological, traditional, cultural and social motives of their drug taking in order to be able to remove the pressures exerted on them or, eventually, to try to change the tradition involved.
It insisted on the fact that a basic condition for the permanent rehabilitation of most types of addicts was to help them keep free from drugs.
It stressed the importance of psychiatric and psychological treatment, vocational therapy, social work services, etc. in the cure of dependence on drugs.
It emphasized the importance of comprehensive after-care programmes, which should be extended to all addicts after hospital or institutional treatment, for without it the chances of a definite cure remain low.
Recommendations
The Group therefore recommended that:
Specialized programmes of hospital and after-care treatment should be organized or extended to as many addicts as possible, together with the encouragement of voluntary self-commitment under civil processes, such programmes to include psychiatric and psychological treatment, vocational rehabilitation, social work services and economic support; clinical and/or chemical testing for the presence of drugs in the body (relapse) and built-in programmes for research, especially operational research [see above, ( b), page 44];
In view of the apparent lack of medical and social welfare staff suitably trained for the diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of drug abusers, such personnel should be thoroughly trained in making the greatest possible use of the facilities offered and experiences gained in the region;
The efficiency of the above measures may be increased and their cost decreased by co-ordinating them with, and integrating them into, existing measures in related fields of public health and welfare.
Technical assistance
Conclusions
The Group was informed of the current system of technical co-operation of the United Nations and specialized agencies and the nature of the continuing programme of technical assistance in narcotics control under General Assembly resolution 1395 (XIV). It noted that assistance was available to individual countries or to groups of countries which have common or interlocking problems. Subjects on which technical assistance in the field of drug abuse may be sought included administrative, technical and law enforcement services (to be provided by or through the competent United Nations bodies), public health measures, including prevention and treatment, health and welfare services for after-care and rehabilitation of addicts, and crop substitution, the latter being within the jurisdiction of WHO and FAO respectively. When appropriate, requests for assistance of the above and similar types should be addressed to the international organizations concerned, as mentioned. They may be included in larger-scale development projects, particularly as regards schemes for agricultural redevelopment and public administration projects.
Possibilities of assistance on a bilateral basis were discussed. The Group observed that, under the Colombo Plan, training of enforcement officials could be undertaken within the ECAFE region. Australia explained that it could continue to undertake the training of officials in specific fields. The Group noted with appreciation the different types of assistance given by the Government of the United States of America in the field of narcotics control and drug addiction. India mentioned that it was already assisting in training officials under the United Nations fellowship programme, and it would offer what further assistance it could. The Group received information on the various forms of technical assistance acti- vities undertaken in the region in the past four years. Fellowships, experts and consultants were valuable in assisting governments to improve their narcotics control system. Regional seminars on general questions, such as the present one, or training seminars on enforcement, such as the one planned by ICPO for November 1964, were also valuable. The Group expressed the view that governments should make full use of the available opportunities for assistance in this field.
A representative of the United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders offered the Group the full co-operation of the Institute in any training programme or regional project that might be undertaken in the field of narcotic drugs. The Group wished to record its appreciation of this offer and hoped that countries of the region would avail themselves of this opportunity.
The Group emphasized that to deal with the problem of illicit opium production in the region in connexion with agricultural development it would be necessary to obtain assistance on a much larger scale than was at present envisaged. It hoped that governments and international bodies, particularly the United Nations Special Fund, would immediately undertake long-range programmes with a view to tackling this difficult social and economic problem.
Recommendation
The following recommendation was adopted:
The participants in the Consultative Group meeting,
Having studied the economic, social, health, administrative, and police aspects of narcotics control from an international, and especially a regional point of view,
Having in particular exchanged their national experiences which might be useful to other countries in the region,
Holding that their studies will be very useful from the viewpoint of their immediate tasks as members of narcotics control departments; as well as from that of long-range planning of the campaign against the illicit traffic and drug addiction,
Considering that economic dependence on the production of opium for the illicit traffic and/or serious problems of addiction are a considerable obstacle to a well-ordered economic and social advance in some districts of Asian and Far Eastern countries,
Holding that the fast-moving changes in the economy and society of a number of countries, including in particular a rapid process of industrialization and urbanization, is affecting the character of addiction in the area, which is reflected by a widespread shift from the misuse of opium to that of manufactured narcotics such as heroin,
Expressing the belief that these changes will increase the need for training national narcotics control departments in methods used by other countries,
Being convinced that the economic dependence of some districts on the supply of opium to illicit traffickers continues to enable clandestine manufacturers of morphine and heroin to obtain the raw material which they need, and that this constitutes the basic obstacle to decisive progress in the fight against the illicit traffic,
Having noted that the planning required for this economic and social transformation would be facilitated in some countries by surveys undertaken with international assistance and, in particular, with that of the international organizations concerned,
Invite the attention of ECAFE and of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs to the increasing need for technical assistance in the training of national control officers, in the reorganization of administrative machinery and in making the surveys referred to above;
Urge the technical assistance authorities of the United Nations and of the specialized agencies to arrange for a seminar of national control officers of the govern ments represented on the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East on problems of narcotics control at least once in every two years;
Invite the technical assistance authorities of the United Nations and the specialized agencies and of countries of the Colombo Plan to give favourable consideration to requests for fellowships and experts to facilitate the tasks of their governments in the field of narcotic drugs;
Call the attention of these authorities to the usefulness of fellowships which would enable national officials to participate in such training facilities as are offered by the International Criminal Police Organization and by the United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders;
Invite the attention of the Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance and the Special Fund, the specialized agencies and, in particular, of WHO, FAO, the ILO and UNESCO to the urgent importance of their participation in this work because of some special features of the narcotics situation in several countries of Asia and the Far East.