YouSaid · the spoken record

Fedotov

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385
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1994-10-21
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2019-09-10
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58
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un-security-council

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  1. I welcome Afghanistan's determination to stop such despicable attacks and commend the Government for establishing and co-chairing, with Spain, the Group of Friends of Victims of Terrorism. UNODC is working closely with Afghanistan and other partners to better understand the challenges faced by victims and provide assistance through victim-centred criminaljustice approaches. The Office remains strongly committed to supporting Afghanistan in addressing the interlinked challenges of drugs, crime, corruption and terrorism, and we rely on the assistance of the international community to help us carry out this essential work.

    2019-09-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8613 (2019) · source

  2. The Government's efforts demonstrate the continued high-level political commitment to countering money laundering and the financing of terrorism. UNODC is supporting those efforts and, at the Government's request, is concentrating on the areas of greatest risk. Our assistance focuses on investigating and disrupting the financing networks of terrorist and organized-crime groups, as well as money laundering, corruption and other economic crimes. It also includes combating the illegal flow of cash out of and into the country, and improving the supervision of banks and money or value transfer services. The international community recently marked Afghanistan's 100 years of independence. That occasion for joyful celebration was tragically marred by terrorist attacks on innocent people.

    2019-09-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8613 (2019) · source

  3. More than 4,800 social contracts were signed with individual beneficiaries and 26 such contract with communities, all of which agreed to refrain from opium poppy cultivation, production, processing and trafficking. Alongside those efforts, UNODC is also scaling up its support to the Government in order to address vulnerabilities to human trafficking resulting from conflict, in line with resolutions 2331 (2016) and 2388 (2017). Only last week, we launched in Afghanistan the Global Action to Prevent and Address Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants, which will be funded by the European Union and implemented with the International Organization for Migration. Disrupting terrorist financing and linkages to drug trafficking and other forms of organized crime remains a priority element of UNODC's work with Afghanistan.

    2019-09-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8613 (2019) · source

  4. UNODC is also promoting coordination with other regional initiatives and mechanisms, including the Heart of Asia Process, the Paris Pact Initiative, the Afghan Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board and others. Furthermore, alternative development to enable farmers to free themselves from illicit opium cultivation, as well as evidence-based drug use prevention and treatment, remain crucial to other components of UNODC's support. Particularly through our alternative development work, more than 8,500 jobs were created and more than $4 million of income was generated last year. I am pleased to note that nearly 4,200 women and girls are among those employed.

    2019-09-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8613 (2019) · source

  5. Alongside building national capacities, UNODC is committed to strengthening regional cooperation, including by linking initiatives and platforms for regional and subregional cooperation to address the trafficking in illicit drugs and precursor chemicals. Important operational mechanisms include the Triangular Initiative and its joint planning cell, the Afghanistan-Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan initiative and the Central Asia Regional Information and Coordination Centre, which is considering expanding its membership to include Afghanistan. In view of those regional responses, it is worth noting that this year's World Drug Report showed a decline in opiate trafficking from Afghanistan along the northern route through Central Asia towards Russia.

    2019-09-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8613 (2019) · source

  6. UNODC, including through our Office in Kabul, provides enhanced technical assistance and capacity-building to enable Afghanistan to pursue balanced health- and rights-centred responses to the drug supply and demand, in line with the 2019 ministerial declaration adopted by Member States at the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in March. Mobile detection teams and precursor control units, which were established with the support of UNODC, last year seized approximately 800 kilos ofheroin, more than 1.2 tons of opium and nearly 9 tons of hashish. They also seized more than 7,500 litres of precursor acetic anhydride. That is a huge amount, sufficient to produce more than 3 tons of heroin.

    2019-09-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8613 (2019) · source

  7. Such crimes have a profoundly negative impact on the Government's macroeconomic objectives of financial inclusion, job creation, robust private sector-led growth and stable domestic revenues. Nevertheless, we can also report some good news. UNODC is currently working with the Afghan Government to finalize the Afghanistan Opium Survey 2019, which will be released in October. We do not yet have the results but we expect that the area under opium poppy cultivation will decrease from the record high levels in 2017 and 2018. That may be due to a combination of factors, including saturation of the market, weather conditions, shifting consumption trends and so forth. However, we must also acknowledge the efforts of the Government of Afghanistan and other countries in the region, supported by the international community.

