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Round Table Discussion Supply Reduction

Chair went over rules.  Three minute limit.  No national Statements.  Member States first then NGOs.

First Statement: UNODC. Mr. Hugo.
In 2009 PD and POA adopted.
1)  Cooperation, need for close coordination between authorities, interception.
2) precursor control.  need to prevent introduction.
3) Alternative development.  Need to implement strategies.

Thanks to ENCOD for a great picture!

Highlight a few of the challenges.
1) cooperation.  World smaller.  Technology leaps borders and bypasses national jurisdiction.  Prosecution of trafficking offenses etc. lags far behind free flowing modern advances.  Working together adds significantly to disruption of drug trade.
2) precursor control  International control over table 1 and 2 have proven effective, so effective that traffickers are using different chemicals not subject to same control.  Challenge increasing substances not under international control.
3) AD — fundamental pillar.  Tangible results if properly implemented.  Only a fraction of communities receive this assistance.  Insufficient to address poverty and food insecurity in a sustainable manner.  Drive poor marginalized communities to cultivate illicit crops.  Have to diversity out of traditional agricultural sector and design in cooperation with stakeholders.  Also take into account impact on environment.  Have to be careful to mitigate impact and ensure sustainable use of natural resources.  AD has been seen as stand alone intervention outside broad based development.  Must be mainstreamed into broader development agenda and IFIs.  AD must take into account nexus between development and security.  Improve government systems.  To ensure long term sustainability must be market driven.  Private sector can facilitate market access.  Must be in aligned with UN guiding principles on AD.  Balanced approach between AD and drug control.  Human development Equally important as crop eradication.

Venezuela.  Good afternoon.  Republic has no doubt in affirming that investment made by international community to attain PD and POA toward integrated and balanced strategy is unquantifiable.  However, without entering into amount, achievement so far do not allow us to state that it is any better today than in 2009.  In a world of limited resources we must carefully evaluate where to invest resources that come through citizens — the taxpayers.  The ordinary citizen who feels this problem gets closer in terms of more use and threats to own safety.  Some states have addressed their strategies.  Social pressure is growing particularly in those areas where social demands are not being satisfied by current regime.  Our government is not an apologist for failure.  The current international control regime is not finished.  Does not prevent us from observing limitations.  Developed to ensure substances for medical use.  Afterwards added combating illicit substances.  Under the prevailing cognitive scheme of 1980s.  During that period, international community, aware of limitations of SC and 1971 convention, adopted instrument that would facilitate criminal prosecution of traffickers as well as seizure of equipment and other property used in manufacture and proceeds derived from trafficking.  All contained in UN convention of 1988.

System has evolved.  Insufficient.  Does not address determinant factors of problem.  Addresses symptoms.  Criminal sanctions of production, manufacture, etc., and trafficking, and many of the manifestations lie outside the structure of the convention.  Illicit offer of NPS and precursors not under international control.  Limited resources that we have to satisfy unlimited demand — Venez believes that intervention should be based on best available evidence so as to ensure best possible use of resources invested.  We believe that ample debate should be promoted, placing us in a better place.  Deepen its knowledge about economic and social factors underlying problem.

Peru.  (missed most  of it) Now we are looking at AD with coffee and Cocoa.  There are three police district as well. …

Germany. Need to discuss why this problem has persisted since 2009 PD and POA.  Don’t doubt importance of effective law enforcement to address drug trafficking.  Persistence of cultivation of illicit crops requires different set of instruments.  Lack of development in different aspects the source.  Address root causes of illicit cultivation not only symptoms.  AD strategies at core of our understanding of supply reduction.  German Development corporation has been working more than three decades in AD and crop substitution.  Have broad experience of supporting small scale farmers through projects in the framework of bilateral cooperation.  EU and UNODC field offices.  Longstanding experience shows us that farmers grow opium and coca because of poor rural development, weak food security, lack technical capacity for licit agriculture, can’t access markets, live in highly marginalized areas controlled by insurgent criminal groups.  Address root causes of illicit drug cultivation if we want to address in a sustainable manner.  Neither illicit drug cultivation will be eliminated if we do not address.  Challenge needs to be faced through strong commitment of all affected countries on demand and supply side.  Enhance cooperation of CND member states.  Warmly welcome adoption of UN guiding principles on AD and framework.  Grateful for efforts of governments of Thailand and Peru to host conference, where MS, UNODC secretariat and NGOs tried to develop guiding principles.  Need to be implemented.  Germany disseminating important milestone.  Bringing it into action.  Welcomes Thai proposal to hold seminar on guiding principles of AD in 2014.  More needs to be done to address root causes but optimistic about enhanced cooperation of MS.  Invite audience to take into account conference room paper #7.  “Outreach to new stakeholders in field of AD” — from Berlin conference.

