Second round of thematic sessions on the implementation of all international drug policy commitments following up to the 2019 Ministerial Declaration

Theme addressed: ‘… illicit cultivation and production and manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, as well as the illicit trafficking in those substances and in precursors, have reached record levels, and that the illicit demand for and the domestic diversion of precursor chemicals are on the rise’

Background Note by the Secretariat

Morning Session

Chair: Today is our second thematic session focused on the abuse, illicit cultivation and production and manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, as well as the illicit trafficking in those substances and in precursors, have reached record levels, and that the illicit demand for and the domestic diversion of precursor chemicals are on the rise. We have panellists from the Africa group, the Asia Pacific, Latin America and Caribbean states group, Western European and others group and a speaker nominated by the Vienna NGO Committee. I also welcome Angela May and Jacqueline Garcia-Yi.

UNODC Statistical Committee, Angela: This morning we are unpacking a paragraph in the UNGASS document – 7a. We learned enough during this years to say one without the other doesn’t work in this paragraph. We can reduce illicit cultivation but if its not underpinning better life conditions, it is not sustainable. Development programs are helpful but if they don’t also look at drug policies, they wont effectively address cultivation. So the idea of bringing the rule of law, through eradication, and also alternative development (AD) if they are not well integrated, they will not produce a sustainable outcome. Bringing rule of law alone neither. What do we need to know? Do we dwell on this? Ideally we have a matrix that looks at the outcome and also the households involved, the lives of people. In terms of responses, we are looking at how the state is acting – yes, how much is eradicated but also the sizes and number of AD projects. We also look at those that are benefiting, direct beneficiaries and those who are not directly involved too. Sometimes to efficiently address communities, you also have to work with their environment. Globally, we have more actors but do we, as the international community, have we improved the socioeconomic situation of these communities? How do the projects affect the communities? We looked at various indicators and started monitoring a holistic matrix. We would like to know in terms of land (what was poppy and then became wheat) and social economic conditions (a spider indicator based on SDGs). We saw that communities that illicitly cultivate crops always have much restricted development. We would like to see the improvement of these conditions. We have done research on the drivers for cultivation – it depends on the community but the biggest element are insecurity and the presence of the state (particularly in Afghanistan, Myanmar and Colombia). These elements make implementation more challenging too. There are farmers that are not poor but most are motivated by poverty, we have an issue of food security for example. So farmers that cultivate illicitly are richer and cultivation is sometimes their only way to access any financial flow. Land ownership, isolation and so access to markets is an issue. The price of coca and different products are going up, so we can assume that the demand is still striving. In Afghanistan, we saw the lowest prices since we started monitoring which probably means overproduction. In a few days, we will release new data too.
We can see that eradication in Colombia didn’t impact cultivation very effectively. In the last 3 years with decrease in eradication but an increase in cultivation. In Myanmar, there is more of a relationship between these two variables, but there are other elements at play that we don’t fully understand yet.

UNODC Statistical Committee, Jacqueline: Research on a number of households cultivating illicit crops is in progress but our initial findings covering 6 countries producing coca and poppy (Colombia, …, Peru, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Mexico). Our methodology has been validated by the participating countries so we can hopefully publish our results. Thank you, Germany for funding this research. Research on global overview of AD is also funded by Germany. In relation to total budget of active AD projects 2013-2017 is around 35 with a budget increasing a little every year in Colombia especially and Afghanistan (273 million USD in total for all countries). Most projects usually lasted for 6 years. Coffee takes 4 years to grow so if a project doesn’t last until 4 years, it is not a sustainable one. There is a gradual shift of high value crops as the participants access additional source of funding. The total number of targeted households is not so clear – we revise a lot of reports and try to follow up but the data is not very clear on who are the targets of the projects, sometimes they talk about direct beneficiaries, sometimes indirect. We have a lot to do to get better metrics. Research on Impact Assessment of AD projects was undertaken in Afghanistan. Data that we can really attribute to the project (excluding weather and so…) was compared and covered land as well. Consumer data is very comprehensive, I have no time to go into it, but we are getting reliable data and the methodology could be used for other projects too.

USA: We remain a proud major donor to UNODC on AD and we support eradication of poppy and coca fields in Mexico and Colombia. We partner with many countries to support AD and encourage transition from illicit source of income to counter the World Drug Problem. This needs international collaboration.

Canada: Could the reduction of cultivation have anything to do with the rise of NPS? Is that being measured? Is there a correlation between the two?

Angela Me: In the past in Myanmar there was a drastic decrease of illicit cultivation while the same region exploded in terms of NPS. In Afghanistan, we have evidence that manufacture of NPS is growing. We are looking into the change from growing the plant to manufacturing precursors – we are identifying partners who would like to help us look into this very issue. There is definitely an indication that there is a relationship. If you don’t address the root causes of illicit cultivation, you will just see a shift. For example we saw people moving towards illicit mining.

Mexico: The production of natural drugs, plant-based drugs serve an agricultural purpose. If in the course of the projects, have you considered meteorological variables, land quality, prices of licit plant products?

Angela Me: Yes, where we can. You have to go every year to check the seasons. We monitor for example Afghanistan and Myanmar fields and plant diseases plus how they affect the yield. We also monitor prices of other agricultural goods. The market and environmental conditions indeed affect projects.

Colombia: You pointed out it’s difficult to obtain information on the impact of AD had as countries have different ways of reporting. Of course, everything really depends on the questions UNODC is posing and the manner you are asking. Some are too vague and to broad. On the lifespan of AD programmes – one key goal is sustainability but from the presentation it wasn’t too clear, it looked like governments designed too short-lived projects. This might require further investigation. Not just having those results but understanding why is most important. Governments might be on short cycles so we have to make sure there is continuity. The impact of donors is also important, do they only invest for 2 years and then see how we are going? Let’s take a look at how we can improve this. Some of the presented information dates back to 2016 and the figures are giving an indication that we are not doing anything. In terms of manual eradication, the figures are on the rise so it might be a good idea to have as much updated information as possible to prevent misleading presentations.

Guatemala: Since 2016 we are involved in AD and participated in various for a, hosted a conference and chaired a working group. We achieved progress regarding poppy. In 2019, we identified labs and coca cultivation areas and in 2016 success in Marijuana. We would like to commission a study across Paraguay, Peru, Guatemala. We restructure processes and compile systematic information. We focus on vulnerable individuals and as it was pointed out, lack of access to basic services, being remote, etc leads people to turn to these crops.

