YouSaid · the spoken record

Costa

lines on the record: 111
first: 2003-06-17
most recent: 2010-03-19
sittings or episodes: 9
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Serious consequences in terms of health, development and security are inevitable, and I will demonstrate this, aided by a set of maps being distributed as I speak. First, on the subject of West Africa, the subregion is shifting now from cocaine trafficking to amphetamine manufacturing. West Africa, particularly Guinea-Bissau, has received a lot of attention from the Security Council, because of the 50 to 60 tons per year of cocaine trafficked through the subregion over the past few years. As I mentioned at a meeting of this Council in November (see S/PV.6212), the recent discovery of seven laboratories in Guinea-Conakry is evidence that West Africa is also becoming a producer of synthetic drugs - amphetamines - and of crystal cocaine, refined from pasta basica.”
2009-12-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6233 (2009) · source
“Mr. Costa: I am honoured to report again to the Security Council. In the past few years the Council has looked at drug trafficking as a threat to peace and stability in a number of areas already referred to by the Secretary-General - Afghanistan, West Africa and Central America, just to mention a few. Today, I will report on new, worrisome developments concerning both West and East Africa, as well as the Saharan landmass generally. There are indeed reasons to worry. In the past, Africa, already suffering from other tragedies, never had a drug problem. Today, under attack from several sides, the continent is facing a severe and complex drug problem: not only drug trafficking or production, but also consumption.”
2009-12-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6233 (2009) · source
“The impunity of drug traffickers - a fact of life in Guinea-Bissau until recently - will soon come to an end. The efforts of the Security Council have been bearing fruit. Yet, the threat to Guinea-Bissau posed by drugs has not diminished; it has evolved, as I have explained, into patterns whose breadth and depth are hard to assess, but whose negative impact will surely be felt in the years ahead. I urge the Council to follow up on the international support pledged at the ECOWAS ministerial meeting, held at Praia in February this year, and at the Guinea-Bissau conference held in Lisbon late last year. It may be news to members that the ECOWAS Commission is planning to hold a new funding round table in Vienna on 3 December. I urge them to attend and to confirm their commitment to help.”
2009-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6212 (2009) · source
“With our assistance, a team of police experts from Brazil visited Bissau in September and is now planning to establish a national police academy. Three dozen officers will undergo training in Brazil by year- end. Training programmes have been conducted for magistrates dealing with organized crime and for criminal justice experts to improve their anti-money- laundering capabilities and financial intelligence skills. Last year, I saw first-hand the desperate state of Bissau's prisons, if one can call them that. I am therefore happy to inform the Council that, following an evaluation - again by Brazilian experts - a new prison will be built in the capital, while two others, in Bafata and Mansoa, are to be refurbished with money from the Peacebuilding Fund.”
2009-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6212 (2009) · source
“The country is very vulnerable because of its poor judicial system, its obviously uncontrolled sea and airspace and its open land borders. At UNODC, we are doing our utmost to help. As part of the West Africa Coast Initiative, and in partnership with the Department of Political Affairs, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and INTERPOL, we are establishing a Transnational Crime Unit in Guinea-Bissau. We are, of course, supporting criminal justice reform as part of the peacebuilding process, by seconding our staff to the Ministry of Justice. We are working with DPKO on security sector reform and, starting in January next year, we shall have a new United Nations integrated peacebuilding office in Bissau, including a law enforcement expert in the Office of the Special Representative.”
2009-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6212 (2009) · source
“Since July, UNODC and INTERPOL have been investigating numerous West African sites, where we have found large amounts of chemicals used in drug processing to convert pasta basica into high-grade cocaine, as well as chemical precursors for the manufacture of ecstasy. That was a shocking surprise for us, and it may be for the Council too. While that shocking information is being processed, I want to ring a new set of alarm bells. West Africa is now on the verge of becoming a source of drugs, not just a transit area. Indeed, organized crime is growing and developing indigenous roots. Right now, those developments are taking place not in Guinea- Bissau, but across its borders. Yet, something similar is likely to happen in Bissau, where drug traffickers have acquired a significant real estate presence.”