    2019-09-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8613 (2019) · source

  8. Mr. Fedotov: I thank you, Sir, for this opportunity to brief the Security Council on what the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is doing to support Afghanistan to promote peace, security, the rule of law and sustainable development. The situation in the country as related to drug production and drug trafficking, as well as transnational organized crime, remains complex. Insurgents and other non-State actors control areas under opium poppy cultivation and are raising hundreds of millions of dollars. The persisting challenges posed by illicit drugs, economic and financial crime, corruption, money laundering and the financing of terrorism continue to undermine the stability of the country.

    2019-09-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8613 (2019) · source

  9. Illicit firearms can be used as a source of funding for terrorists and organized criminal groups and to carry out terrorist acts. UNODC is supporting Member States in tackling firearms trafficking and we are looking to develop a joint project with UNOCT and CTED to address the terrorism-armed crime nexus. The connections between terrorism and organized crime are complex and shifting. More research is needed. As the Security Council has repeatedly recognized, addressing the linkages between transnational organized crime and terrorism requires the international community to work together to close gaps in criminaljustice responses and to deny criminals and terrorists any safe haven. UNODC stands ready, as always, to support the Council's efforts.

    2019-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8569 (2019) · source

  10. Among other work, UNODC is helping to identify and protect child-trafficking victims recruited by armed extremist groups in the Niger, and supporting United Nations police in strengthening detection and reporting on human trafficking. Prisons also present another potential link between crime and terrorism. UNODC promotes good prison management, in line with the Nelson Mandela Rules, which can help in dealing with high-risk prisoners and in preventing radicalization and recruitment. More broadly, combating corruption and illicit financial roles is crucial to strengthening responses to these transnational threats. Furthermore, as criminals and terrorists exploit new technologies, UNODC is providing specialized law enforcement mentoring and helping to bring offenders to justice through our Global Programme on Cybercrime.

    2019-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8569 (2019) · source

  11. Fourthly and finally, the international community can do more to mainstream integrated action against terrorism and crime across the pillars of the United Nations work. United Nations-wide coordination is key, and UNODC is working closely with such partners as the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), the United Nations Development Programme, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and UN-WOMEN. In response to the Security Council's resolutions, UNODC has stepped up its efforts to address trafficking in persons in conflict situations.

    2019-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8569 (2019) · source

  12. In West Africa alone, we promote the Sahel Judicial Platform, the West African Network of Central Authorities and Prosecutors, and the Asset Recovery Interagency Network. Similar networks are operational in Central Asia, West and Central Asia and other regions. UNODC also works with universities and other institutions to advance knowledge about the linkages between organized crime and terrorism under the Education for Justice initiative. We are supporting national law enforcement agencies in collaborating on cross-border investigations and in identifying and intercepting illicit movements of goods through our Container Control Programme and Airport Communication Programme. UNODC is also helping to protect the world's busiest shipping routes from exploitation by criminals and terrorists through our Global Maritime Crime Programme.

    2019-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8569 (2019) · source

  13. Secondly, much more resources must be channelled into providing technical assistance in order to build up specialized expertise and capacities. Those include training for law enforcement agents, coastguard personnel, border and airport officials, prosecutors, judges, prison officers and other relevant officials. Thirdly, we need to reinforce investment in mechanisms for inter-agency, regional and international cooperation, including information- and intelligence-sharing. The United Nations clearly has a role to play in encouraging and enabling such networked responses. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) global Networking the Networks initiative is enhancing the efforts of law enforcement bodies to cooperate at the local, regional and global levels.

    2019-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8569 (2019) · source

  14. To strengthen responses going forward, I should like to highlight the following priorities. First is the effective implementation of international commitments, including the conventions on transnational organized crime, corruption and drugs, as well as the global instruments against terrorism and the United Nations standards and norms on crime prevention and criminal justice. The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, in particular, and specifically its three protocols, address the issues of illicit firearms, human trafficking and migrant smuggling. These agreements enjoy near universal acceptance and should be better used to promote coherence between domestic anti-crime and anti-terrorism legislation and relevant national and international instruments.