Afghanistan: The eradication capacity has been increasing but it didn’t have a huge impact on drug cultivation or trafficking. The same is the case in some cases with AD. Based on reports in Afghanistan, AD had counterproductive results. There is an understanding that if you want to receive funding from international funds, you should start growing. This has been a practice in Helman and 50% of opium of the World is produced there. We know people expand their lands using AD funding. They always follow economical logic. In 2017 we had the highest level of cultivation, in 2018 there was a decrease and we expect it to further decrease. Does UNODC, at the end of the day, have a prescription to what works? What we are doing with eradication, we are providing a service because we are keeping prices high for the criminals. What if we leave them cultivate and let prices plummet?

Anglea Me: I wish we had doctors here to give prescription. It is a complex problem, there is no fast fix. The issue of drugs is really about the vulnerability of people as Gilberto [Guerra, UNODC] said yesterday. Some people are looking for livelihood but some are working on greed and we have to address both. We think eradication keeps crimes contained, they don’t solve the problem but there is only long-term solutions anyway either with AD or eradication.
Why indeed are the projects short? We looked a little but we need to understand more about the underlying issues.

Germany: We are one of the donors and we thank the team for the study. A takeaway of mine is the necessity of a holistic approach. Eradication alone doesn’t solve our problem, neither does AD with massive insecurity. The communities count.

Peru: Conference in Lima where we discussed modus operande of criminal groups and our responses. We addressed various topics related to illicit cultivation and found AD remains a key intervention in a holistic way. Our national commission on drug-free life outlined a new monitoring system together with UNODC so we will have numbers on the real amount of coca production. Capacity building is a hot topic too, we identified the use of unconventional drugs among university students and we would like to learn more about the nature of use. We will be carrying out an explorative study with the technical assistance of CICAD.
I would like to also point out one government made a statement yesterday that we don’t recognise. We also reject what was said yesterday. As a sovereign and independent state, we exercise our right to deny entry to any individual tour territories.

Senegal: Is it possible in urban environments? Some crops take long to grow, so are there alternative mechanisms for substitution? Are they success stories in some countries? Do you think substitution produced satisfactory outcomes? We are here for the exchange of best practices. The structure of the program, households illicitly cultivating is a fraction – awareness and outreach but we could think about an approach where we offer medical treatment instead of criminal punishment? Would it convince households? What If people refuse to join the programs? We want less people in prisons but how?

Angela Me: Urban AD, yes. We don’t only focus on crops there though, there are examples of tourism as an alternative source of income.
Thailand is the biggest example of moving away from illicit cultivation with AD. Also in Peru (San Martin) there are success stories. The whole point of AD is to not put people into prisons and I think most farmers don’t really want to do anything illegal so you don’t have to twist their arms to join the project.

Chair: Now on to the panel.

Nigeria (panel): Patterns of illicit trafficking remains dynamic but varies from region to region and country to country. I bring Nigerian perspectives that centre on the production of methamphetamines and ephedrine. We first identified labs in 2011 in the so-called monkey village. We had international partners and learned about foreigners teaching Nigerians how to cook amphetamine. We had an undercover operation that led to the discovery of labs in Lagos and a number of other states. We since discover them every year, this year we are at number 18. Some are able to use over-the-counter medicines to produce illegal drugs. This is complemented with seizures. In 2017 ca 492 kg, 2019 ca 128kg of ephedrine were seized. The national law enforcement agency is the central body involved in drug control and has undertaken a number of persecutions, convictions. We recorded 3 foreign nationals who were sentenced to 6 years imprisonment after which they will be deported. 4 foreign nationals are still undergoing trial. We noted that clandestine labs are easy to set up and can be located anywhere; cartels lease materials, it is not personal property;  professional pharmacists are used to procure substances (we have two ongoing cases at the time); processing of intelligence requires lot of skills and expertise; foreign nationals mean extra costs due to translation; there is danger.

Netherlands: We are often on the receiving end of what is produced elsewhere. Demand is an important cause for all that you described. Could you tell us a bit about the channels through which drugs travel?

Nigeria (panel): Most of these have been seen to be destined for Asia and only some to European markets.

USA: We know meth in crystal, solid, liquid forms. Most methamphetamine is produced by a new method, are you looking out for different precursors?

Nigeria (panel): We are watching out. Even ordinary over-the-counter drugs can be used sometimes, we made that discovery.

Nigeria (from the floor): Your organisation got a tip-off from INCB that led to the arrest of one individual, but was this the first time for such collaboration? You have challenges regarding intelligence and I would like to know if capacity building would enhance your work?

Nigeria (panel): We cooperate closely with INCB and a number of countries but this particular kind of information is the only one we got from INCB. We work with other relevant agencies. We also had support from EU and USA in the development of capacity which is channelled through the UNODC but we always need more support especially regarding investigation and intelligence gathering.

India (panel): I think all humanity would do go to remember Mahatma Gandhi’s words of peace. How does the drug abuse problem look in India? We published our first ever truly national survey on drug abuse this year. We had one in 2014 but only males. This time we had half a million people of mixed genders. The most startling point is the extent of opiate use, the prevalence is 2,1%. Cannabis is mostly taken over by Bhang that is not under international control. The extent of use is concerning however in the case of hashish. We are sandwiched between two hotspots of heroin and opium in the World. In 2017 production broke all records. Maritime routes saw an increase in trafficking, we are seizing hundreds of kilos of heroin. This has links to the entire South Asia region. Our oceans are full of boats carrying illegal drugs, they are exploiting trade routes for smuggling. We talked about use shifting to NPS: we had a huge ketamine seizure just recently. We caught 100kg of fentanyl precursor (NPP) and 9kg Fentanyl. The trend of seizures correlates with use and trafficking. We mostly seized heroin and had record seizures of Cannabis. How the internet is used has led us to partner with the private sector – online platforms. INCB gave us insight that our online businesses offer drugs for sale openly. Our B2B partners have been sources of information and we work with them more and more. INCB workshop in Bangkok where private sector and government cooperated. This is what we learned: the buzzword here is partnership. This world is compressed in the virtual world in the size of our palms. IF this is available to criminals, it is available to us.

USA: You said a lot and it reflects our experience, 80% of trafficking is maritime. We had lot of success but also frustration. We have a system to collaborate in case of suspicion on the high-seas. It requires states to respond expeditiously but that is not our experience. We have a treaty that gives us authority but if we don’t have a response, we can’t take action. So this is a plea to our partner countries.

Cyber investigations in what you presented highlights volumes; it is important to know where those large number of materials are going. We can do that with international cooperation.

India (panel): We experience a similar problem, but if one particular response is not coming forth, we pass it on to a next country. I will not name countries but it is an issue. The point about NPP, countries who are responsible for this need to work closer together. We learned that some of the precursors have medical applications so our understanding needs to be perfected too.

Russia: I have a number of questions. You made reference to the boats carrying drugs from Afghanistan, could you say something about the flags they were flying, nationalities and routes of maritime trafficking? Are there servers with information about traffickers? How actively are darknet channels used for trafficking?

