Director-General/Executive Director
Privy Counsillor,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am pleased to address you today to celebrate Thailand’s success in curbing illicit crop cultivation through sustainable and inclusive opportunities.
It is an honour to be joined by His Excellency Privy Councillor General Kampanat Ruddit, Chairman of the Royal Project Foundation Executive Board, as well as representatives of farming organisations from the region.
I must congratulate you, Mr. Kampanat, and the Royal Project Foundation for over 50 years of promoting alternative development as a model of sustainable livelihoods in Thailand.
Your commitment and dedication to promoting alternative livelihoods represent an important contribution to the fight against illicit crops and in improving the lives of thousands of farming families
As the leading model of alternative development, Thailand is a beacon of inspiration and rich experience for the whole region.
I witnessed this first-hand during my visit there last year, where I had the honour of meeting with several of UNODC’s counterparts, including the Mae Fah Luang Foundation.
The Foundation’s impressive work has guided local communities on the pathway to alternative development by turning opium plantations into fertile land for hill-tribe farmers, allowing them to grow sustainable crops and alternative livelihoods.
We have been working with the Foundation to promote these best practices at global platforms, including here at the CND.
I also visited the Roi Jai Rak project, which applies traditional alternative development approaches to provide sustainable livelihoods and health services for people who use drugs.
During my stay, I was proud to support the launch of the International Narcotics Control College, which aims to promote cross-border cooperation and serve as a vital knowledge hub to share experience and expertise on alternative development.
In Bangkok, I launched UNODC’s regional programme for Southeast Asia for 2022-2026, which incorporated the valuable lessons learned during my visit to the region and in my meetings with counterparts.
This will build on the technical assistance that UNODC has provided in Thailand and the wider region, which amounted to 70 million dollars’ worth of projects from 2020 to 2022.
Alternative development can only be sustainable when it is truly inclusive.
That means supporting and empowering women, as well as indigenous peoples in applicable contexts.
I am therefore pleased that you have presented a resolution on alternative development at this year’s Commission on Narcotic Drugs with specific measures to protect the rights of indigenous peoples.
This in turn contributes towards achieving the Sustainable Developments, including by reducing poverty, promoting gender equality and building long-term sustainable development.
Later this year, we will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Alternative Development.
The adoption of this document recognized the importance of alternative development not just as a complement to law enforcement, but as a crucial driver of economic development.
Since then, Member States have increasingly implemented alternative development projects as a means of tackling illicit crop cultivation.
I encourage them to continue their efforts to implement balanced supply-side drug policies which combine law enforcement activities with human and community-centred alternative development, with a specific focus on economic initiatives to guarantee long-term incomes for local farmers.
This requires effective partnerships with the private sector, which can enable farmers’ organizations to export their products to local and international markets.
In this regard, UNODC was pleased to collaborate with the French Malongo Coffee Roaster in delivering upwards of 300 tons of fair-trade coffee to Europe in 2022.
UNODC is also supporting Thailand, and the other signatory countries of the Mekong Memorandum of Understanding, in developing a new sub-regional action plan that will promote market access for alternative development products in the Greater Mekong Sub-region.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Alternative development has proven itself a driver of sustainable drug control strategies.
It can break the vicious cycles of violence, poverty, and exploitation fuelled by organised crime and illicit drug production, providing alternative livelihoods for farming communities.
Thailand’s experience testifies to this, and it would be remiss of us not to learn from it
By investing in inclusive alternative development today, we are investing in a safe, sustainable future for all.
Thank you.