2009-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6212 (2009) · source
“Secondly, there are reports that drug use is affecting the military. That not only threatens security sector reform; as developments in neighbouring Conakry have shown, soldiers' behaviour can easily get out of control. This is not a problem unique to Bissau or Conakry; the disastrous consequences of addiction among the military have also been experienced in other parts of the world, including in rich countries. The difference is that in Guinea-Bissau, there is only one national drug treatment centre - in Quinhamel, 30 kilometres from Bissau * run by a pastor who can only offer discipline and spiritual guidance. That is hardly an alternative. My third point is the most serious, and I would like the Council to consider it very seriously.”
2009-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6212 (2009) · source
“The Government needs greater assistance in order to gain control over those islands, which provide safe havens for light aircraft and fast boats coming from across the Atlantic. I therefore urge the Council not to be complacent. In addition, there are three new disturbing elements. First, a growing amount of the drugs coming into West Africa is being consumed locally. This is new, but perhaps not surprising. The low prices and ready availability of cocaine, particularly in Guinea- Bissau, cause havoc among young people, who are already distraught as a result of so many problems related to poverty, illiteracy and unemployment. And let us not forget that the foot soldiers of organized crime - local young people - and petty traffickers are being paid in kind with coke and crack, which are then sold domestically.”
2009-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6212 (2009) · source
“Over the past 18 months, we have noted a significant drop in the number of drug seizures in West Africa, corroborated by a similarly strong decline in the number of European drug seizures, with West Africa indicated as the suspected source. As members may be aware, trends in the area of seizures are a good indicator of what is happening in terms of drug flows. Therefore, we conclude that drug trafficking through the region has declined. Yet, that trend must be interpreted cautiously. Europe's craving for cocaine persists, and international efforts may have merely displaced trafficking routes further south along the West African coast. Furthermore, the threat to Guinea-Bissau, although less obvious than in the past, remains very serious. There have been reports of smuggling through many privately owned islands in the Bissau archipelago.”
2009-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6212 (2009) · source
“Mr. Costa: I thank the Security Council for the invitation to attend this meeting. As members may recall, my Office had the distinction - if you can call it that - of ringing the alarm bells five years ago to warn the world about the destabilizing impact of cocaine trafficking from Latin America to Europe Via West Africa, especially through Guinea-Bissau. After a couple of years of hesitation - wasted time that turned out to be quite costly, by the way - the international community started to move, prodded by the Council, and I thank all members for that. Actions taken by the Security Council and actions promoted by the regional action plan of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), inspired by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), as well as generous bilateral support, are paying off. That is good news.”
2009-11-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6212 (2009) · source
“I began by thanking and congratulating all the members of the Council, for our experience has shown that joint action can indeed contain crime. In addition to the statistics I have just reported, we have seen that success with the Kimberly Process against blood diamonds and the Bamako Convention on hazardous wastes. We hope to see the same results with the Praia process against drug trafficking. Let us therefore unite to disrupt other forms of illicit activity, which are causing so much pain in Africa. I thank the Council for its support.”
2009-07-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6157 (2009) · source
“In particular, my Office is asking rich countries to stop using West Africa as a dumping ground for weapons, waste and fake medicines. The report to which I just referred includes some terrible statistics pertaining to oil bunkering, which derives from the theft of 10 per cent of the region's oil output, as well as to sources of pollution, corruption and revenues for insurgents. Eighty per cent of the cigarettes marketed in North and West Africa is of illicit origin. Fifty to 60 per cent of all medications used in West Africa is counterfeit or substandard. Africa is a major destination for electronic waste, including old computers and telephones. A good percentage of European e-waste, in fact 8.7 million tons, goes to Africa. All of that must come to an end.”
2009-07-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6157 (2009) · source
“That is vital for efforts to reduce vulnerability to organized crime and the corruption that enables it. I urge the Governments of the region to implement United Nations conventions against corruption and organized crime. In conclusion, I invite all the members of the Council to put the situation in West Africa in a global 6 perspective. We must not overlook the fact that most illicit activity is only transiting via West Africa. It is not originating there and it is not ending there. Rich countries, particularly in Europe, should assume their responsibilities by curbing their appetite for drugs - as indeed drugs transiting through West Africa are bound for Europe ~ cheap labour and the human beings who are modern-day slaves being smuggled through the region.”
