6 March -- The United Nations principal policy-making body on drug control opened its annual meeting in Vienna today to assess progress in reducing illicit demand for drugs and in eradicating illicit drug crops.During its 10-day session, the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs will review the steps taken by Member States to implement the action plan and measures adopted two years ago at the Special Session of the General Assembly on drugs and will also look at ways enhancing international cooperation to counter the world during problem.
At the June 1998 Special Session, countries agreed to set deadlines by which their results in combating illicit drugs could be achieved and pledged to have comprehensive drug demand strategies in place by 2003. An agreement was also reached to combat amphetamine-type stimulants and adopt measures against money-laundering.
In his opening address, the Executive Director of the UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (ODCCP), Pino Arlacchi, said that progress in controlling drug production and trafficking was "possible," citing recent success stories in South America.
In Peru, Mr. Arlacchi said, coca cultivation had decreased from a peak of 129,000 hectares in 1992 to 38,000 hectares in 1999. In Bolivia, the government eliminated 14,000 hectares of illicit coca last year alone, surpassing its own 1998 record and marking a 78 per cent decrease in the last three years. Income from illegal coca had fallen from $400 million in 1995 to $86 million in 1999.
"These figures speak for themselves and attest to a remarkable achievement on the part of the Governments in honouring their commitments to the targets set by the special session," Mr. Arlacchi said.
The one-week meeting is also focusing attention on the implementation of the Declaration on Guiding Principles of Drug Demand Reduction, a ground-breaking document which codifies the concept that demand and supply are two equal parts of effective drug control.
To date, few Governments have comprehensive demand reduction strategies and programmes in place, and many countries lack the capacity to assess their drug abuse problem through a systematic collection and analysis of information. To help countries reach the specific drug control targets agreed at the special session, the UN International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) has drawn up business plans.