    2019-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8569 (2019) · source

  15. In the Sahel and the Sahara, smugglers and traffickers are paying dues to gain the right of passage to areas controlled by terrorists. We have also seen piracy and organized crime flourish on the high seas, including outside the jurisdiction of any single State and beyond the capacities of many countries to patrol. Abu Sayyaf kidnaps seafarers in the waters around the Philippines, the Taliban benefits from the drug trade across the Indian Ocean, Al-Shabaab supports piracy and finances its operations with the trade in Somalia of charcoal through the Gulf of Oman, and Al-Qaida supplies its forces around the Arabian peninsula by sea. Furthermore, expanding terrorist and criminal activities online represent a clear transnational challenge to all Member States.

    2019-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8569 (2019) · source

  16. Mr. Fedotov: Allow me to begin by thanking the Security Council for its continued attention to the threats to international peace and security posed by terrorism and organized crime. While their objectives may differ, criminals and terrorists share the need to operate in the shadows, exploiting gaps in criminal-justice response in and between countries and regions. Terrorist tactics can be employed by organized criminal groups while terrorists raise funds through criminal activities. Human trafficking for sexual exploitation, child soldiers and forced labour can be used not only to generate revenue but to strike fear and recruit new fighters. The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant has profited a great deal from the illegal trade in oil, trafficking in cultural property and kidnapping for ransom.

    2019-07-09 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8569 (2019) · source

  17. Predictable funding and the determined political commitment of the G-5 Sahel and the international community remain prerequisites for effective action. The UNODC is committed to working with all our partners to strengthen governance, security and development towards a safer, healthier and more prosperous Sahel.

    2019-05-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8526 (2019) · source

  18. Thirdly, we need to increase support to integrate women into the security structures of the G-5 Sahel member States and do more to enable and highlight the contributions of women in the fight against terrorism and transnational organized crime in the Sahel. The police component of the Joint Force of the G-5 Sahel recognizes that in order to be sustainable and effective, security responses must respect human rights and promote justice. It represents an important and innovative mechanism to combat terrorism and transnational organized crime, and, at the same time, restore trust. I am grateful to the Council for bringing attention to the challenges we face in achieving those important objectives.

    2019-05-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8526 (2019) · source

  19. Nonetheless, we must be clear that many daunting challenges remain. There are, in particular, three areas where we urgently require the support of Member States to implement the police component of the Joint Force. First, in the field of forensics, we need to provide equipment and training for law enforcement officers on crime scene investigation, addressing, in particular, evidence gathered by military personnel. Secondly, we need support to further promote integrity measures within the Joint Force and national justice systems, with the ultimate objective of reinforcing trust between people and their defence and security forces.

    2019-05-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8526 (2019) · source

  20. The G-S Sahel countries have achieved some notable results with our support, addressing, in particular, regional judicial cooperation and mutual legal assistance, firearms- marking, investigation of terrorism financing, illicit trafficking at airports and the resolution of backlogged cases involving terrorism suspects in overdue pretrial detention. The results were made possible thanks to support from the Governments of Germany, Japan, the United States, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Belgium and France, as well as the European Union. Our G-S Sahel partners deserve a great deal of credit for their commitment to advancing efforts through the Joint Force in a fragile security environment. Looking forward, in View of the Burkina Faso presidency of the G-5 Sahel, UNODC seeks to further develop its support to the country and its neighbours.

    2019-05-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8526 (2019) · source

  21. Working with our G-5 Sahel partners, as well as with other countries and international organizations, we held consultations that resulted in the agreement of a conceptual and organizational framework, as well as principles for operationalizing the police component. As a result, investigative units have been established across the region. UNODC has held numerous training workshops for the military, law enforcement and the judiciary to strengthen coordination between the Joint Force and the Sahel criminal justice systems, safeguard human rights and prevent violations.

