From: [S--Y--A] at [SUVM.SYR.EDU] (Sergio Rivera)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.drugs
Subject: Commission on Narcotic Drugs begins Session in Wien
Date: Thu, 16 Mar 95 17:46:03 LCL
Copyright UN Information Service
March 14, 1995
Headline: Commission on Narcotic Drugs begins Session in Vienna
SOC/NAR/695
14 March 1995
COMMISSON ON NARCOTIC DRUGS BEGINS SESSION IN VIENNA
Executive Director Warns Drug Control Programme Is Running Out of Money
VIENNA, 14 March (UN Information Service) -- As the Commission on
Narcotic Drugs began its thirty-eighth session this morning at Vienna, the
Executive Director of the United Nations International Drug Control
Programme (UNDCP) warned that the Programme was running out of money.
The Executive Director, Giorgio Giacomelli, told the Commission that
the Programme was being forced to say "no" to good projects because funding
could not be guaranteed. He also said that the tendency of donors to
earmark their contributions could cause the UNDCP to become "a box filled
with projects without the necessary infrastructure" and stressed the need
for the Drug Control Programme to receive at least 30 per cent of its income
as general purpose funds.
Also this morning, the Commission elected the following officers by
acclamation: Ireneusz Matela (Poland), Chairman; Balkan Kizeldeli (Turkey),
Alberto Scavarelli (Uruguay) and Essam el Tersawy (Egypt), Vice-Chairmen;
and Sayed Ali Mohammad Mousavi (Iran), Rapporteur.
Statements in general debate, with particular reference to the
economic and social consequences of drug abuse and illicit trafficking, were
made by the representatives of France (on behalf of the European Union) and
the United Kingdom.
The representative of France gave an overview of the European Union's
five-year drug control plan, stressing the need for improved coordination to
reduce expenditure and avoid duplication of effort.
The representative of the United Kingdom described his country's
three-year action plan, with particular emphasis on activities at the local
level. He said that limited funding was bound to cause a reduction in UNDCP
programmes, but there must not be too severe a decline in project-based
work.
Statement by UNDCP Executive Director
GIORGIO GIACOMELLI, Executive Director of the United Nations
International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), said the Programme had been
nurturing a relationship for intensified cooperation that encompassed the
international financial institutions, intergovernmental bodies and
non-governmental organizations. He stressed the importance UNDCP attached
to demand reduction, particularly with the involvement of private and
non-governmental groups. In that context, he cited the World NGO Forum on
Demand Reduction, which had taken place in Bangkok last December, and the
"Sports against Drugs" Conference which had been organized jointly by the
UNDCP and the International Olympic Committee last month in Rome, as well as
regional expert forums held in Brazil, Bahamas, Cameroon and India.
He said the UNDCP was continuing to build up its capacity for research
and analysis, operating at three levels: basic research, production of
technical information papers and standardization of world-wide data, and
production of formal policy papers, such as the recent report on economic
and social consequences of drug abuse.
Also during the past year, the Programme had intensified its
anti-money-laundering activities, focusing on the development of
legislation, raising of awareness and training of administrative staff. It
had launched an innovative project on precursors in south-east Asia, which
would serve as a prototype for similar projects in south-west Asia and Latin
America.
He noted that the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC),
which had met in Vienna two weeks ago, had concentrated on international
drug control as its main substantive agenda item, reaffirming the UNDCP's
lead role in coordinating drug control activities in the United Nations
system. The ACC had agreed to strengthen the System-Wide Action Plan on
drug abuse control and to undertake joint initiatives to develop concrete
sectoral and sub-sectoral plans of action. "An important corner has been
turned with regard to a significant change in attitude towards coordination
as well as the strategy to be followed", he said. Progress with regard to
coordination would have to be from the bottom up. The role of the United
Nations resident coordinators could not be over-emphasized; they required
the full support of their host governments.
Turning to the biennial budget, he said that "no matter how we add up
the figures, we are simply running out of money". Precisely because the
UNDCP's programmes had been well received by recipient countries, there was
an ever greater call for its assistance. The current financial situation
forced the Programme to say "no" to good programmes and projects because
funding could not be guaranteed.
Donors' support was actually growing, he explained, but the trend was
towards earmarking: it affected the UNDCP's operational and technical
flexibility, and could result in the Programme "becoming a box filled with
projects without the necessary infrastructure for the management and
backstopping of our technical and operational activities and for performing
our advocacy and pro-active functions". He stressed the need for the UNDCP
to receive at least 30 per cent of its income as general purpose funds.
Concluding, he highlighted four issues that the Commission should
address at this session: Whether the international drug-control conventions
were adequate to today's problems, and if not, how they could be improved;
the planning of an international conference for 1997 to identify new
strategies for combating drug abuse and illicit trafficking; whether the
Commission should initiate the drafting of a declaration that would set
forth guiding principles to strengthen the fight against illicit demand; and
how the operation of the 1988 Convention should be reviewed.
General Debate
JEAN-MICHEL DASQUE (France), speaking on behalf of the European Union
(EU), said that in the light of global increases in drug trafficking, the EU
had developed a five-year plan. To reduce demand, EU members were
coordinating efforts in education, training and reintegration of former drug
abusers.
Similarly, in the area of illicit trafficking, coordinated efforts and
continued action were required in law enforcement, anti-money-laundering
activities and control of precursors. During 1994 and the first half of
1995, the Union had given priority to the establishment of Europol, in an
effort to improve the effectiveness of existing activities in the field of
law enforcement cooperation. Additionally, border controls had been
strengthened. The Union attached great importance to cooperative action
with Central and Eastern European States, where an alarming increase in
trafficking had occurred, and with States in other areas such as the Maghreb
and the Middle East.
Because of the likelihood of diminishing availability of resources to
the UNDCP in coming years, the Union sought greater synergy among United
Nations organizations and financial institutions to reduce expenditure and
avoid duplication of activities.
NIGEL VARNEY (United Kingdom) said consumption was no longer a problem
just for "traditional" consumer countries; all countries needed to tackle
drug problems on all fronts. His Government had published a new strategy
last October, incorporating a comprehensive three-year action plan that
emphasized education and prevention as well as vigorous law enforcement.
Its chief aims were to increase the safety of communities from drug-related
crime; reduce the acceptability and availability of drugs to young people;
and reduce health risks and other damage caused by drug abuse. He drew
particular attention to work being done at the local level, including media
campaigns and neighbourhood strategies involving schools, youth workers,
parents, churches and the police.
He praised the work of the UNDCP, welcoming in particular its focus on
regional and subregional projects. He called for full and effective
implementation of the three United Nations conventions against drugs, and
stressed the importance of institution-building and training. He said that
bilateral and multilateral assistance must be matched by recipient
Governments, and that coordination of effort was needed to ensure that
maximum value was obtained from available resources.
He praised the UNDCP's evaluation policy and procedures. Donor
countries found documentation, such as country profiles, needs assessment
reports and evaluations extremely useful when considering funding and other
priorities. It was therefore extremely important for donors to be provided
with regular project reports and updates. On finance issues, he said the
UNDCP could not rely solely on existing donors for support; all possible
sources of funding must be explored. There was bound to be some reduction
in programme activity, but there must not be too severe a decline in
project-based work. The UNDCP must strengthen its catalytic role in
assisting international financial institutions and United Nations agencies
to identify ways to use their resources in the fight against drugs.