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High-level Thematic Debate on the World Drug Problem - part 1
Sixty-ninth session, General Assembly, Thematic Debate, AM and PM Meetings
High-level Thematic Debate in support of the process towards the 2016 Special Session on the World Drug Problem
‘We Have Declared a War that Has Not Been Won,’ Speakers Say, Calling for People-Centred Response
Insufficient progress in combating the illegal drug trade called for a new global approach that moved beyond a heavy focus on prohibition and addressed consumption from a holistic public health perspective that placed individual human rights and well-being at its core, speakers said today in a General Assembly high-level debate devoted to the issue.
Today’s thematic event was held as part of preparations for the Assembly’s special 2016 session to review the Political Declaration and Plan of Action on International Cooperation towards an Integrated and Balanced Strategy to Counter the World Drug Problem, adopted in Vienna in 2009. The day featured a plenary debate, which heard calls for a global approach that considered judicial, economic, social and cultural strategies, as well as two panel discussions on “Achievements and challenges by Member States in countering the world drug problem” and “The importance for Member States of implementing a multi-dimensional and multi-stakeholder approach in addressing the world drug problem”.
In opening remarks, Sam Kutesa, President of the General Assembly, said no country or society was immune to the menace of the multi-billion dollar illicit drug “enterprise”. While countries had been “fighting back” with some success, resources could have been used more effectively for development-related initiatives. Collective action must focus on prevention and providing treatment and care to persons affected by drug addiction.
In addition to implementing the three drug control conventions, he said States must use the tools contained in United Nations instruments on corruption and transnational organized crime in efforts to combat drug trafficking, money-laundering, wildlife and forest crime and other illicit activities. Balancing supply and demand reduction strategies was also needed, as was awareness-raising of the impact of drug consumption on producers and transit countries.
“The war on drugs is, in fact, a painstaking, laborious, often thankless and seemingly unending” struggle, Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said. Criminal networks that thrived on the drug trade undermined stable societies by feeding corruption and hampering democratic governance. Illicit drugs were also a major funding source for non-State armed groups.
At the international level, he said, the ever stronger links between transnational organized crime, terrorism and extremist violence constituted a “very serious” new threat. People who used drugs faced discrimination and stigmatization, while those involved in production included vulnerable groups in isolated and conflict areas, many of whom were exploited by crime syndicates. He advocated a “careful balancing” of elements of a global policy through a focus on public health, prevention, treatment and care, as well as on economic, social and cultural strategies.
Along similar lines, Arthayudh Srisamoot (Thailand), Chair of the fifty-eighth session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, said the drug challenge required collective efforts by States, United Nations entities, regional organizations and all other stakeholders. The Commission, requested by the Assembly to embark on the preparations for the 2016 special session, had intensified its work through various initiatives, including thematic discussions, during which participants shared experiences in efforts to strengthen international action against the drug menace.
During the plenary debate, ministers and other senior officials said that 15 years after the first commitments were made to address the world drug problem, it was time to recognize that policies had not achieved the desired results. Suppression of the illegal drug economy was an inadequate response. Criminal networks that controlled production were continuously modifying their structures to circumvent authorities. Viewing the problem through the lens of origin, transit and destination countries was also outdated, some said, as the illicit market had adapted to State responses and laid bare the need for more flexible solutions.
“We have declared a war that has not been won,” said Yesid Reyes Alvarado, Minister for Justice and Law of Colombia, a challenge that required a more people-centred response. A new global focus should align policies with human rights commitments, guarantee the right to health from a public health perspective, promote the participation of United Nations agencies in pursuing transnational organized crime, and decriminalize consumption.
Broadly agreeing, Mark J. Goulding, Minister for Justice of Jamaica, said the narrowness of past approaches had undermined sustainable development, democratic processes and the rule of law in many countries. The need for a more holistic approach was now widely accepted — one that prioritized health and wellness, human rights, human development and safety, with the aim of reducing the negative effects on people’s lives.
Pointing out that a focus on public health had emerged as part of a “paradigm shift” in the 1990s, Miguel Angel Osorio, Secretary of the Interior of Mexico, said it was now time to ensure that actions also focused on the well-being of communities. The solution lay in prevention, he said, stressing a need to reconsider the scope of regulatory regimes.
With that in mind, Luis E. Arreaga, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the United States, said the 2016 special session should lead to operational drug policy reforms accomplished within the framework of the three United Nations drug control conventions. He supported judicial and law enforcement cooperation, stressing that civil society groups, which were often the closest to the problems, should contribute to the 2016 process by offering their expertise on such issues as access to medicine, treatment and improvements to criminal justice programmes.
Also speaking in the high-level plenary debate were senior officials from Guatemala, Argentina, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.
The Secretary General of the Organization of American States also spoke.