    2019-05-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8526 (2019) · source

  22. The UNODC Sahel programme is focused on enhancing the accessibility, efficiency and accountability of criminal justice systems to counter drug trafficking, as well as other forms of trafficking and organized crime, terrorism and corruption. That responds directly to the security and governance objectives set forth in the regional integrated strategy and is being implemented with neighbouring Maghreb countries, namely, Algeria and Morocco. UNODC puts great stock in our strategic partnership with the G-5 Sahel, which remains a top priority of our work in the field. The G-5 Sahel secretariat and member States requested in 2017 that UNODC support development of a police component for the Joint Force to promote transparent, efficient and accountable judicial proceedings in the fight against organized crime and terrorism.

    2019-05-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8526 (2019) · source

  23. Mr. Fedotov: May I commend you, Mr. President, on bringing this very important and urgent matter to a meeting of the Security Council. I also thank the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Burkina Faso, Mr. Barry, forjoining us. I thank the Council for this opportunity to discuss how the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is supporting, and can further support, the Group of Five for the Sahel (G-5 Sahel) countries to work together for security, stability and sustainable development. UNODC is proud to have been a trusted partner of the G-5 Sahel since its inception, namely, through our programme contributing to the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel.

    2019-05-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8526 (2019) · source

  24. Such action can help to ensure that those responsible - the criminal kingpins - are brought to justice. Finally, we would welcome the Council's continued engagement with this topic, including by encouraging discussion to identify options for enhancing coordination, as well as recommendations to better prevent and counter transnational maritime crime. UNODC is here to support the Council.

    2019-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8457 (2019) · source

  25. All our work at sea - where jurisdiction is complex, crime is often committed unseen and enforcement is difficult - builds on UNODC's long experience and research expertise in addressing all forms of organized crime, terrorism and corruption. Going forward, we would welcome the Council's support in, first, urging all Member States to facilitate mutual legal assistance and other forms of cooperation to address the expansion of transnational organized crime at sea, through the ratification and effective use of the international legal framework; and, secondly, encouraging Member States to enhance technical assistance so we can continue operationalizing cooperation through platforms such as the Indian Ocean Forum on Maritime Crime and through the exchange of liaison magistrates and regional networks of prosecutors and central authorities.

    2019-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8457 (2019) · source

  26. We have further advanced that model of public- private cooperation through the Indian Ocean Forum on Maritime Crime, which coordinates the response to heroin and charcoal smuggling that is funding terrorist groups, and the Contact Group on Maritime Crime in the Sulu and Celebes Seas. UNODC also supports interregional cooperation against criminal activities at sea through the so-called Yaounde maritime security architecture. Moreover, we are working to secure the container trade supply chain through another global programme, the joint UNODC-World Customs Organization Container Control Programme, as well as through our programmes to counter terrorism, human trafficking and migrant smuggling, wildlife and fisheries crime, firearms trafficking and emerging crimes.

    2019-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8457 (2019) · source

  27. Our work on maritime crime grew out of our successful counter-piracy programme off the coast of Somalia. UNODC continues to support trials in Kenya and Seychelles, as well as the humane and secure imprisonment of convicted pirates. In that regard, I am pleased to report that we have completed the first phase of the Mogadishu Prison and Court Complex, which will be handed over shortly to the Somali Government and will provide a secure environment for trying those suspected of maritime crime and terrorism. We implement those activities with European Union naval forces and other international naval forces, including INTERPOL, the International Maritime Organization and partners in the commercial maritime sector.

    2019-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8457 (2019) · source

  28. That is the basis for the technical assistance and capacity-building that UNODC provides through its country, regional and global programmes. By its very nature, maritime crime involves vessels, cargoes, crews, victims and illicit money flows from many regions. UNODC's Global Maritime Crime Programme operates out of Colombo, which puts our experts close to some of the world's busiest shipping routes. I believe that its annual report, which we just published, could be of interest to the Council, as it contains detailed information on, and analysis of, our activities in different parts of the world. Our methods, based on long-term mentoring and hands-on training, are innovative, efficient and effective and include work at sea as well as in coast guard offices, courtrooms and prisons.

    2019-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8457 (2019) · source

  29. I am therefore grateful to the presidency of Equatorial Guinea for bringing this global issue to the Council to strengthen international responses and protect our seas from criminals. We have a solid international legal framework in place to tackle transnational maritime crime. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, settled nearly 40 years ago, addresses only piracy in detail. But global action is reinforced by the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols, as well as by the 1988 United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, the 1988 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, the global counter-terrorism instruments, and more.