India (panel): Pakistani, Iranians are the nationalities you asked about. There is usually a mother boat with a larger amount and there are feeder and recipient boats in smaller size that go to various destinations. There might be a server housing the data, what I showed is only a surface; the darknet is deep. The surface is the channel for traffickers too and that is the way we caught people and we deal with it on a case-to-case basis.

China: We are on the golden triangle and golden crescent region. Some of our problems are similar to India’s. Domestically, we witnessed ever dropping manufacturing cases thanks to our enforcement measures. It is safe to say we saw a sharp drop (30-40%) in clandestine laboratories and these have moved to areas where control is looser. We see more drugs coming from the golden triangle and we seized 26.6 tons (1.4 ketamine, 4.6 amphetamine). Drugs coming from the golden triangle to India, what is the modus operandi and the main substances? Is it possible for India and China to strengthen cooperation?

India (panel): We would be extremely pleased to partner with China. The rest of the community looks to us to prevent diversion. Methamphetamine, heroin from Myanmar and recently ketamine. The routes follow a land model with several entry points. I don’t have a map here but some parts of our territory is used for trafficking into Bangladesh. We get a lot of yaba tablets, correspondingly Myanmar complain to receive precursors from India and China. We are happy to work together.

Afghanistan: What was the nationality of the smugglers on boats? How do you detect the origin of the materials? We know where heroin is produced but how do you conclude they are from Afghanistan?

India: We investigated with various modes; the people we arrest have confessions but we follow them beforehand. The nationalities of the people I have already said.

Jamaica: The World is plagued by drugs. According to the 2019 World Drug Report, people who use drugs grew by 30%. The rising production and transit of drugs is devastating for our little island. We need growing of capacity for monitoring and responding. In order to prevent criminal activities regarding crop cultivation, we issued Cannabis licenses in line with our international commitments. We believe regulating the cannabis industry is the first step to move it away from the dark market. We also offer an opportunity for farmers to move away from the illicit market. We provide essential services to people who use drugs and work on awareness; we engage young people including juvenile offenders. We look forward to hear similar news from other states.

Nigeria: Drug use is vast in the North of India. Supply actually creates demand?

India (panel): It is a complex question to answer but our experience is that if there is a demand then supply will go to any extent. That is why law enforcement is important so that the supply chain is at least taken care of, but unless supply and demand reduction go hand-in-hand, we will not have a sustainable efficient result.

Colombia (panel): We place emphasis on measurable results. We always had to face a problem in terms of supply, but as part of an ongoing reflection, we are working to address domestic use and we wish to reiterate our concern regarding the school-age population. UN reported a prevalence of 1.37%, it is 2.7% in Colombia. We are concerned how we can reach the youth. We saw an increased presence of NPS which means a real problem regarding the future. As Canada said, we need to understand how the replacement market is working given that chemical drugs are gaining momentum in the market. The main routes of cocaine – we make significant efforts but we won’t be able to do it on our own, we need constant support. We saw improvement in information sharing along the trafficking route since the main point is that cocaine is seized, not where it is seized. As part of our counter-drugs policy, we vision an array of tools that ensures coordination, coherent policies that enable the state to reach all areas. The challenge here is the state architecture and internal cooperation. The financial undertakings of these groups need to be addressed. We won’t be able to fight organised crime in an isolated fashion; we have to disrupt their entire industry. We have to declare trafficking as a national security issue so we can intensify our efforts. Common and shared responsibility, with mere policy nothing will happen. Crime is trans-national so the response must be geared towards international cooperation based on full openness and reciprocal aid. As a part of this, we set out a road-map. Until we transform the use of land and ensure institutional presence, we won’t be sustainable. This can’t be undertaken by one nation alone. When you buy AD products, you contribute to our work. We would like to achieve a better identification of users, ensuring care and treatment, elevate the age of first time use (now it is 11), detection of drugs, re-cultivation, dismantling criminal structures, increasing resources and effectiveness, more investigations and prosecutions. 4.6% of Colombian GDP is the drug market. It reduces as we seize and forfeit more – we are able to strike a heavier blow with targeting the end product. Transparent information is important, we eradicated over 80.000 hectares and extradited over 100 individuals to the US who are a strong ally. 2billion USD has been seized and 5.7 million was withheld. This remains problematic in terms of laundering and if we consider the level of violence, there is a perfect overlap – where there is cocaine, there is violence, corruption and victimisation of social leaders. This is a giant struggle. We firmly believe that we must keep trafficking away from our indigenous population, the rural areas while keeping in line with human rights; our enemy is the trafficker.

Canada: I know yours is the largest area of programming. You mentioned your national plan and the importance of partnerships. Could you elaborate on the essential role played by civil society and particularly women?

Colombia (panel): The counter-drugs policy is based on 5 pillars: identifying the strangest links and adopting a gender-based perspective. The root cause for women in prison is them being used as mules and the drug industry can just replace her. In our society women are the heart of the family. We are undertaking alternatives to imprisonments so we don’t destroy households. This is not a burden we are tackling alone; it is also a problem for civils and societies. Many groups are helping us develop projects that enables us to change to licit sources of income. Some areas depend in trafficking financially, the state is not able to bring change alone that is why we have strong allies such as Germany and CSOs as well.

Russia: We celebrate people combatting drugs, especially women. What are the main routes, specifically for precursors in Colombia?

Colombia (panel): That is a difficult question. Chemical precursors don’t come from Colombia and evidently the main use for these products is licit. If we cross-reference information with trade routes, the domestic market is much smaller than the precursors coming in which is an example of diversion. We record this scenario in order to engage with countries. We want to keep working on the principle of shared responsibility and reduce diversion.

Brazil: Coming from the same region, we share a lot of challenges. I found interesting the actions your state has taken on money laundering. We have also been trying to strengthen this. You show strong results, so I would like to address international collaboration – what obstacles are found working with different jurisdictions?

Colombia (panel): I used to be director of the financial unit so that is why we have a significant financial component. When it comes to laundering, there is a large knowledge and many differences in our region. All of us should strengthen our financial intelligence units so we can address trafficking of various things.

Germany: We share the focus on disruption of financial flows, it is a good approach and thank you for the credit for our funding of your programmes. There is not much prospect for AD if it is not holistic, so what programs do you offer to communities for physical protection?

Colombia (panel): You know that image of an angel and devil sitting on your shoulders – the state should be the angel but there are areas where the angel is not present but the devil has always been there, controlling things with money. We have to make sure institutions are reaching populations, we have to move from military control but provide education and other public services. Achieving that needs the strengthening of the little angel. It is a huge challenge and it is impossible to bring it about in the entire state simultaneously. People need to see that it is possible to engage in a profitable legal life. When they only have seen drugs as the source of income, it is difficult to prove the state is there to help.