2009-07-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6157 (2009) · source
“Indeed, the recent military and other coups underline the need for civilian oversight of armed forces and for the restoration of the constitutional order, as we are now seeing in Mauritania. Affected States also need the hardware to confront criminal groups, which are often better equipped than the police itself, or even the army. A number of West African presidents and senior ministers have appealed to have their countries provided with the means to protect their borders, their coasts and their airspace. I urge all members of the Council to answer that call and to provide the hardware, patrol boats, helicopters and radar that are desperately needed to defend the sovereignty of those countries against the onslaught of organized crime. The bottom line is to strengthen the rule of law in West Africa.”
2009-07-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6157 (2009) · source
“My Office is also providing technical assistance to strengthen criminal justice and crime-fighting capacity, for example in Cape Verde and Guinea- Bissau, and soon in Mali and Sierra Leone. Our support for the judicial police in Guinea-Bissau has been instrumental in assisting the commission investigating the killings of the President and the chief of army. Working together with DPKO - and this is something that is new for us - we have put police advisors on the ground. But much more is needed throughout the region to support the process of security-sector reform. Too often, the monopoly that a State has on the use of force is abused for the enrichment of a select few.”
2009-07-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6157 (2009) · source
“As Ambassador Djinnit has already mentioned, in order to tackle the threat posed by organized crime, UNODC has teamed up with the Department for Political Affairs, Ambassador Djinnit's United Nations Office for West Africa, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and the International Criminal Police Organization to support the action plan of the Economic Community of West African States against drugs and crime, the implementation of which is to be monitored by the Security Council. We are establishing transnational crime units in Guinea- Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire to complement peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts. I believe that to be innovative and promising as well.”
2009-07-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6157 (2009) · source
“It is a brand-new document, not yet released to the press. It contains a great deal of data and many graphs, showing that West Africa is still under attack by smugglers of arms, people, counterfeit medicines, toxic waste, cigarettes and oil and other natural resources. In short, organized crime makes West Africa much more prone to political instability and, of course, much less able to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.”
2009-07-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6157 (2009) · source
“Until the underlying conditions of vulnerability in the region - poverty, underdevelopment and inadequate governance - are addressed, the region will remain attractive to those who operate outside the law and abuse authority for personal gain. There are also other risks. First, we know that drug trafficking is being displaced from West Africa to the Sahel in North Africa, and especially down the south-west coast, towards Southern Africa. Traffickers are simply diversifying the routes, having met opposition in West Africa. Secondly and more important, drugs are not the only illicit flows or the only illicit activity. Today, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is releasing a threat assessment on transnational trafficking in West Africa. I think it has been distributed to Council members.”
2009-07-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6157 (2009) · source
“That decline has been major - about a 35 per cent drop over a few months. Again, I congratulate Member States in the region, the Security Council, the Peacebuilding Commission, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Special Representative for responding so effectively to the crisis. Of course, the situation remains very volatile. Around 20 tons of cocaine are still transiting through the region every year, valued at about $1 billion at its destination, mostly the European market. There is no guarantee, therefore, that the downward trend will continue. Recent upheavals in Guinea-Bissau and in Guinea show that there are powerful forces with a stake in illicit activity.”
2009-07-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6157 (2009) · source
“Mr. Costa: Let me start by congratulating the Council, and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Ambassador Djinnit, because, during the past three years, I have brought to the Council's attention - in this very Chamber - the threat posed by drug trafficking to the security of West Africa. All concerned have responded pro-actively. Today, I am pleased to report, on the basis of the evidence that was disclosed in the World Drug Report a few weeks ago, that the volume of drug trafficking through the region of West Africa seems to be diminishing, and significantly so. It is evident from the lower volume of seizures in West Africa - there have been none, zero, in 2009 so far - and from the sharp decline in the number of air couriers coming from West Africa to Europe.”
2009-07-07 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6157 (2009) · source
“It will raise the threshold of risk for criminals, money launderers and corrupt officials. In conclusion, the drug trafficking problem through Guinea-Bissau is still relatively small by the standards of West Asia, the Caribbean or Central America, but it is growing exponentially and threatening to turn the region into an epicentre of lawlessness and instability. That is the last thing that Africa needs. By working together now, we may still act in a preventive mode. Any day or week lost may have dramatic consequences for the future of the region, adding a security crisis in a part of the world already facing mass poverty, hunger and despair.”