    2019-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8457 (2019) · source

  30. Even as I speak, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has staff in the field working with Member States to counter the smuggling of migrants and terrorist materials and attacks on shipping in the Gulf of Aden; cocaine trafficking in the Atlantic; heroin trafficking in the Indian Ocean; piracy and armed robbery at sea in the Gulf of Guinea; kidnap for ransom in the Sulu and Celebes Seas; illegal fishing in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans; and migrant smuggling in the Mediterranean. Those crimes pose an immediate danger to people's lives and safety, undermine human rights, hinder sustainable development and, as the Council has recognized, threaten international peace and security.

    2019-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8457 (2019) · source

  31. Mr. Fedotov: I thank you, Mr. President, for this opportunity to address the Security Council on the growing threat of transnational organized crime at sea. Two thirds of the world's surface is ocean, nearly all of it beyond any State's territorial waters and largely not subject to a single State's criminaljurisdiction. The high seas are open for vessels of all countries, both coastal and landlocked, to support international trade and economic cooperation, contact among peoples and the responsible use of natural resources. However, in recent years the freedom of navigation has been exploited by criminal groups. Transnational maritime crime is increasingly sophisticated, and it is expanding both in terms of size and types of criminal activities.

    2019-02-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8457 (2019) · source

  32. Post-conflict States and States in transition, including Guinea- Bissau, require greater attention, as recognized by the Council, to address the challenges related to drugs and organized crime alongside political reforms. UNODC remains fully engaged in supporting West and Central Africa, working closely with all its regional and international partners. I am grateful to the Council for drawing attention to the need for urgent and determined international action and support to address the threat of drugs and for helping to pave the way for a safer, healthier and more prosperous West and Central Africa.

    2018-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8433 (2018) · source

  33. Our Office has partnered with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to support the implementation of the ECOWAS regional action plan on illicit drug trafficking, organized crime and drug abuse in West Africa through technical assistance to enhance drug use prevention and drug dependence treatment, legislation, forensics and law enforcement. That is just a limited overview of what we do to support West and Central Africa. For more information about UNODC's work, allow me to refer members to the briefing note that I understand has been circulated in the Security Council. While strengthened technical assistance has resulted in some positive developments, there remain formidable challenges for countries in West and Central Africa in building stability and in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

    2018-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8433 (2018) · source

  34. We seek to support national intelligence and interdiction services, providing capacity-building through training workshops and e-learning courses, including on intelligence-led policing, detection and investigation techniques, crime scene management, electronic evidence collection and analysis, anti-money laundering and maritime crime. At the regional level, our work focuses on establishing inter-agency cooperation platforms and mechanisms through AIRCOP, the West Africa Coast Initiative, the Container Control Programme and the Network of West African Central Authorities and Prosecutors against Organized Crime.

    2018-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8433 (2018) · source

  35. The upcoming phase of the strategy, which is aimed at supporting the police component of the Joint Force of the Group of Five for the Sahel, will focus on strengthening the capacity of the Joint Force in tackling terrorism and organized crime, including drug trafficking. UNODC continues to reinforce regional and interregional dialogue and responses to drug trafficking. That includes efforts to disrupt the illicit trafficking of drugs and precursors, as well as to intercept financial flows, law enforcement capacity- building and the scaling-up of drug use prevention and treatment services.

    2018-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8433 (2018) · source

  36. The linkages among terrorism, illicit drugs and other forms of crime have been widely acknowledged, including by the Security Council. In August, the Security Council expressed serious concerns about the continuing terrorist activities of Boko Haram and other groups in the Lake Chad basin; links between illicit trafficking in wildlife and natural resources and the financing of armed groups; maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea; and mercenary activities linked to transnational organized crime, including trafficking in persons, arms and drugs, as well as the smuggling ofmigrants (see S/PRST/2018/l7). The Sahel region, which receives particular attention through the United Nations integrated strategy for the Sahel, is another area of focus for UNODC.