Germany (panel): Since we are in break time, I will be short. The BMZ approach to AD is based on the idea that illicit cultivation is driven by poverty. BMZ incentivises households to voluntarily shift activities. GPDP works on several fields of action, I focus on the broadening of the scientific bases. We provide data for policy making and funding for a global research that Angela and Jacqueline presented this morning. The research brief has just been published on the UNODC website. There is no one-size fits all solution, we have to look at root causes and design responses based on that. We have a lot of experiences but systematic information and impact assessment is scarce. Some of the targeted objectives, eg. food security that is linked to the SDGs, it helps to identify the linkages and communicate results. If we only measure landmass, we don’t have a full picture on the effects of the project. There is a behavioural change that needs to take place so donors and agencies have to invest in long-term commitments. There is a funding dilemma then, we often have short cycles and changes in governance influence a lot of decision making. There is no real solution but one way we can try to work is that if we design projects realistically and so for example full eradication should be replaced with gradual steps that contributes to a more sustainable environment. We should also look into financial compensation schemes or alternative funding. It is important to grow the evidence base and as we have little data, the main donors work independently – there is a disparity.
Regular expert group meetings…

Chair: no more translation

Nigeria: Reasons on lack of information on the impact of AD?

Germany (panel): Difficult to say, all the donors have different project designs and political priorities so the data is uncompilable. Some reports are unstructured or span various length. This is one of the main challenges for funding as well. It is difficult to make a clear case on the value for money.

Russia: We value the efforts of Germany. We know coca cultivation has violent aspects, so if you take into account the environment…?

Germany (panel): The link between deforestation and coca cultivation has been looked into and a lot of the indirect deforestation in the Amazon was linked to illicit cultivation, but it was not the only one thing, they need food crops for farmers, roads, etc. We had a pilot project with Colombian government, UNODC and local CSOs, so far it is in the process of optimisation and assessment.

Afghanistan: We made mistakes around investing in AD so we appreciate this expertise. Is it possible for donors to create trusts, pull resources, collaborate, etc? Would it be a good idea to divide up larger projects into shorter sections?

Germany (panel): One of the main objectives is consolidation on previous initiatives. Short project cycles are a political reality, but this is something we also take into account. On pooling, I think this is definitely the way forward. We need broad coalitions and have to include the local community for sustainable long term results.

Secretariat: Please be back in the room at 3pm.

 

Afternoon Session 

Chair: Continuing our panel discussion.

Pedro Arenas Garcia, Corporación Viso Mutop-Observatorio de cultivos y cultivadores (OCCDI): My name is Pedro J. Arenas García. I’m Colombian. In the 80s, like many other people, I went to work in the field collecting coca leaf, from the crops that grew in the region. I was just 13 years old and so I started to earn my own income. I remember when adults commented that this crop was an illegal activity, and that is why at any time we could be arrested by the authorities. Faced with this fear, farmers increasingly penetrated remote areas of greater environmental importance, generating an increase in the rate of deforestation in the Amazon. For two decades aerial spraying with the agrotoxic glyphosate against coca crops, generated losses of legal crops, broke down family economies based on that activity and led to human rights violations. My mother also lost her crop and she had to leave the field, leaving what she had to move to the nearest city and start her life again. As a civic leader in my region, I have been promoting the defence of the human rights of indigenous people, farmers and Afro-descendants who plant coca for traditional and cultural purposes, as well as those families that do so to obtain base pasta. During these years I have seen how stigmatisation and persecution campaigns have been carried out on that plant and the farmers that live of it. Currently, I am part of the Viso Mutop Corporation, an organisation that is dedicated to accompanying indigenous, peasant and Afro-descendant communities that earn income from coca, poppy or marijuana crops. In recent years I have witnessed the commitment of the peasant families that uprooted their coca crops. They eradicated almost 40,000 hectares, which represent some 500 tons of cocaine per year, between 2017 and 2018, as part of the commitments to the Plan for voluntary crop substitution that was launched by mandate of the last Peace Agreement. The voluntary substitution has shown that if community participation is possible to conclude work plans that allow the gradual overcoming of the illicit economy. But substitution is a process that takes time. It cannot be measured only in how many hectares are eradicated but in terms of how much access to development was propitiated in those communities. The substitution of crops must be tied to solving land problems by facilitating access to property for families that do not have it. Likewise, the process of removing some plants to install others is insufficient in the contexts where the crops declared illicit grow. There, technical assistance, food security, productive projects, on-site crop transformation, infrastructure, market access and security are also required. Ultimately, crop substitution is linked to the access and security are also required. Ultimately, crop substitution is linked to the realisation of the human rights. More recently, the world has seen the drug laws of several countries evolve to allow marijuana crops to be used in the medical industry. Undoubtedly this allows to generate jobs, the payment of taxes, scientific progress and the supply of medicines to the population. However, we see with concern that the native communities (especially indigenous and peasant) are not being able to access the opportunities that the new market offers. We call on States and the United Nations to fully incorporate into the crop substitution policies, the guiding principles of alternative development, a logical and appropriate sequence that facilitates the incorporation of communities into true development taking into account the objectives of sustainable development and full respect for human rights, which implies leaving behind the use of force, recognising the citizenship of the families currently in these activities. Also, we urge States and the United Nations to adopt measures that facilitate opportunities for communities in the medical cannabis industry, taking into account fair trade parameters for them. Finally, we believe that UNODC can provide technical support to governments in many countries, promoting alternative rural development, without prejudice to the sovereignty of States. His role as a verifier of commitments, in the progressive reduction of illicit crops, cannot be affected by financing agreements with national governments that involve him departing from his neutral character and being a judge and part of eradication plans that make him lose legitimacy before populations.

Chair: floor open for questions or comments.

Netherlands: I was impressed with the Colombian and Mr. Garcia’s presentation. We see how this topic is relevant to health and human rights. This is my first CND meeting and I am learning a lot. In my country, regarding today’s topic, we have reached record levels with enormous impacts on Western Europe. Only a few months ago a horrendous murder took place, a lawyer was killed in cold blood who was defending someone in a drugs case. This led to a public outcry as it coincided with the king’s speech. This is clearly an example of threats and undermining the rule of law in relation to drugs. We always emphasised a need for a good balance in drugs policies & evidence-base. We need to balance human rights and law enforcement. Recent dramatic events forced us to look at that balance again and put more emphasis on the law enforcement side, we need more ways to disrupt drug business. We invested additional millions of euros to put new measures in action. We invest in law enforcement, monitoring, assessment, persecution and data sharing. A special multidisciplinary anti-drug unit is created in the Dutch police. New partnerships with the private sector to tackle internet trade. We intensify prevention efforts and discourage use, we are concerned by the normalisation of drug use among our youth. We had a certain attitude towards drug use but we have to step up our efforts in awareness raising about the harms. We are seeking international cooperation; we are working with Europol and will keep CND updated. We are not changing our policies but you will hear a new kind of voice from the Netherlands.

