OSCE holds regional workshop on combating illicit drugs trafficking in Central Asia

TASHKENT, 20 November 2008 - Improving co-operation among the national stakeholders in Central Asia to prevent and investigate drug trafficking, and exchanging intelligence information is the purpose of a regional workshop that opened in Tashkent today.

The two-day event brought together more than 90 experts from OSCE participating States, the Organization's Partners for Co-operation, including Afghanistan, and international organizations. The workshop is the second regional meeting organized by the OSCE Strategic Police Matters Unit in co-operation with the Government of Uzbekistan, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, and supported by the UNODC. The event was funded by the Government of Norway.

"In our modern world, borders are often little more than imaginary lines on the map," said Kevin Carty, OSCE's Senior Police Adviser. "International borders are becoming easier to cross by criminals with expertly faked passports and other sophisticated measures. Goods and capital flow farther and faster than at any time in history. The evidence that criminal activity today is borderless, lucrative, powerful, and threatening is indeed alarming."

He urged countries in the OSCE region to work out a co-ordinated response to counter the sophisticated techniques used by traffickers.

"Law enforcement agencies frequently lack timely access to crucial information that would allow them to identify dangerous individuals and to take appropriate action before those individuals cross borders. And in today's world, we must work together to correct this security gap. I believe that today's regional gathering is an important step to achieve a functioning co-operation across the borders," said Carty.

Participants noted that an effective response was not feasible without continuous monitoring and a smooth exchange of information among the police and judicial authorities of OSCE participating States.

"No one country can tackle transnational organized crime alone. Prosecutors and police need reliable partners in all corners of the world. Only bilateral and multilateral efforts can work effectively," added Carty.