Cross-border co-operation to prevent drug trafficking focus of OSCE-organized conference

VIENNA, 16 June 2011 – An OSCE-organized conference to foster international and regional co-operation to prevent the trafficking of illegal drugs started in Vienna today.

The two-day event focuses on the need for a cross-border approach and a clear strategy to counter drug trafficking. The role of effective border security and management in combating drug trafficking is also on the agenda. Lithuania’s OSCE Chairmanship organized the conference with the support of the OSCE Secretariat in close co-operation with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

Afghanistan’s Minister for Counter Narcotics, Zarar Ahmad Moqbel Osmani, and Mansurjon Umarov, the Deputy Head of Tajikistan’s State Committee on National Security as well as other senior officials and experts from border, customs, police and drug agencies are taking part in the conference.

Osmani discussed challenges facing Afghanistan and the international community in eradicating poppy cultivation, managing borders and tackling the trafficking of drugs as well as chemical precursors used to convert opium into heroin. He highlighted the links between drugs and terrorism, emphasizing that 91 per cent of cultivation in Afghanistan was centred in the four most insecure provinces.

“There is a need for joint effort in order to overcome these challenges. By dismantling trafficking networks we can substantively reduce cultivation, trafficking and the illegal consumption of drugs and precursors,” he said.

The Minister said that from 2007 to 2010, poppy cultivation had been reduced by 40 percent, from 193,000 hectares to 123,000 hectares, but increased political will and commitment from international and regional actors were needed.

“Our intent is to use all opportunities to bring down the level of cultivation and expand the level of regional co-operation in order to tackle the flow of psycho-tropics, chemical precursors and trafficking of drugs,” said Osmani.

“Illicit drugs have a devastating impact on the health of communities and on economic and social development,” said Eitvydas Bajarūnas, the Political Director at the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry. “Only through transparency, information sharing and true collaboration and co operation can the international community address this common threat.”

He called for increased co-ordination with other international and regional organizations, saying: “Working closely with the EU, UN and others, the OSCE could provide assistance in developing an effective and comprehensive international approach to illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs throughout the OSCE area.”

“Globalization has brought transnational criminal networks more opportunities for illegal trafficking. Criminal justice systems need to work co-operatively in their response to illicit drug trafficking, harmonizing their efforts internationally across borders and regions,” said OSCE Senior Police Adviser Knut Dreyer.