    2018-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8433 (2018) · source

  37. At the same time, drug use in West and Central Africa is rising, representing a serious threat to public health. With the caveat that there is a lack of reliable and recent data on the extent of drug use in the area, UNODC estimates that in 2016 there were more than 34 million cannabis users in West and Central Africa, as well as 1.8 million cocaine users. Globally, only one in six people suffering from drug use disorders receives treatment. However, in Africa that figure is much lower, with only 1 in 18 problem drug users having access to treatment. At the same time, the region is grappling with many other crime-related security threats, including arms trafficking, money laundering, human trafficking, cybercrime and maritime piracy, as well as threats posed by terrorism.

    2018-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8433 (2018) · source

  38. Along with Asia, Africa saw the largest rises worldwide in cocaine seizures as well, suggesting that cocaine trafficking and consumption have spread to those markets. Through UNODC AIRCOP, which works in several African airports, we know that heroin seizures are on the rise across the region, with Lagos, Accra and Cotonou airports high on the list, closely followed by Bamako, Lome and Ouagadougou. Methamphetamine seizures have now reached almost the same level as cocaine seizures, with Lagos and Cotonou the main airports concerned. Recently, an increase in the number of seizures of such precursors as ephedrine and phenacetin has been recorded at both airports, which may indicate the existence of new laboratories producing psychoactive substances.

    2018-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8433 (2018) · source

  39. Mr. Fedotov: I thank the Security Council for the opportunity to address this very important topic. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is observing new, alarming trends in drug trafficking in West and Central Africa, with disruptive and destabilizing effects on governance, security, economic growth and public health. Criminal networks are no longer limiting their activities to moving cocaine and heroin through Africa for destination markets in Europe and elsewhere. According to UNODC's 2018 World Drug Report, West and Central Africa, together with the countries ofNorth Africa, accounted for 87 per cent of the pharmaceutical opioids seized globally, which is largely due to rising use of Tramadol, an opioid painkiller that is widely trafficked for non-medical use in the region.

    2018-12-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8433 (2018) · source

  40. I hope that we will be able to further strengthen progress, including through the implementation of the recommendations of the special session of the General Assembly on drugs (General Assembly resolution S-30/1), as well as through the forthcoming ministerial segment at the March 2019 session ofthe Commission on Narcotic Drugs. As ever, UNODC remains committed to supporting Afghanistan and the international community to address these shared challenges.

    2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8426 (2018) · source

  41. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) continues to provide support in all its mandate areas, including to address the Geneva mutual accountability framework priority area on anti-corruption, governance, the rule of law and human rights. UNODC is seeking to step up strategic responses in line with the peacebuilding and conflict prevention priorities of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). That includes strengthening the interconnectivity of country and regional and interregional action to facilitate alternative development activities and access to international markets. Our Office in Kabul is supporting the Afghan Government in identifying common targets under a regional counter-narcotics strategy, which should be fully plugged in with existing coordination mechanisms.

    2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8426 (2018) · source

  42. Balanced responses to drug supply and demand are therefore critical to supporting Afghanistan's efforts to achieve progress in combating corruption, money laundering and terrorism financing. The Afghan Government has taken steps to increase resilience to illicit financial flows and foster good governance. Measures encompass banking regulation, the National Procurement Authority, the digitalization of many processes, including land titling and asset declaration, the anti-corruption law and strategy, the National High Council for Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption, the Anti-Corruption Justice Center, the new penal code, and the law on anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism.

    2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8426 (2018) · source

  43. High levels of opium supply mean that there are a lot of drugs that will go to various destinations at a cheaper price. Moreover, Afghanistan remains an important source country of hashish. This year's World Drug Report found that Afghanistan had reported 22 per cent of the global total of hashish seized in 2016. Afghanistan is the first victim of that overproduction of drugs, which contributes to high rates of drug use in the country. Up to 200 tons of raw opium are consumed annually. A report by the Ministry of Counter Narcotics estimated adult drug use at more than double the global use rate. That poses a grave threat to public health and safety and hinders peacebuilding, economic growth and stability.

