International Narcotics Control Board Press Briefing

UNIS Vienna today organized a press briefing for the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) at the Vienna International Centre. Professor Hamid Ghodse, President, INCB and Koli Kouame, Secretary, INCB addressed the media. The briefing was chaired and moderated by Nasra Hassan, Director UNIS and Spokesperson UNODC.

Professor Ghodse opened the proceedings by introducing some of the themes being discussed at the 83rd session of the INCB, which concludes tomorrow, 13 May. He highlighted certain issues of special concern to the Board, including the problem of illegal Internet pharmacies. He said that in 2004, the Board had received information of 350,000 tablets of Diazepam, which were bought on an illegal Internet pharmacy and were seized by authorities in Thailand. The drugs were about to be mailed to their destination in Europe. He said it was clear that this amount was not for personal consumption, and was an example of drug trafficking via the Internet.

He also said the drug control situation in Afghanistan remained a cause of concern for the Board. Though preliminary reports indicated that there may be a decrease in cultivation in 2005, he said that was still debatable and the Board was awaiting a clear outcome. He also pointed to the rising incidence of drug addiction in Afghanistan, saying that though the Government had reiterated its commitment to complete eradication of opium poppy, much needed to be done in terms of demand reduction.

On the issue of Iraq, Professor Ghodse stated that the Board was concerned that the country was emerging as a transit point for drugs originating in Afghanistan. He said that law enforcement authorities in Jordan noted a major increase in drug trafficking activity over the past year. Last month, 3 million pills of Captagon were seized at the Iraq-Jordanian border. Significant quantities of cannabis resin were also seized.

He noted that the pattern was similar to what the Board had observed in post-conflict situations elsewhere.  “Weakening of border controls and security infrastructure turn countries into convenient logistic and transit points, not only for international terrorists and militants but also for drug traffickers,” he said. He also urged the international community and the Government of Iraq to make a strong commitment towards countering the drug problem before it escalated.

In an interactive session after the briefing, the panel fielded questions from the media. In response to a query on whether figures were available on the quantity of drugs being trafficked through Iraq, Professor Ghodse said that while exact figures were unavailable, there was enough evidence to indicate that there was indeed a problem. He added that it was important to be proactive now instead of waiting till a more serious situation developed in the case of Iraq.

In response to a question on what he felt that the international community could contribute, he said that it was important for the Government of Iraq to put drug-related issues on the agenda. He pointed out that there were various means by which the international community could help, e.g. strengthening border controls, the police force and law enforcement in Iraq. “If we are talking about creating peace, security and development, the issue of drugs has to be addressed,” he felt.

The briefing was well attended by 14 media representatives from leading international news agencies (Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, Nikkei, Austrian Press Agency), Austrian newspapers (Die Presse), radio (Radio ORF), besides representatives from permanent missions in Vienna and NGOs.