Security Council Presidential Statement Calls for Stronger International

Cooperation with Global, Regional Bodies against Drug Trafficking

Illicit Trade Enriching Terrorists, Anti-Government Forces,

Chief of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Warns in Briefing

Concerned about the serious threat posed by drug trafficking to global security, particularly in Africa, the Security Council today called on the international community to strengthen its cooperation with the United Nations and regional organizations in fighting the scourge.

In a statement read out by Bedouma Alain Yoda, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Burkina Faso, which holds the Council presidency for December, the Council recognized the anti-drug-trafficking measures undertaken by a range of United Nations bodies, from the General Assembly to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and encouraged them to take further action.

The Council also encouraged States to comply with their obligations to combat drug trafficking, to accede to relevant conventions and to investigate and prosecute those involved.  It invited the Secretary-General to consider integrating the anti-drug-trafficking fight into conflict prevention strategies, conflict analysis and integrated mission assessments, as well as planning and peacebuilding support.

“Those who run trafficking operations are ruthless and often murderous,” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said as he helped open a discussion of the problem following the Council’s adoption of the presidential statement.  “We must pursue them and thwart them with the full force of the law and international resolve.”

He said the framework for international cooperation was being built around strong, United Nations-backed legal instruments, with the assistance of UNODC and other organizations.  However, not all States had become parties to the instruments and they needed to be implemented more effectively.  “So far, cooperation between Governments is lagging behind cooperation between organized crime networks,” he said.  To counter the global threat, States must share more intelligence, carry out more joint operations, build capacity, and provide mutual legal assistance, he stressed.

Briefing the Council after the Secretary-General’s remarks, UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa said there were new, worrisome developments concerning drugs in both West and East Africa, as well as across the sub-Saharan land mass.  The continent was facing a severe and complex drug problem ‑‑ not only trafficking but also production and consumption.  Serious consequences in terms of health, development and security were inevitable.

He said the recent discovery of laboratories in Guinea showed that West Africa was also becoming a producer of synthetic drugs (amphetamines) and of crystal cocaine refined from pasta basica.&nb