    2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8426 (2018) · source

  44. The area under cultivation fell this year by 20 per cent as compared with the record level of 2017, and was accompanied by a drop in opium yield, but both decreases can be attributed to the devastating drought that Afghanistan has suffered. Eradication remained insignificant, falling to 400 hectares in four provinces, as compared to 750 hectares in 14 provinces in 2017. As a result, more than 5,000 tons of opium are potentially available for heroin production within and outside Afghanistan, which translates into more than 600 tons of export-quality heroin. Continuing high levels of supply have brought prices down to rock bottom. The farm-gate value of opium decreased by 56 per cent compared to last year but, at $604 million, that still represents nearly 3 per cent of the country's gross domestic product.

    2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8426 (2018) · source

  45. Mr. Fedotov: I thank you, Sir, for this opportunity to brief the Security Council. As the Secretary-General's statement at the recent Geneva ministerial conference on Afghanistan conference highlighted, renewed efforts by the international community, together with regional support and engagement, are needed to overcome the serious challenges related to insecurity, poverty and the rule of law. Illicit opium and the criminal economy are among those urgent challenges, as recognized in the conference's joint communique, which calls for increased efforts to fight corruption and illicit narcotics. According to this year's Afghanistan Opium Survey, the overall area under cultivation remains the second-highest measured since the beginning of systematic opium poppy monitoring and recording, in 1994.

    2018-12-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8426 (2018) · source

  46. UNODC remains fully engaged in supporting Afghanistan and the neighbouring countries in pursuing comprehensive counter-narcotics action. That includes alternative development, regional and interregional cooperation to deal with the illicit trafficking of drugs and precursors, as well as to intercept the financial flows, law enforcement capacity- building, and the scaling up of drug-use prevention and treatment services. Looking ahead, the Ministerial Conference on Afghanistan, to be held in Geneva in November, represents an opportunity to highlight the importance of counter-narcotics responses. I hope that we can count on the assistance of the Security Council to draw attention to the many threats to Afghanistan, the wider region and beyond posed by opiates and to the need for urgent and determined international action.

    2018-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8294 (2018) · source

  47. The strategy seeks to further enhance effective interagency coordination with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia. For maximum effectiveness and efficiency, the strategy also aims to plug into existing coordination and governance mechanisms, such as the Paris Pact Initiative, the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process on Regional Security and Cooperation for a Secure and Stable Afghanistan, the Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan, the Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Afghan Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board, among many others. The recent Paris Pact Policy Consultative Group Meeting in Vienna noted the following strategic and policy developments.

    2018-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8294 (2018) · source

  48. Our efforts focus on four identified priorities: first, the need for a revitalized and strong Afghan lead in counter-narcotics action; secondly, the importance of comprehensive and balanced approaches, from the health sector to law enforcement, under the principle of shared responsibility and in line with the recommendations of the seventeenth special session of the General Assembly to consider the question of international cooperation against illicit production, supply, demand, trafficking and distribution of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances; thirdly, the need to target the nexus between drugs, crime and terrorism as a spoiler of the peace process; and, fourthly, the need to support Member States, especially in Central and West Asia, in strengthening mechanisms that contribute to preventing conflict and destabilization related to the opiate threat and the action of international terrorist groups based in the region and beyond.

    2018-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8294 (2018) · source

  49. UNODC and the Afghan Ministry of Counter-Narcotics have worked together to reinvigorate the Afghan commitment to the issue, including in the broader context of the Kabul peacebuilding process. That includes UNODC support to the interministerial working group, led by the Ministry of Counter-Narcotics, for the development of a counter-narcotics strategy with a strong regional cooperation component. Furthermore, in close coordination with the Government of Afghanistan, UNODC has developed strategic actions to respond to the global threats of opiates in order to step up regional and interregional responses to counter the increases in opium cultivation and production and to address the related threats of crime, terrorism and corruption.

    2018-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8294 (2018) · source

  50. Today, I am pleased to note that since December, we have seen some positive momentum with efforts to respond to that global threat. Nevertheless, many formidable challenges remain. Once again, I would like to highlight the importance of shared responsibility and international cooperation in addressing the many security, safety, development and health challenges posed by the situation. Unfortunately, the focus of the international community has shifted away from the priority of counter-narcotics in recent years. We cannot afford such inattention. Moreover, sustained resources are needed to address the situation. In that context, UNODC has pursued efforts to advocate for renewed awareness and support and to strengthen regional and interregional dialogue and responses to opium trafficking.

    2018-06-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8294 (2018) · source