Germany: If I understood Mexico correctly, as a farmer you decide to leave coca and plant other plants, you should think about who will buy your crop. Who are the buyers of the alternative crops?

Garcia, OCCDI: AD focused on replacing coca with cacao or coffee – we call them alternative products. National markets aren’t enough to support the shift. Products coming from AD programmes face many obstacles: hygiene, bureaucratic red tapes, etc. This concerns Europe, sometimes the US as these are huge markets. Shared responsibility means these markets open their gates. AD is not just an operation where we replace crops, we have to consider AD through an integrated lens where some illicit crops might become legal later and be used for something else… so use substitution is a new concept where coca leaves are used for legal production for fertilisers or for the textile industry. In Colombia, there is really a whole span of stakeholders coming to play. When a development agency comes here, they will see communities are wishing to separate from illegal markets and you will understand farmers are people of their word.

Mexico: Regarding drug abuse, we reiterate our commitment to facilitate mechanisms as per UNGASS recommendations: providing information; targeted early interventions; increasing prevention measures and tools; peer-group, civil society and academia involvement; systematic information collection and data sharing; cooperation of authorities; promoting inclusion; cooperation and technical assistance; social reintegration and rehabilitation; minimise social consequences of drug abuse; implementing UN standards; encourage UN entities to strengthen health and social welfare measures. The truth is the abuse, illicit cultivation and manufacture as well as trafficking have reached record levels. The illicit demand is on the rise. This situation is not withstanding the strong commitment and efforts, in some cases with human lives, we should be looking into concrete actions where out political commitments lead us or if new approaches have to be considered to be successful. A few political commitments have been fully implemented: compilation of companies authorised to trade precursors – in the mid-term review, we can flag this out. Could UNODC/INCB elaborate if we should do something additional? Could this be a basis of future commitment? Recording systems to prevent precursors to be diverted from licit channels – this should be flagged-out as well. What do we do next? Some other commitments are not compiled in the more than reasonable time-frame: universal code of conduct and appropriate legislation on the supply and trafficking of precursors including those not under international control yet. We would appreciate a confirmation whether these were produced at all?

Chair: We will continue with the Q&A after the next presentation as Mr.Walsh has to catch a plane.

UNODC Cybercrime (Neil Walsh): To find the darknet markets is very easy and you don’t need any training. All the darknet is, is a different type of browser that allows you to access a black market. These pages don’t work from your usual browsers, but if you download ‘tor’ you can get into these darknet sites. Some marketplaces I couldn’t find anymore which is a common case as these sites are very unstable. Here is one selling MCAT, ketamine, cannabis – it is not a professional looking website, doesn’t look like Amazon. We are looking at 600EUR for 10g but every ad for ketamine was sold out. A lot of marketplaces are fraudulent, so we don’t know if there was ever anything on here for sale. I was looking into MCAT 99.99 EUR with 4.5 EUR delivery fee. On this criminal marketplace, they ask me for my billing details and if I am a returning customer. All the data should be encrypted and I could pay with bitcoin. Many people believe the safety of their data and there are feedback forms on the store’s site. We don’t know who runs this or where the store takes place, but I am convinced we could have completed a transaction – not sure if the drugs would arrive. Europol concluded in 2019 that darknet really impacts the drug market. Millions of bitcoins and cash was seized, 1.5 million users per site are registered which is not a lot and 5000 vendors. On the scale of things, tons of drugs are not shipped through the darknet. Some research says people do buy from here to minimize risk. The market is targeted at individual users, they are unstable (law enforcement thus is pretty successful here). Law enforcement will have to continue to invest in infiltration and freezing assets from cryptocurrencies. I am at 8 minutes now so I will stop to leave time for questions.

Canada: How do you gather data on the size of the darknet markets and the effectiveness of interventions?

Walsh, UNODC Cybercrime: It is difficult. We gather evidence from English language markets so we are aware of the shortcomings. We saw research done on firearm markets by RAND and it is exceptionally difficult to put numbers and even then you cant guarantee it will be the same tomorrow.

Iran: Does UNODC look into creating guidelines to assist MS to monitor and control darknet?

Walsh, UNODC Cybercrime: My commend is the global program on cybercrime and we can indeed deliver training. We have a skillset and capability to do that. We can also trace cryptocurrency as we think disrupting financial flows is the most effective way to tackle.

Senegal: Dismantling darknet sites is very difficult so what about incentives to encourage people to manifest themselves on the darknet and persecute them after? What about cases of fraud in the virtual world?

Walsh, UNODC Cybercrime: I think your first question is about a sting operation? Okay, it is possible but the way it would need to be done is in compliance with your own law managing human rights and privacy. Online operations are challenging, need infrastructure and time. Infiltrations like this take a very long time, 3-4 years for success, if any. About fraud, we call them exit-scams, it is very common and because they pay with cryptocurrencies, there is no way people tracking their purchases. It has happened. If we do better public diplomacy about the risks, we could have some level of impact.

Finland on behalf of EU and its MS: 2015 and 2019. Heroin is the main drug of concern in the EU but we are concern with NPS and synthetics. MDMA, amphetamine and methamphetamine are manufactured and consumed in the EU. We strive to achieve a balanced, integrated multi-agency approach. I would like to highlight the role of Europol and Eurojust as well as customs agencies. We aim to have a balance between preventing and tackling crime. On all dimensions and between all stakeholders is the EU policy methodology to identify and prioritize the most pressing threats for the period 2018-2021. In our efforts, we already have encouraging results as we took down darknet operations. We adopted a new initiative in 2017 that increases multilateral law cooperation focusing on high value targets and we created operational taskforces. Europol has a darkweb team to reduce the size of this underground economy. Drug precursor control remains a main focus in particular with the synthetic drug manufacture within the EU, but we are facing unprecedented challenges with designer precursors. We estimate 90% of synthetics within the EU use non-scheduled precursors as a key raw material, we are currently working on addressing this. We fully support the INCB’s call for a dialogue internationally. The EU will continue drug-related dialogues with 3rd countries. AD combines efforts of rural development, alleviation of poverty, improving access to land and land rights, promotion of the rule of law, good governance in full alignment with human rights and gender equality. Collecting relevant and reliable data is also instrumental world-wide. EU and MS are actively participating in the updating of the ARQ. We are worried about the increased drug use – it is a complex phenomenon and needs to be addressed with associated health and social aspects. We would like to recall that the principle of adequate and proportional responses have been highlighted in all UN papers.