2008-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5925 (2008) · source
“A priority is to strengthen international legal cooperation in the whole of West Africa through extradition, mutual legal assistance and the confiscation of the proceeds of crime. That is the message we have all heard from the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa, Ambassador Djinnit. His call is another alarm bell, and it is loud and clear. In that perspective, together with the Economic Community of West African States and the United Nations Office for West Africa, we are preparing for a ministerial conference on narcotic trafficking and organized crime in West Africa, scheduled to be held in Praia next October. It is meant to establish a regional platform to strengthen border controls and the judicial 7 system's resistance to drug trafficking.”
2008-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5925 (2008) · source
“Programmes for a more distant future are to be planned after the new Government is in place, following the November elections. Representative Omoregie spoke at length about that. With the assistance of INTERPOL, we are developing a counter-narcotics intelligence-sharing platform for the region and between West Africa and Europe. The model being applied is one we have tested with excellent results in other geographical theatres, for example in West Asia, and for other forms of crime, modelled for example, on the European Commission/European Police Office regional programme against the smuggling of migrants by organized crime groups. In general, whether bilateral or multilateral assistance is provided, we need to act together and address the problems of the country and the region together.”
2008-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5925 (2008) · source
“That will help tackle the drug trafficking problem by mainstreaming it into the wider security sector reform process and generally into the work of the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office in Guinea- Bissau (UNOGBIS), ably led by the Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Omoregie. That is a good example of the United Nations delivering as one. Like anywhere else, organized crime can best be neutralized by a strong and efficient judicial system. I invite those present to help strengthen the capacity of the Guinea-Bissau judicial system to prosecute organized crime, particularly drug trafficking, with the aim of having a core group of good and honest prosecutors and judges. Before closing, I would like to say a few words about the medium term.”
2008-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5925 (2008) · source
“Thanks to that and the support of Portugal, Germany and the United Kingdom, the central prison in Bissau and three provincial detention centres are being refurbished. The reform of the penitentiary administration through the modernization of its data management system, proper legislation, the training of staff and the improvement of the human rights culture in the country, is under way. Also under way are the training and equipping of a special counter-narcotics task force of the judicial police, with resources provided, through my office, by Italy and the European Union, in addition to bilateral support from Brazil, Portugal and the United Kingdom.”
2008-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5925 (2008) · source
“As Guinea-Bissau is still lacking suitable criminal and procedural codes, we shall concentrate on those areas with immediate intervention. What about the future? In the near term, those measures will enable the implementation of the operational plan prepared by the Government of Guinea-Bissau, with our assistance, to combat illicit trafficking through its land, air and sea corridors and strengthen the administration of justice and the rule of law. A year ago, in a similar briefing to this Council, I reported on the state of disarray of the Guinea-Bissau prison system. We are grateful to the Peacebuilding Commission, particularly to Ambassador Viotti, for dealing with the most urgent needs of the Ministry of Justice of Guinea-Bissau. The Peacebuilding Fund has approved an urgent project on prison rehabilitation.”
2008-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5925 (2008) · source
“Based on decisions taken at by the Council and subsequently by a conference on Guinea Bissau, held in Lisbon last December, UNODC has moved quickly to provide assistance: our project office has been established, staff are on the ground and last week we signed a project to disburse European Union funds, a point to which Mr. Omoregie has already referred. The Government of Guinea-Bissau has responded in kind and proactively. It has strengthened the legal basis for fighting drugs and crime by ratifying the United Nations Conventions against Transnational Organized Crime and against Corruption. It has put in place management structures for the oversight and implementation of the anti-narcotic and organized crime emergency plan.”
2008-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5925 (2008) · source
“Next week, in the Republic of Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria and Senegal - countries I intend to visit - I hope to hear a more positive commentary as a result of this meeting of the Security Council. And, of course, we will be offering to deliver to them an even greater degree of assistance. Today's Security Council deliberations will motivate the entire world community to assist West Africa in withstanding the onslaught of drug trafficking - the trafficking of drugs, but also of arms and people - and associated crime, corruption and violence. The Council had already imparted a sense of urgency late last year, and we all have acted.”
