Director-General/Executive Director
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am pleased to join you today for the launch of UNODC’s roadmap for Afghanistan and neighbouring countries. It’s a product we have been working on for more than a year.
I want to extend a special welcome to the head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, SRSG Roza Otunbayeva, at this session of the CND.
Your presence here underscores the close partnership between UNODC and UNAMA, and underlines your commitment to addressing drug challenges in Afghanistan.
We are glad to have you with us.
I would also like to thank our co-sponsors Uzbekistan, Japan, and Italy, for their continued support.
This event comes at a critical time for Afghanistan and its people.
The country is sinking deeper and deeper into poverty, hunger, and economic hardship.
According to UNOCHA, some 23 million Afghans – more than half the population – are estimated to need humanitarian assistance in 2025.
At the same time, we are seeing cuts to overseas development budgets.
This risks making a situation that is already extremely precarious even worse.
At the same time, there are some developments that offer a glimmer of hope.
One such development is that the opium ban introduced by the de facto authorities in 2022 appears largely to have held for the second consecutive year, according to UNODC’s latest crop monitoring survey.
For the first time in decades, there seems to be a real opportunity to end the dependency of Afghanistan’s economy on drug production.
But this progress comes with its own challenges.
Farmers who once relied on opium have turned to alternative crops like cereal and cotton to put food on the table.
However, these crops provide only a fraction of the income compared to opium, which generates 60 times more revenue than wheat.
This economic struggle is compounded by extreme weather conditions, which threaten agricultural production and undermine food security.
It is clear that without sustained, large-scale investment in alternative development, agricultural infrastructure, and linking farmers to global markets, there is a real risk that many farmers could resort back to opium cultivation.
And the risks extend beyond the poppy fields.
While opium production has declined, drug trafficking remains high, with trafficking groups still holding stocks from past harvests, and adapting to this new landscape.
UNODC research also suggests that manufacturing of methamphetamine within Afghanistan is growing.
Seizures of meth suspected to be originating from Afghanistan have been reported in places as far away as the EU, the Near and Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Africa.
Criminal networks are also diversifying their operations into other illicit activities, engaging in migrant smuggling and human trafficking, corruption, money laundering, and even terrorist financing.
The ripple effects could be felt beyond Afghanistan’s borders, with the potential to destabilize the wider region.
And the impact is already being felt on human health within Afghanistan.
Drug use is on the rise, and the country’s public services are struggling to cope.
Women and young people in particular face major barriers to accessing treatment.
Today, Afghanistan has 84 operational treatment facilities, yet many face shortages of qualified professionals, gender disparities, and inadequate facilities.
This is more than just a drug problem; it is a security, social, and criminal justice challenge.
To address this, we need political will and the financial backing of the international community.
And we must work closely with other UN agencies on the ground.
That is why our cooperation with UNAMA remains essential.
We are committed to supporting the mission with policy advice, research, and technical assistance.
The roadmap we are launching today outlines our strategy for the next three years to address illicit drugs and related crimes in Afghanistan and the region.
It is structured around five key pillars of action.
First, UNODC will lead, coordinate, and support counter-narcotics activities in the country, including by supporting the Doha Process Working Groups on Counter-Narcotics and the Private Sector.
Having the two groups working together will be key to assist the Afghan economy transition from illicit to licit activities.
Second, we will continue to track emerging trends through our research and monitoring tools, ensuring our responses are grounded in science and evidence.
Today, we are launching a new volume in our Afghanistan Drug Insights series examining trafficking trends and their links with transnational organized crime.
And we are currently developing a National Drug Use Survey, which will help us further understand drug use patterns and their socio-economic impact.
Third, we will step up support to farmers through our alternative livelihood programme.
Since the imposition of the opium ban, we have reached over 47,000 vulnerable households, 35 percent of which are headed by women.
And this is important because for women to be empowered they need the opportunity to become financially independent.
Fourth, we will work to ensure greater access to treatment for people using drugs.
We are currently supporting 11 residential drug treatment centres and expanding services in prison and community settings, including vocational skills training in partnership with UN agencies and local NGOs.
Our focus will be on families, schools, and communities to provide access for the most vulnerable, especially women and children.
And fifth, we will enhance regional cooperation and strengthen capacity-building support to Afghanistan’s neighbours, to respond to cross-border trafficking and transnational organized crime.
Through this Roadmap, we will leverage partnerships, build on progress made, and ensure our work to counter illicit drugs goes hand-in-hand with broader efforts to combat organized crime and reinforce regional stability.
Ladies and gentlemen,
At a time when the international community is preoccupied with multiple crises, shifting priorities, and pressing security challenges, we cannot afford to take our eyes off Afghanistan.
Now, more than ever, we must remain fully committed and engaged to supporting the people of Afghanistan through these difficult times.
UNODC’s roadmap is an important step forward in our efforts to tackle drug trafficking and organized crime.
We call on our international partners to rally behind us, by providing the resources and long-term investment needed to deliver lasting, sustainable change.
Together, we can build a safer, more prosperous future for all Afghans.
Thank you.