Venezuela: We are working very hard to seize drugs that enter our territory. We monitor cultivation on border regions. Our police forces and military are involved in eradication operations targeting cannabis and other crops. UNODC report tells us Venezuala is not a major drug producer country. In terms of precursors, we have noted there are cocaine labs in place however strong our monitoring instruments might be. Some substances are not considered precursors as they have licit use but are diverted often. We see a high use of [downers and uppers] in Venezuela. In 2019 we carried out 7000 outreach activities to raise awareness and managed to seize 300K kg of chemical substances along our borders, where labs were producing cocaine. We reject Peru’s statement about the legitimacy of our government – it has been duly elected; we see it as an attack on the sovereignty of Venezuela. This is not the right venue to do that. This is a forum for diplomacy so my country appeals to you all to uphold the multilateral system.

Morocco: Thank you Mr. Garcia – we all know AD can often fail but also, they could be counterproductive. How do we ensure that we fight against the diversion of new technologies?

Garcia, NGO: The weather is very different in Colombia as in Morocco. There exists licit uses of “illicit crops”. Some indigenous communities have traditional use. This would not have a lot of relevance to the situation in Africa.

Colombia (panel): It was said that water is not a limiting factor but infrastructure is.

Russia: For our delegation, the drugs problem has a hidden underbelly and has to be dealt with from the source. The 2009 document has relevant objectives for today’s topic. In combatting drug cultivation, AD is important and doubtless is that we need long-term thinking. We have been providing donor support to UNODC projects particularly in Afghanistan. Strengthening law enforcement capacity of states would be an important element, including training. Since 2012, with Japan, we have been training Afghan police force and neighboring countries. Last year, we built a sniffer dog center in Kabul and trained K9 experts to increase the effectiveness of our joint efforts. One other important component is reducing demand. We are worried about the trend of younger and younger age of drug users, we think the commission has yet a lot to do. Spreading the idea that use of drug as a normal way of life is regrettable. Legalization for recreational purposes is sending the wrong signal to youth. This year, Russia held a campaign across the country with sports and culture, exhibitions and activities. Drawing on civil society capacity, including various stakeholders is the best strategy.

Mexico: There was talk about the seizure of cocaine derived products from Guatemala so I am wondering about the reaction…?

Garcia, NGO: We are working with all countries on a shared roadmap. The history of those countries led us to work with typical areas.
The coca leaf has existed for thousands of years in the region, also Mexico, gong all the way to north of Argentina. This doesn’t mean a transfer of crops. There could be a transfer of labs for processing in Central-America. Given seizures on the Pacific Ocean… it is something we also see in Europe.

UNODC Division of Operations: We are talking about where it all begins, he community. Community empowerment is a simple concept that is difficult to implement. The importance to base our work on working together with communities. Communities can only operate freely when they have a secure environment and they feel they own the land. They must feel they are part of the whole process. Inclusion of private sector, environment and identification of crops. Communities will only work with us if there is trust and sometimes there isn’t proper sequencing. We take away their livelihood and don’t follow through in an empowering way, that’s not useful. We have to understand how important their natural environment is and how they make a living. We missed a lot of opportunities and short-term projects really just erodes confidence.
One example I would like to mention is Myanmar where there is a state that accounts for 90% of the opium production. We sat down with impacted communities and identified coffee. Communities have good skills, they understand economy, young people wanted to engage in entrepreneurship so we didn’t have an international running the show, we just established a co-operative. Communities experienced what it is like to be part of the legal economy – health services, football fields. We provided them the skills, allowed access to the private sector, they made their own agreements are empowered, they own the value chain. We spoke about limited financing so thank you Germany, Switzerland and Finland, they made it possible. Malongo Coffee // Shan Mountain Coffee.

Chair: Thank you for the panelists, now we move on with video messages.

Afghanistan (UNODC Country Office, video message): Women’s economic empowerment – Afghanistan ranks in gender development index 186th. Women are severely limited to contribute to the development of their communities. Poppy cultivating provinces lead this trend. Where girls don’t have access to school, there is a correlation with illicit cultivation and peace. Men are involved in all stages of opium cultivation but are often paid as daily laborers. UNODC works with the government of Afghanistan and aligned the national action plan to 2016. I am going to show you two testimonies – Sahera’s husband is a laborer on poppy field for 70 USD a month which is not enough to pay for food, medication, children’s education. She joined UNODC initiative and is owner of a small business, the husband helps with collecting and selling milk, not anything illicit. They make hundreds of dollars a month. Shah Pari is the main provider of the family as a cleaner with 50 USD a month that hardly makes ends meet. UNODC employed her looking after a greenhouse, now she harvests 3 times a year and hired other women to support her as she founded 3 other greenhouses with the money she saved.

Afghanistan (from the floor): We appreciate Japan’s generous support and I would like to show you how your contributions have an impact. Following a series of meeting with UNODC and Japan Embassy, we decided to strengthen the capacity of women in the country. This have birth to Women’s empowerment project dealing with hand-made soap and rose products in Kabul. Within this, UNODC worked with many grassroots organizations that were founded and led by women. Now we have 10 female staff on payroll and 4 in indirect employment and hundreds of members recovering from drug problems. I will show you a short video of the project now. Thank you for your support in achieving this success.
As the first female ambassador to Vienna, I am one of the success stories of women empowerment. I usually gift my counterparts with this soap as a symbol of Afghanistan and women economy. This is increasing family income and livelihood alternatives means economic independence and an alternative to join extremist groups.

Chair: If there is no request for the floor, I invite Gilberto Guerra to give his presentation.

UNODC Prevention (Guerra): Why do we have this record level of drugs, continuous increase of demand? I bring you something to meditate on. Drug dependence is a complex, multifaceted health disorder. Complexity is the key here, there is no easy recipe to solve the problem. Drugs are modifying the brain and also the condition of the environment can do that. Early care environment and relationships with parents before 3 years, level of attachment is an important influence. There is an old experiment of children and the candy – if they can wait two hours without eating it, they can get a toy. Some have a disability to delay gratification which was related with attachment to the parents. Secure organized attachment means they can wait. College students, those who use more drugs or start early tend to discount the delayed reward. Authors mention addiction can be an expression of attachment disorders. Maltreatment, childhood anxiety increases the risk of developing substance use disorders. Sexual abuse – over 30% of women report early childhood harassment. Heroin and cannabis are also thought to be a coping mechanism. The lack of capacity to delay reward is also related to the capacity to deal with frustration. Implicit attachment is significantly correlated with drug use. There is also a correlation between socioeconomical status and substance misuse – as family income goes up, misuse tendency trends go down. Children of affluent families experiment just as much but are less likely to develop problematic patterns. Community, belonging, parenting, these are key.