2008-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5925 (2008) · source
“Mr. Costa: I appreciate the concern that the Security Council continues to show for the situation in Guinea-Bissau and am honoured to be invited to participate in its deliberations. On today's agenda is not only a serious drug issue in one country, but also the acute threat that transnational organized crime is posing to regional security in West Africa. The first manifestation of this threat was in Cape Verde a few years ago; this was blocked by rapid intervention. For a couple of years now, the threat has metastasized to Guinea-Bissau and could soon spread elsewhere in the region. This Security Council meeting will reassure the people of Western Africa that the international community has not abandoned them. This impression of being abandoned was shared with me by the most senior Government officials in the region recently.”
2008-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5925 (2008) · source
“With regard to the Afghan opium situation in the spring of 2007, I stress four points: first, the new, potentially positive cultivation trends; secondly, the urgent need to strengthen border control; thirdly, the importance of the Council's decision to list the major drug traffickers; and fourthly, the priority of promoting honest governance. I hope the Council will judge these developments as helpful in freeing Afghanistan from the tragedy of drugs, crime and violence.”
2007-03-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5641 (2007) · source
“They help illicit revenues sink their buying power into legal economic activity, government structures and provincial administrations. Afghanistan has recently ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption. As custodian of this Convention, my Office attaches particular importance to the fact that Afghanistan is a State party to the Convention and intends to assist Afghanistan to comply with the resulting international obligations. In doing so, it counts on generous funding from Canada. The general goal is to strengthen the country's legal and administrative capability, educate a new generation of young and honest civil servants, enforce corruption prevention through financial disclosures and competitive tender processes, and promote anticorruption investigations, prosecution and the recovery of illicit proceeds.”
2007-03-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5641 (2007) · source
“In general, the challenge is to strengthen Afghanistan's criminal justice system and prosecute people who are profiting from drugs and crime. In particular, resolution 1735 (2006) will make it easier to interdict the incipient Afghan drug cartels, prevent their operatives from travelling abroad, confiscate their assets and facilitate their arrest and extradition. Fourthly and finally, I must mention the cancer of corruption. The report correctly recognizes bribery, dishonesty and corruption as major threats to Afghanistan. These crimes undermine the rule of law. They are especially ominous as they lubricate the drug machinery and provide the context for criminal activity. They facilitate the evolution of the narco- economy into a tolerated form of enrichment.”
2007-03-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5641 (2007) · source
“Operational measures will also be improved, with joint interception exercises, intelligence-led investigations, common border liaison offices and compatible communication systems. Controls at the sea borders of Iran and Pakistan need to be reinforced, together with better border checks at freight crossings into Afghanistan. Attention must be devoted to container security and to the interception of cargos that are mislabelled to hide chemical precursors. Thirdly, I salute the efforts to bring major drug traffickers to justice. The Council's mission reports refer to a culture of impunity in Afghanistan. I therefore applaud the Council's decision in resolution 1735 (2006) of 22 December 2006 to add major drug traffickers to the consolidated list of individuals and entities supporting Al-Qaida and the Taliban.”
2007-03-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5641 (2007) · source
“Secondly, more than $3 billion of illicit drug money was moved in the opposite direction, into havens where it was laundered and put beyond reproach. Therefore, border management needs to be improved in the region. At the moment, the Government of Afghanistan is in no position to control its territory, let alone its borders. Its neighbours and all those with a stake in stopping the flow of drugs, chemical precursors and money must help. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has recently proposed a major initiative to assist Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan to improve border management and anti-narcotic intelligence cooperation. The initiative includes physical infrastructures, border posts, trenches and containment walls, together with border security encampments.”
2007-03-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5641 (2007) · source
“In Afghanistan, the drug problem occurs in a security vacuum - that is known by all - where illicit crops coexist with other criminal activities that support such cultivation. Foremost among those activities is the importation of precursor chemicals needed to produce heroin and the exportation of the illicit proceeds derived from the opium cultivation. The relevant numbers are big - so big that their lack of detection is a revealing story in itself. Think about the following: first, last year alone, more than 1,000 tons of acetic anhydride were smuggled into Afghanistan, together with five times as many tons of other chemical derivatives needed for drug refining in a country without any chemical industry.”
2007-03-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5641 (2007) · source
“If that happens, it would mean that a third of the country would be practically without any opium cultivation by summer 2007. In the south of the country the story is different. There, the vicious circle of drugs funding terrorism and terrorism funding the drug trade is stronger than ever. The resulting ever-increasing opium cultivation in the five provinces of Helmand, Kandahar, Uruzgan, Zabul and Nimroz is an issue of insurgency as much as a drug problem. It is therefore vital to fight them both together, at the same time, with the same weapons. During my recent visit to Kabul, I was glad to learn from both military and counter-narcotic officials that they appreciate that argument and are developing complementary rules of engagement.”
