STATEMENT OF AMBASSADOR ROBERTA LAJOUS

DELEGATION OF MEXICO

Mr.Chairman,

I wish to thank the delegations of the Latin American and Caribbean Group for supporting the candidature of Mexico to chair the bureau of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. My delegation appreciates all expressions of solidarity of the two segments of the Commission and to assure the continuity of the activities ahead of us. With a constructive attitude, we are seeking formulas that will allow us to solve the impasse we face regarding the composition of the bureau of the preparatory body, based on the criteria adopted to convene the Special Session of the General Assembly.

On this subject, I want to reiterate that my conutry is not seeking and is not considering presenting its candidature to chair the Special Session of the General Assembly. However my Delegation considers it has the right to be taken into account in the preparatory process, bearing in mind the origin of the proposal to convene the Special Session.

The report on the activities of UNDCP that its Executive Director, Mr.Giorgio Giacomelli, presented last Tuesday, is very useful to direct our debates. On this matter, my Delegation wishes to congratulate Mr. Giacomelli for this excellent work. Despite the multiple efforts undertaken in the fight against drugs, the report presents specific information regarding the continuous expansion of the drug problem. Once more we confirm that our effectiveness of the fight is still limited. Among other restrictive factors, we can enumerate the lack of coordination of efforts and the limited amount of available resources to attack the different aspects of the problem, which transcends national boundaries.

Today, the Government of Mexico wishes to confirm its strong commitment in the fight against drugs. Every day Mexico strengthens its efforts to fight drugs, on the basis of its own interests - the health of our youth, the soundness of our institutions and our national security. We are aware of the corrosive potential of drug-trafficking. Mexico will continue facing this threat with political will and in doing so, we will apply the full force of the law.

The National Drug Control Program of 1995 provides the guidelines for the actions undertaken by the Government of Mexico over the last year. It incorporates important elements of the Global Program of Action. Our initiatives cover several fields: demand reduction and prevention, money laundering, suppression of illicit drug trafficking, and control of narcotic drugs, sychotropic substances and precursors.

On the other hand, at the international level, we have signed bilateral and multilateral agreements with several countries, increasing our instruments for cooperation. Among them, I want to emphasize the "Antidrug Strategy in the Hemisphere" which was adopted by the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission of the Organization of American States. This document is the product of an important process of negotiation of almost two years. It establishes the basis for cooperation in this field. The nations of Latin America and the Caribbean, Canada and the United States "reaffirm their commitment to respect the principles of international law, in particular those of national sovereignty, territorial integrity and non intervention in the internal affairs of countries." In current times, it is pertinent to take this commitment into consideration.

Mr.Chairman,

Mexico's fight against drugs will always be based on our laws and on the international commitments underatken under the relevant international conventions. Our legislation has been adjusted to make sure criminals are prosecuted, specially in the areas of drug trafficking, money laundering, corruption and arms trafficking. We firmly oppose unilateral measures from one country against any other, whether in this field or in any other one. Political interests and circumstances in some countries should not allow us to forget the relevance of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and of international law. These principles, in fact, become increasingly pertinent in our interdependent world.

As the president of Mexico recently said during a meeting of the Rio Group, we exhort all countries of the world to continue the fight against drugs through dialogue, not confrontation. At the same time, in case any country attempts to adopt unilateral measures against Mexico, we will respond with all necessary energy that may be required for the defense of our sovereignty.

Based on these considerations, the Government of Mexico has undertaken efforts in the last years to raise the priority given to the fight against drugs in the international agenda. After a long process of dialogue and negotiation, the General Assembly has convened a Special Session devoted to the fight against this scourge. The session is to take place in June of 1998.

My Delegation considers that the fortieth session of the Commission of Narcotic Drugs is particularly important. By mandate of resolution 51/64 of the General Assembly, the Commission will devote part of its activities to prepare the Special Session. The Commission faces the challenge of covering the regular items of the agenda and at the same time, preparing initiatives and proposals on the different objectives for the Special Session as have been identified in that resolution.

Mr. Chairman

The Delegation of Mexico confers special relevance to all the preparatory work of the Special Session. We are committed to participating actively and constructively in these activities. I would like to refer to some of the topics we will discuss in this connection.

Our delegation has informally circulated two non papers which include proposals on money laundering and chemical precursors. I wish to emphasize that the intention of these proposals is to present concrete elements for our discussion. We know that we don't have too much time for the substantive preparations of the Special Session. Therefore, we think it is necessary to begin as early as possible the considertion of documents that could be approved in that session. We will gladly hold a dialogue with all interested parties in order to find satisfactory agreements.

I will now refer to the item of demand reduction. On this issue, my Delegation consideres that the documents that have been circulated by the secretariat are a starting point for a declaration that could be adopted in the Special Session. It is essential that the declaration includes a series of measures to be adopted by states to achieve a substantial reduction in global drug demand. In Mexico, the increase in consumption of recent years has led to the development of focused programs that include actions on treatment, rehabilitation and research on demand reduction and addictions.

It is necessary to adopt a strategy that will in practice lead to effective reductions in consumption to guarantee balanced, and therefore effective, policies. To the extent that there is no reduction in the current levels of consumption of illicit drugs, drug traffickers, motivated by their thirst for profits, will continue searching for forms to evade the fight against drugs. The lack of effectiveness in actions in reducing consumption considerably limits in turn the effectiveness of the fight against drug production and trafficking. It is important to examine the issue of developing trustworthy indicators in this field, and to include this issue in the draft declaration on the principles on demand reduction. With the support of the UN Dempartment of Public Information, UNDCP should also receive a mandate to inform extensively on the activities it undertakes to reduce demand. My Delegation considers that the discussion on the implementation on the Global Program of Action should further stress the importan

ce of the issue of demand reduction.

Resolution 51/64 also includes as an objective the strengthening of UNDCP. My Delegation hopes that the discussions on this issue will allow us to identify proposals in this direction. Regarding the financial structure of UNDCP, my Delegation is very pleased to announce that Mexico will contribute with $300,000.00 as a response to the request made by the Executive Director and will present its contribution shortly.

Another one of the aspects identified in resolution 51/64 is related to the links between illicit arms trafficking and drug-trafficking. As a response to an initiative presented by the Government of Mexico, the members of the Rio Group approved a draft convention against the production and illicit trafficking in firm arms, ammunition, explosives and related materials. We hope that this innovative proposal will soon count with the support of all of the countries of American continent, open to negotiations with all of the member states of the United Nations.

Our country considers that the new trends in drug-trafficking call for additional efforts in the fight against drugs and drug abuse, in the framework of an integral and balanced approach. It is also necessary to reaffirm the principle of shared responsibility in this common fight. The Special Session must be effective. Its results must be practical. They must reflect concrete agreements to fight against drugs and related crimes. To sum up, it must promote cooperation to revitalize the international strategy against drugs.

Mr.Chairman

The Government of Mexico expects from other countries the same respectful and constructive treatment we give them. Conditional criteria and unilateral approaches obstruct cooperation and distort our common objective: the dismantling of criminal organizations and the elimination for demand, production, and trafficking of illicit drugs. We conclude with an exhortation to all countries to strengthen their cooperation in order to face effectively the problem of drug trafficking that affects us all.

Thank you.