Nigeria: Thank you for clearing up the role of family. What about the influence of peers?

UNODC (Guerra): peer-pressure is indeed a risky thing but it is still related to resilience. Some children develop the capacity to say no. There is an experiment of two kids who try and use cannabis together during high-school, but while one has the perspective of college, the other has nothing to look for, one ends up in treatment. The children of the poor often don’t find support or strong bonds and are less able to not follow a sad trajectory.

Guatemala: We exceed to international standards; we have 8 national programs based on evidence to develop life skills that prevent drug use. With UNODC, we made progress. We developed a prevention program for schools and conducted a household study. When it comes to treatment, we have support from UNODC and facing many issues that have already been noted today. Alcohol is the most consumed drug in my country.

Russia: We would like to point out a problem that as a result of drug use, and this is a fact, there are impacts on children by drug use so his future is decided. I think we should always bear in mind this and find ways to solve it, this should be our focus as well as other UN agencies – the rights of the child.

Slovenia: Several times in this room, we orient to young people but my colleague Guerra, the world sees older people using drugs. We have a problem with the older generation, over 40 years old – hat do you think about that?

UNODC (Guerra): The epidemiological peak of initiation of drugs is 14-17 but as you said, the prolonged life expectancy does mean 40 year-olds can still experience juvenilism. Many countries in Europe were treated for addiction in the 70s and now they experience problems. This needs new means of specialization.

Chair: Next agenda point.

UNODC WCO Container Control Programme: we have been running for 15 years. We have two simple objectives: establish dedicated targeting units and facilitate trade. We are looking at cargo shipments. We started with 4 countries and today we have activities in 65 countries. Operational units in 50 countries which means a structure where people target containers for physical examination. Latin American countries deliver remarkable results. We haven’t done much analysis on the seizures but most of the papers have Europe as a destination. We are reading a lot of documents and read between the lines. We seized more than 300 tons of cocaine – around 55 tons in 2019. In 215 we established a women’s network. They can do better analytical work as men. Thank you to the 12 donor countries.

Chair: I see no flags raised; we can move on.

UNODC Scientific and Forensic Services: one of the main roles of our work is to improve the capacity and capability of MS. I am showing you some graphics to show you the changes in the substances that have been controlled. The four main precursors from 10 years ago are now more diversified.

INCB (Deputy Secretary): Up to 20K possible precursors exist just for fentanyl analogues. The same is the situation for traditional drugs, let alone NPS. We have an infinite number of chemicals that can be used to produce illicit drugs. Diversion of licit channels enables trafficking organizations. More and more, we see precursors of precursors. You cannot endlessly schedule everything; it is important but won’t solve the problem alone. The same applied to the final product with designer drugs. INCB recently took a decision to launch a major program that looks at the issue more comprehensively – I hope we will have more time to talk about it some other time. Thank you to our donors.
There is no simple solution, we propose 8 possible actions:
1 generic, analogue approach: It can be done nationally.
2 fast and temporary scheduling: it has been done before when there is a dramatic problem to respond to on a national level
3 list of substances with no legitimate use
4 cooperation with industries (guidelines)
5 e-commerce and B2B
6 equipment (Article 13)
7 common operational activities – this is what we have been doing for 25 years
8  information exchange tools
This will not replace a comprehensive international system but this can make life harder for criminals. We produced voluntary guidelines for the chemical industry, it is available to MS – some are very proactive and competent.

USA: precursors and pre-precursors play an increasing role. To deny the access to these for criminals while enabling legitimate use is paramount. We look forward to the new paradigm – GRIDS.

Mexico: We should highlight the fact that this should be illustrated in the mid-term review.

Afghanistan: Since there are 2 categories precursors with one irreplaceable, do you have some categorisation? It is a bit vague as is.

INCB: We don’t have that. Acidic hydrate is scheduled. We have a fruitful cooperation with Afghanistan when it was declared that there was no legitimate use of this substance and that helped us immensely. I invite you to look at our precursor report, I have an entire chapter on this but we have very little time.

Peggy Chukwuemeka, Parent-Child Intervention Centre (NGO): Drug abuse, illicit cultivation, production of narcotic, psychotropic substances including trafficking of those illicit drugs has assumed a frightening dimension and poses a serious threat to human and national security. The problem of illicit drug cultivation, trafficking and consumption is one of the major challenges facing Nigeria as a country. Hard drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin and psychotropic substances are on high demand and abused by Nigerian and mostly youths.