2007-03-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5641 (2007) · source
“We know from experience that stability and assistance help farmers turn their back on drug cultivation. That has happened in the Andean region and in South-East Asia. It is now happening in parts of Afghanistan, where a balanced system of retribution and rewards is creating an opium- free belt across the middle of the country, from the borders with Pakistan in the south-east to the border of Turkmenistan in the north-west. I am happy about the establishment of a Good Performance Fund to benefit provincial administrations that eradicate poppy. Rewarding compliance with the law is our best chance of doubling the number of opium-free provinces from 6 in 2006, mostly around Kabul, to about 12 provinces by the end of the current harvest cycle.”
2007-03-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5641 (2007) · source
“Mr. Costa: It is an honour to address again this session of the Council. Since I was last invited to brief the Council in October 2006, members have had the chance to see directly the debilitating effects that drugs and crime have had on Afghanistan. Today, I would like to brief the Council on the latest opium crop survey carried out by my Office. Copies of the survey in my hand have been distributed. First - the opium situation: at present, it is easy to be pessimistic about the situation in Afghanistan, especially regarding opium. But our winter assessment shows a new and possibly encouraging phenomenon: divergent cultivation trends between the centre-north and the centre-south of the country, as was just noted by Special Representative Koenigs. In the centre-north of Afghanistan security and development are slowly taking hold.”
2007-03-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5641 (2007) · source
“We now have a window of opportunity and a chance to act, but that window is closing fast. The fear has been expressed that some of the more dangerous characters in the troublesome provinces will run for office in the forthcoming election, seeking impunity through parliamentary immunity. I was relieved to hear the statement in that regard made by the Special Representative a few minutes ago. I suggest that in Afghanistan we view drug control measures in conjunction with efforts to alleviate poverty in the countryside and to restore justice throughout the country. That will help us move forward on other fronts as well and remove major impediments to democracy, security and development in general. I count on the support of, and guidance from, the Council.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“They facilitate the logistics for the import of chemical precursors for the processing of heroin - about 10,000 tons a year, imported from abroad. They assist the money- laundering networks. In provinces where the eradication campaign failed, most notably Kandahar, we see clear examples of corruption and profiteering by local officials. I believe that it is impossible to oppose Afghanistan's narco-industry when investigation, prosecution, the courts and detention systems are weak or non-existent. I therefore salute Germany and Italy- lead nations in related sectors - for the assistance that they have provided. I call upon all Member States to help address today's priorities in Afghanistan: the establishment an adequate rule of law and a vigorous fight against corruption.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“Despite the progress that I have described, lawlessness still prevails in Afghanistan, as the Special Representative made clear in his briefing. State institutions are fragile and vulnerable; corruption and intimidation are rampant. Democracy and the rule of law are stymied by the absence of a viable criminal justice system. The foundations of a credible administration of justice have been laid down, but the resources generated through drug trafficking - more than $2 billion, perhaps $2.5 billion, in 2004 - are routinely used to undermine justice. Warlords, inept provincial chiefs and corrupt officials make the Afghan opium industry more flexible and better prepared to evade controls. They help to move crops into new areas - up in the mountains, for example - where insurgents provide protection.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“Operations of this complexity are the result of badly needed collaboration between counter-narcotics and counter-insurgency forces, the result of information-sharing - which needs to be improved - and the result of mutual support against a common threat. I salute the lead nation on counter- narcotics assistance, the United Kingdom, for its tireless efforts in this regard. I also welcome the decision by some of the nations participatory in the International Security Assistance Force to consider embedding civilian drug expertise in their provincial reconstruction teams so as to foster that inter-force collaboration. I would like now to look at the broader picture and to place the Afghan drug problem within a suitable context.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“Not long ago, I saw a real-life example of that at a drug bazaar - an open-market drug bazaar - in Helmand province's Garmser district, on the Afghanistan- Pakistan border, which has long been known as a major centre for heroin processing and trafficking. When I was in Afghanistan a few weeks ago, the Special Narcotics Forces of Afghanistan raided the bazaar, deploying heavy artillery. The local people welcomed the operation, and applauded the Afghan Minister of the Interior, Mr. Jalali, who was present. He was very pleased, and stated, "This operation demonstrates that our Special Narcotics Forces have the ability to strike anywhere, at any time". I do not think that that was an overstatement. Indeed, I agree.