Overview of the 47th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) Press Briefing

On the occasion of the opening of the 47th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), a press briefing was held with Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and Ambassador Alfred T. Moleah, CND Chairman, in Vienna on 15 March, to give a brief overview of topics being discussed during the Session.

In his statement, Ambassador Moleah outlined the proceedings at the Session and the expected outcome. He characterized the Session not as the beginning but rather the continuation of the campaign against drug abuse, with the aim of the 47th CND Session being to indicate ways and means to challenge the drug problem. According to Ambassador Moleah it has been clearly established that there was an intrinsic connection between drug abuse, drug trafficking and terrorism. He furthermore said that there was an intrinsic connection between drug abuse and drug trafficking and the numerous conflicts on the African continent. Ambassador Moleah referred to a survey conducted by the Government of Morocco in cooperation with the UNODC, which indicated the repercussions of drug abuse on the African economies. Drug abuse, Ambassador Moleah stated, has immediate consequences for the food security in Africa; land that should be used for growing crops is being used for drug cultivation instead.

Ambassador Moleah concluded by calling for a greater determination and creativity in the CND's approach to address these problems, in order for it to be able to meet the ever-changing challenge of drug-related problems and be better equipped for the universal campaign against drugs.

Mr. Costa then took the floor and outlined developments of the UNODC during the last year. He referred the journalists to the Report of the Secretariat on the world situation with regard to drug abuse, one of the new documents made available at the Session, and his opening statement to the Session this morning. He then reiterated last year's assessment that "important progress is being made towards the still distant goals" set at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Drugs in 1998. The Assembly called for a significant reduction of both supply of, and demand for illicit drugs.

Mr. Costa drew attention to injecting drug abuse as an emerging major public health problem threatening to spread HIV/AIDS and other blood-borne diseases from drug abusers to the general public, this being a rising concern in Eastern Europe, Russia and China. Mr. Costa also called for forceful measures to be taken against drugs, comparable to those of tobacco and alcohol, in connection with drunk driving. He stated that considering that tobacco and alcohol were licit and drugs were illicit, equal steps should be advocated.

The briefing was followed by a question-and-answer session. In response to the question regarding the amount of money drug traffickers in Afghanistan earned last year, Mr. Costa answered that the total harvest of 2003 was about US $ 2.3 billion. There was no data available on how much of that money was used to fund terrorism. Asked to comment on the nuclear materials black market, Mr. Costa said that there was no common United Nations strategy to tackle the problem, but given the seriousness of the problem, he would not exclude the possibility of trying to learn more about the subject.

Answering the question on sustainability of anti-drug efforts, Mr. Costa stressed that law enforcement was fundamental but not efficient when on its own; therefore, the UNODC is strongly committed to supporting the law enforcement in countries like Afghanistan. Asked to comment on specific measures by ODC to prevent drug trafficking, Mr. Costa said that ODC has done country-by-country surveys in terms of border control, which seems to be the weak point, with corrupt officials being at the core of the problem. The survey brought them to the Balkans, with surveys of Iran and Russia to follow soon, and the Middle East and Turkey after that.

The briefing was attended by about 30 representatives of media, NGOs and permanent missions.

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