Thus, Nigeria provides the transit routes between producing countries of these drugs and the consuming nations of the world. Furthermore, the increase in the cultivation of cannabis across Nigeria has increased the country’s drug problem. The illicit market for meth has taken a new turn in Nigeria the growth has also been fuelled by the accessibility of precursor chemicals such ephedrine which is meant to be a controlled substance but is widely available in Nigeria. Nigeria is a country blessed with over 180 million people, making it the most Populous Nation in Africa and the seventh in the world. The country is inhabited by over 250 ethnic groups, of which the three largest are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. The origin of Nigeria’s drugs trafficking problem can be traced to the period just after the Second World War. Nigerian soldiers who had served in Burma, India, came back with seeds of the cannabis sativa plant. They went ahead to experiment with its cultivation and discovered that the plant does very well in some parts of Nigeria, and this led to a rise in the cultivation of the plant. The most widely abused and locally trafficked illicit drug in Nigeria and indeed West Africa is cannabis, in its herbal form because it is quite affordable and readily available due to the fact that it is cultivated and produced locally. Currently Nigeria society is in a serious dilemma and in a pathetic situation, this is because narcotic drugs such as cocaine, crack, heroin, morphine, and other related illicit drugs that used to be traded in secret places are now readily available and can easily be bought on the streets of Nigeria. This development is disturbing and has been described as a dangerous trend in the illicit drug trade in Nigeria. Also the increase in the cultivation of cannabis across Nigeria has compounded the country’s drug problem.  The trend in local supplies of cannabis from the traditional high-risk areas of Ondo, Edo, Osun, Oyo, Delta, and Ogun states have now changed to supplies from various parts of the country thereby increasing consumption and export rates. Available records of recent arrest by the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) indicate that there has been an exponential and steady increase in the number of persons arrested for drug trafficking-related offences. From four hundred and sixty-four (464) drug traffickers arrest in 1990 to eight thousand, eight hundred and twenty-six (8,826) arrest in 2014. The statistics further revealed that between 2000 and 2014, a total number of eighty-six thousand, three hundred and fourteen (86,314) persons were arrested for drug trafficking-related offences. A report of the first ever survey on drug use in Nigeria facilitated by the UNODC in collaboration with relevant Nigerian authorities (2019) indicates that about 14.3 million Nigerians, representing about 14.4 per cent of the country’s population between the ages of 15 and 64, were said to have abused drugs in 2017. This is very worrisome because of the deleterious effects of drug or substance abuse on both the abuser and the society. Most disturbing about the Nigerian report is that, at 14.4 per cent, the prevalence of drug abuse in the country is more than double the 2016 global average of 5.6 per cent. Yet, given the rate at which the habit is spreading, it is expected that the rate will further increase and might become an epidemic in Nigeria because of insufficient capacity to handle it. The fallout effect of drug trafficking which is the availability of psychoactive substances has also invariably led to drug abuse and other associated crimes such as armed robbery, burglary, arson, assassination, kidnapping, militancy, terrorism, insurgency, and political thuggery. Nigerian’s drug cultivation, production, consumption and trafficking have reached an emergency level. Given the deep-rooted nature of the drug problem, it is a situation that will remain so for a long time, unless drastic measures are taken to restore the country’s drug problem situation. This is a problem that demands the collaboration of all segments of the society, especially the family, where parents and guardians should pay more attention to what their children and wards are doing. Religious groups also have a big role to play in keeping the youth away from drugs, especially through enlightenment. Parent-Child Intervention Centre (PCIC) is one of the NGOs in Nigeria at the forefront of drug abuse prevention. For the past five years, we have been working in partnership with schools, religious organisations, communities, families NDLEA Enugu and other relevant stakeholders. With the strategy of our Parents for Parents Movement, (Training of Trainers of volunteered parents for drug prevention) we have been able to reach out to more persons in communities with our drug awareness programs. As an organization with a mandate to reduce drug and substance abuse, we recommend for; The involvement of parents in the guidance of their children and strengthening of the marriage institutions for effective upbringing of children. Greater involvement of educational institutions through emphasis in the curriculum about dangers of drug abuse, and of religious institutions in laying more emphasis on the protection of the body from substances that can damage and destroy it. Attitudinal change among Nigerians should be encouraged. There should be a shift in focus, to moral rebirth, ethics, and social re-orientation. The government should provide cannabis farmers with high yielding seedlings for food and cash crops such as maize, yam, cassava, plantain cocoa, groundnut, cotton and so on in order to discourage illegal cannabis cultivation and boost food supply and food security thereby promoting alternative development. Constant and aggressive enlightenment programmes on the ills of drug trafficking should be encouraged and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) should be strengthened through sufficient funding.

Nigeria: We thank miss Peggy for the fascinating intervention and bringing an NGO perspective. The horrid picture of Cannabis is always outlined in our national report and we highlight it on several fora. In the criminal sector, the one common thing is Cannabis. The fact that it can be bought on the streets increasingly easier is worrying us.

Chair: Thanks, next agenda. Reminder, translation is only until 6pm.

UNODC Prevention: The increasing non-medical use of controlled drugs. When we talk a bout treatment, over 30million are in need but only 1 in 7 have access. It is even worse for women. Quality of treatment has to be discussed, we see many sad things around the World, people being beaten, chained to beds, locked up, we heard of fires and deaths in unlicensed facilities. In prison settings, the population has a higher rate of drug use disorders, very few states reported treatment programs. There is no increase of funding in national drug strategies despite the commitments and agreements to incest more and more in this dire issue. If we want to achieve increase the results, funding too. Our standards contain interventions that proved most effective, pick up our booklet. Staying in school is the most protective factor, as is support of adults. We developed two family-based interventions that you can implement nationally. These proved to be efficient in also suppressing crime. UNODC/WHO Standards show treatment standards that specify the most effective settings and cost effective approached. In practice we see a lot of fancy, high cost and not necessarily the most effective interventions implemented. Opioids overdose is an important issue with the drastically increasing mortalities, this led to WHO with UNODC to develop guidelines to for community-based management and includes Naloxone and training. UNODC developed tools for quality assurance measures specifically looking at managerial and therapeutic interventions so we can advise centres. Lately, we also developed a family intervention package that focuses on adolescents and we have a gender-specific guideline as well as a training package for alternatives for punishment. Treatment within prison settings has been a specific request, so it is important incarcerated people receive the same care as outside. The consensus is already there – you have expressed your commitment already so next is the mobilisation of resources.

UNODC: Responding comprehensively to drugs and HIV. There are a number of declarations and documents to commit to address health of all people. Currently, there are more than 11 million people injecting drugs, 54% new HIV infections were among key populations. 1.4 million people live with HIV, 5.6 live with hepatitis C. 1.1 million live with both, which is over 80% of people living with HIV. We know what works, there is compelling evidence for our 9 recommended interventions including needle syringe programmes and opioid substitution therapy. There is insufficient coverage of services, especially of these two essential interventions. Only 4 countries (1% of the injecting population) have both programmes in place. In prisons, this is a big pillar of our work, this picture looks even more drastic. There needs a lot more to be done. Over 10 million people are in prisons at any given time, they are 5 times more likely to live with HIV, 15% have HCV. HIV/AIDS and TB are among the main causes of death in prisons. Coverage needs to be increased at country levels. UNODC with UNAIDS developed a comprehensive package to address this. What we do under the global program? We assist MS to promote access to HIV services. One example is Kenya, the program has been running for 20 years, we have 7 substitution clinics housed within public health facilities and 4 syringe exchange centres. One OST is in a prison which I am very proud of. Before this, prisoners who needed this therapy needed to be transported to the city which posed a number of challenges. We involve civil society organisations and communities in the implementation which is crucial. Strengthening data and monitoring is an important part of our program, we trained 70 partners on data monitoring and evaluation. We have specific tools to address specific needs of women who inject drugs as these are different as for men, so accessing services is much more difficult. We have concluded just recently a guidance document and training package addressing HIV package for people who use stimulants. This has been rolled out in parts of Africa and Eastern Europe. We support sensible law enforcement approaches – there are countries where the services are in places but people can’t access them so we train law enforcement. People need to be brought together and hear about each other’s perspective on the problem. An additional thing we did in prisons this year, we supported national authorities in Nigeria to asses HIV, TB and drug use in prisons. We have a guidance document on mother-child HIV transmission. As you know the AIDS epidemic is changing, more than half of the new infections are among key populations. We have to respond adequately in a sufficient intensity to meet the 2030 targets. A fully funded AIDS response is more needed than ever.

Chair: Floor is open.

USA: We hope we can continue this discussion tomorrow.

Chair: I see no other flags raised.

Secretariat: We were not able to work with the thematic blocks as planned due to the interactivity today. We have still some video messages we didn’t have time for today. Tomorrow we will decide how we can circle back to them. Thank you for everyone for staying late.

Chair: Meeting adjourned.