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“Traffickers, warlords and corrupt officials, on the other hand, are motivated by greed, and should face retribution. That would do two things. First, it would free villagers from the bondage imposed by big profiteers and insurgents. Secondly, it would help to counter the perception that many ordinary Afghans have that counter-narcotics measures are hitting the weakest link in the drug chain - the farmers - and not those who profit the most from the drug trade. Today in Afghanistan, drug traffickers, warlords and insurgents control quasi-military organizations and run military-type operations. An effective response depends on the deployment of corresponding force.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“This will strengthen the Government's credibility with farmers. It will also reduce the risk of a humanitarian crisis. In a recent meeting, President Karzai manifested the fear that his moral authority would be undermined in the villages if peaceful eradication and voluntary lower cultivation were not supported by development assistance. We both agreed that the current market correction towards lower opium output could easily reverse itself, thereby causing higher opium crops in 2006 and beyond. Before concluding my comments on this issue, let me add that, in today's Afghanistan, development assistance not only translates into survival for hundreds of thousands of poor villagers; it may also mean survival for the first democratically elected Government in the nation's history. By and large, opium farming is driven by poverty.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“In some provinces, UNODC has actually noted a strong increase in poppy cultivation this year. Secondly, good weather conditions in the spring increased productivity in the fields. We therefore expect higher opium yields - more kilogrammes per hectare - this year than in 2004. Several factors explain farmers' self-restraint this year. We are, no doubt, seeing a market correction at a time of abundant stocks and declining opium prices. Above all, our surveyors have noted the growing impact of the Government's persuasion campaign, as well as the impact of faith-based motivations. It is time to reflect on the reality of present-day Afghanistan, where poverty is still overwhelming. In the affected villages, the revenue previously derived from a main cash crop - opium - needs to be replaced by alternative sources of income.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“We estimate that in 2005 opium cultivation in Afghanistan will decline. The total area under cultivation will still be enormous: possibly well over 100,000 hectares. Even so, when we release the annual opium survey in September, the data will most likely show a reverse trend with respect to the past few years. What are the reasons for the decline in opium cultivation in Afghanistan in 2005? Our surveyors have confirmed that the eradication campaign conducted by the Government, with foreign assistance, has yielded results. However, the decrease in cultivation must be attributed in particular to the self-restraint of farmers who simply decided to reduce the opium harvest in 2005. That good news is tempered by two concerns. First, the crop decline seems uneven nationwide.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“Mr. Costa: I am honoured to have been invited to address the Council, and will add just a few words to the exhaustive briefing given by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General. I will look at the situation in Afghanistan from the particular angle of drugs and crime, which I consider twin threats to the country's stability and development. The Afghan drug problem is, indeed, both a cause and a consequence of crime. Both are the inevitable result of weak rule of law and of still-lagging enforcement and judicial capabilities. Before looking at that bigger picture, let me first brief the Council on the latest trends in opium cultivation this year. My Office - the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) - has just completed its spring survey, combining aerial and ground observation.”
2005-06-24 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.5215 (2005) · source
“It is important that the main reduction efforts be intensified. This was a View expressed by ministers when they met in April at the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna. This is a View I support and which I believe would have a significant impact on the Afghan drug threat.”
2003-06-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4774 (2003) · source
“Here are a few elements of such an approach. First, we need to assist Afghanistan to implement its drug control strategy. We then have to promote in Afghanistan and its neighbours concerted measures against drug trafficking, stockpiling, clandestine laboratories and supply of precursors. We need to mainstream drug issues into the overall reconstruction programmes for Afghanistan, inviting the international financial institutions, the multilateral development banks, the United Nations agencies and bilateral donors to channel resources accordingly. Finally, we need to provide a follow-up to the recent Paris Conference on Drug Routes from Afghanistan with the proposed consultative groups. A final point is addressed mainly to Europe and Russia, which represent the main lucrative markets for Afghan heroin.”
2003-06-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4774 (2003) · source