The UNODC has opened a special section on their website on the Ministerial Segment of the 46th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (The UNGASS Mid-term Review). [Mi riprometto di tradurlo nei prossimi giorni]

This is their view on the progress achieved:

Is the international community meeting its drug control targets?

Since the General Assembly’s twentieth special session in 1998 on the world drug problem, efforts by governments to respond to an aggressively evolving illicit drug situation have gained new momentum. International cooperation, especially information-sharing and joint action against illegal drug sources and trafficking routes, has gained new breadth and depth.

The Political Declaration adopted at the 1998 special session called on all States to report to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) on their efforts to meet the goals and targets set for the years 2003 and 2008. The following summary is based on an analysis of information received from 117 governments through questionnaires, and other sources, on all aspects of drug control.

Pursuing a balanced approach

A national drug control strategy ensures careful planning and coordination between different areas of activity, such as law enforcement, health, education and economic development. Since 1998, over 80 per cent of reporting governments have adopted a national drug control strategy or action plan. Most governments also signalled that they have established central coordination entities chaired, in some cases, by high level representatives, which is an indication of the political commitment attached to combating the drug problem.

Demand reduction

Responses to the questionnaires indicate that Member States are increasingly pursuing a balanced approach to drug control.
Demand reduction is becoming a priority and is being given equal, if not greater, importance than initiatives to combat drug trafficking and illicit supply.

Member States reported progress in setting up new or enhanced drug demand reduction strategies and programmes. Most States reported that demand reduction activities are based on an assessment of the drug abuse situation and analysis of data, as stressed in the Declaration of Guiding Principles adopted in 1998.

Headway was also made in prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, particularly in increasing the coverage of prevention programmes that deal with life skills development, the provision of alternatives to drug use and those programmes being implemented in health centres and correctional systems. More countries are also offering specialized treatment services, such as detoxification
and substitution treatment.

Amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) and their precursors

Most governments (80 per cent of respondents) have launched
national prevention campaigns and strategies to raise awareness of the abuse of ATS. These campaigns have focused on parents and youth, as well as other vulnerable groups, such as truck drivers, the entertainment industry, schools and universities. An increasing number of governments have taken measures to continuously monitor the illicit demand for, and abuse of, ATS through epidemiological household, school and prison surveys.

Law enforcement agencies are also improving measures to prevent the misuse of information technology, particularly the unscrupulous use of the Internet, in the illicit sale of ATS and their precursors.
The global illicit ATS market is supplied through the spread and diversification of clandestine manufacture, as well as diversion from the licit market. More than half of the governments (55 per cent) reported that they have enhanced cooperation with the chemical industry to prevent the diversion of precursors and the irresponsible
marketing and prescribing of ATS.

Countering money laundering

Significant progress is being made in countering money laundering, with more countries making laundering of proceeds derived from drug trafficking and other serious crimes a criminal and extraditable offence. An increasing number of countries reported the development of legislation to provide for the freezing, seizure and confiscation of the proceeds from these crimes. More governments have also established legal requirements to declare cross-border
transport of cash and negotiable bearer instruments when they exceed pre-specified amounts. Progress continues in the adoption of measures to enable the reporting of suspicious and or unusual transactions based on the “know-your-client” principle; in removing impediments to criminal investigations that are related to bank secrecy; and in identifying the beneficiary owners of accounts and
other financial assets.

Eradication of illicit drug crops and alternative development

Since 1998, governments affected by the illicit cultivation of the coca bush and opium poppy have adopted national plans, including alternative development programmes, to reduce and eventually eliminate such cultivation. Progress has been made in introducing monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to measure the impact of alternative development programmes and the eradication of illicit narcotic crops.

New initiatives have been undertaken by Bolivia, Colombia and Peru regarding the coca bush and Pakistan and Lao People’s Democratic Republic regarding the opium poppy, that have contributed toward meeting the goals for reduction and eventual elimination of illicit crop cultivation established at the 1998 special session. In these countries, as well as in Afghanistan and Myanmar where illicit poppy cultivation is mostly concentrated, the
sustained support of the international community is required to maintain the gains made so far and to continue to move closer to the goals agreed upon at the special session.

Judicial cooperation and law enforcement

Member States have adopted measures to strengthen and promote judicial cooperation in areas such as extradition, mutual legal assistance, transfer of proceedings, controlled delivery and maritime cooperation. The exchange of information between law enforcement agencies is essential in countering illicit drug trafficking, and further progress needs to be made to ensure that this information reaches the competent authorities. To facilitate this information exchange, initiatives such as the hosting of drug liaison officers in key countries are underway.

On the positive side, many countries (71 per cent of the
respondents) have shared criminal investigation techniques to counter drug trafficking, organized crime and terrorism.
Furthermore, most countries (79 per cent) have established
specialized units for investigating drug trafficking cases.

A large majority of governments (74 per cent) indicated that their domestic legal systems permitted use of the law enforcement technique of controlled delivery, which has helped to dismantle criminal networks.

Control of precursors

New or revised legislation and regulations related to precursor control have been implemented, and more governments have put into place procedures to identify and report on the use of substitute chemicals in illicit drug manufacture and on new methods of manufacture. The number of countries that have adopted a system of prior import/export notification and authorization is also on the
rise.

Further progress needs to be made in the development and
implementation of codes of conduct with the chemical industry and in establishing or strengthening cooperation with associations, persons or companies engaged in activities concerning precursors.

International cooperation to monitor precursors has increased significantly since 1998. Under the aegis of the International Narcotics Control Board, initiatives have been taken to improve the monitoring and control of potassium permanganate, a major precursor for the production of cocaine, through an initiative called
“Operation Purple”.
A second initiative, “Operation Topaz”, relates to the control and monitoring of acetic anhydride, necessary for heroin production. And a new initiative has been launched called “Project Prism” to monitor the main precursors of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS).

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