France. Two vectors.  Maritime cooperation and fight against precursors.  Maritime vector increasingly in use.  Drugs moving through containers.  Has increased as private consignments.  Really need to focus on.  Various seizure operations at sea yielding a lot.  30x more than on land.  Pleased to see UNODC support for port surveillance and interception.  International instruments exist.  San Jose Agreement very original.  Prosecution of traffickers as well as control of ships and of airplanes with accelerated process.  Area that we prioritize in anti-drug policy.  Emphasize need to step up sea checks.
Chemical precursor monitoring for synthetic drugs.  Have some experience with partnership.  National monitoring authorities and private companies.  Latter are in the front line in combating precursors.  And can notify monitoring authorities.  Through these networks we are capable of creating partnerships and find out how precursors are being used.  Finding out about new pre- precursors.  Should encourage other countries to develop such partnerships. Can get information upstream.

Israel. International community seeks to reduce.  Each country has to prioritize according to situation.  Israel.  NPS sold in 3500 convenience stores.  2013 …steps not enough to control the problem.  Process required to include new substances into Dangerous Drug Law cumbersome.  August 2013.  New legislation to deal with new inventions.  COuld identify and destroy.  Sellers and manufacturers have to prove it was not dangerous.  Three emergency declarations declare forbidden substances.  Since 2014 four more.  Legislative steps accompanied by awareness campaigns focusing on danger of substance explaining they are no longer legal.  Now no longer sold openly in convenience stores.  70% drop in legal sales of NPS.  Shifted to underground market.  Phone and cybertrafficking.  Police combating.  Police now focusing on illegal trade.

India. Two issues.  Control of precursors. Growth of illicit cultivation.  Cooperation a key challenge.  International cooperation still a problem.  Special surveillance list.  used for manufacture of synthetic drugs.  Soon heard about pre- precursors.  Will have a scheduling workshop on this.  Now alternatives to scheduled precursors.  Also hear of NPS.  Over 350 substances already discovered and unregulated. 234 controlled under convention.  Pace of regulation and enforcement not sufficient to keep up with new substances.  Always playing catchup.  Mimics effect of something you are controlling but not under control.  Scheduling processes lengthy, then legislative process, consultations and all, and finally end up controlling a few.  By that time another substance is uncontrolled.  What do we do about it?  Chemicals come from industry.  Must be seen as partners not adversaries.  Have to have firm partnerships with trade and industry.  They are the ones who know where in supply chain is diversion.  Very critical component of our engagement has to be partnership.  Happy that INCB has come up with this voluntary cooperation.
Growth of illicit crop cultivation.  Specifically opium poppy.  Secretariat document with regard to trafficking.  Note that it is amazing that in 2009 we had PD and POA.  In that year, area was 185, 935 hectares under illicit cultivation.  Now more than 275 K.  No decline since 2009.  we have heard Germany talk about tackling illicit cultivation through AD.  POint I am going to make might be blasphemous to some here.  Poppy seed a byproduct.  Poppy seed a completely non-narcotic item so not controlled by most countries.  But I did some number crunching this morning.  India has experience.  Illicit cultivation  — 218K hectares.  800 K produced from each hectares.  200K tons to illicit cultivation.  Average rate 2000USD per ton 800 mill to one billion in illicit poppy seed per year.  Might be small change compared to illicit drug trade.  But earned without sweat.  Controls on seed not very strict.  So far as cooperation is concerned.  Countries that trade in poppy seed can easily cooperate and not derive financial advantage.

Japan. Economic instability causes spread of illicit cultivation.  10 million USD provided by Japan.  In concrete we have provided capacity building support to Afghan military and border.  In Japan, meth is most abused drug.  Almost all meth supplies come from all over the world.  Ten years ago origin countries used to be located in east asia.  recently have diversified.  Means meth has spread globally.  Japan hosted ADEC conference held last month in Tokyo.  Focusing on ATS issues for nearly 20 years.  Japan coastguard has hosted maritime seminars in Asian countries.  Has a grant to host a new meeting.  Enhancing maritime law enforcement this year in Japan.  Enhance cooperation among law enforcement and maritime agencies.  Sincerely hope that CND will come up with a good result related to our activities in this field.

Thailand. International cooperation very vital to fight against trafficking.  ATS problem very serious in Thailand.  Large amount of meth smuggled into country. Huge amount of tablets seized.  Important to think about production in the area.  Precursors can be smuggled into production sites.  Should pay more attention to problem of precursors.  Liquid form or tablet containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine.  Commend to INCB for organizing workshop on precursors in Bangkok last year.  Mention partnership and shared responsibility for countries in region and international community.  Thailand works with many countries in region and we are ready to cooperate.  We work with ASEAN member states and six MOU countries submitted draft resolution.  Alternative development very important.  Thank rep of Germany.  ICAP conference mentioned.  And guiding principles on AD.  Put into practice, so Thailand will host conference to put it into practice later this year.  Have long term experience in AD, initiative of our King.  Prove it is applicable and effective.  Good support for law enforcement.  Law enforcement alone cannot achieve.  People in area need good living conditions so they won’t get involved in illicit drugs.  In Thailand we have key institutions.  Royal..Foundation, another foundation.  Invite all of you MS interested to attend our conference.  March 18, 2:20 side event.

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