Director-General/Executive Director
(as prepared for delivery)
Secretary Blinken,
Distinguished Ministers,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my pleasure to address you today at this launch of the Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drugs.
At the outset, I would like to thank the United States of America for their efforts to foster international cooperation against one of the most critical drug challenges facing the world today.
UNODC’s latest World Drug Report, launched last week, confirms that synthetic drugs have become increasingly dominant in illicit drug markets, creating varying challenges and emergencies in different regions.
Methamphetamine has emerged as the prevalent synthetic drug, with manufacture and use expanding in South-East Asia, North America, South-West Asia, Africa and Europe.
Opioids have claimed tens of thousands of lives in North America through overdoses, the majority caused by illegally manufactured fentanyl.
Non-medical use of tramadol continues to plague Africa and Central Asia, with responses failing to stem the problem.
And the Middle East is now the epicentre of illegal captagon production.
Synthetic drugs have also emerged as a threat in fragile and conflict-affected areas, from Afghanistan to Lebanon to Myanmar to Syria to Ukraine.
These are regional manifestations of a truly global problem, with immediate impact as well as long-term consequences.
To mount an effective international response, we need to reinforce good-faith cooperation based on shared responsibility, and to focus on the common challenges posed by different synthetic drugs.
In contrast to plant-based drugs, synthetics are cheap and fast to produce, simpler for traffickers to conceal, and less expensive to replace if seized by the police.
Clandestine manufacturing labs can be set up close to markets, shortening supply chains.
This has resulted in criminal operations that are far more agile, and left law enforcement agencies facing a constantly moving target.
New precursors and synthesis techniques are appearing at breakneck pace, with the know-how for illicit manufacture easily exchanged on the internet, which has also become a growing marketplace.
The dynamic nature of synthetic drug markets requires more adaptable and integrated responses.
Rather than focusing on single seizures, single shipments, and single cells, the international community needs to think big: to target the supply chain as a connected whole; to improve monitoring and control measures at chokepoints; to be more prudent in regulating access to chemicals; and to collect and analyse data on a global scale to better understand the flows and the actors involved, including the private sector.
Swift exchange of accurate information across borders is also essential, as well as improving global capacities to keep up with developments.
Excellencies,
UNODC is providing a framework for global action and support through our Synthetic Drugs Strategy.
Since launching the Strategy in 2021, our Office has supported over 45 countries to detect and take action on the most harmful and prevalent substances, to improve border management for more effective interdiction, and to adjudicate and disrupt related organized crime.
In addition, UNODC has developed the UN Toolkit on Synthetic Drugs, which provides over 300 cross-cutting resources and tools in all six official UN languages, and which currently has over 68,000 users.
And we provide scientific and forensic services, assisting 300 national drug testing laboratories in 90 countries in 2022.
Meanwhile, UNODC continues to collect data on synthetics and all aspects of the world drug problem, including consumption trends, trafficking routes, and links with other criminal activities, all of which informs our flagship World Drug Report.
Data collected by our Office through Individual Drug Seizure reporting is fed into the Drugs Monitoring Platform, which enables UNODC to map and analyse drug trafficking trends in near-real time.
The generous support of the United States has been essential for the Synthetic Drugs Strategy and the Toolkit, as well as the Drugs Monitoring Platform.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am pleased to note that the efforts being launched here today are focused on concrete steps and follow-up.
I look forward to the UN General Assembly Side Event in September, and the event that will be held on the margins of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the CND, in March 2024.
The CND is the primary international forum for drugs issues, and it will be holding a high-level mid-term review of international drug-related policy commitments during that session.
It will be crucial for your Coalition to work with and within the CND, and to capitalize on the momentum created by the mid-term review in 2024.
UNODC stands ready to support the international community in addressing synthetic drug challenges around the world.
Thank you.