EU Statement on narcotic drugs (CND) - Vienna

Agenda Item 3: Follow-up to the 20th Special Session of the General Assembly: general overview and progress achieved by Governments in meeting the goals and targets for the years 2003 and 2008 set out in the Political Declaration adopted by the Assembly at its 20th special session


1. Thank you Madame Chairperson. I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The following acceding countries Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic, and Slovenia, and the associated countries Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey, associate themselves with this statement.

2. The European Union has taken note, with great interest, of the second biennial report of the Executive Director (E/CN.7/2003/2) and its six addenda (E/CN.7/2003/2/1-6), on the implementation of the commitments of the 20th Special Session of the UN General Assembly, devoted to countering the world drug problem. We appreciate the work done by the Secretariat in producing this substantive report and we note with satisfaction the increased number of countries that replied to the questionnaire. In this context we emphasize the importance of timely submission to the Secretariat of Member States' replies.

3. Madame Chairperson, the Political Declaration adopted in 1998 enshrined the commitment of the international community to address all aspects of the drug problem in a balanced and integrated manner. By enhancing our knowledge, the second biennial report helps us to develop a sound understanding of the global drug situation five years after the 20th Special Session of the General Assembly, and provides useful guidance on the way forward. It contains important information outlining the world drug situation, presents a broad overview of the policies being pursued and the programmes being implemented by governments in their effort to attain the goals laid down in the action plans and other measures adopted at the special session. We are confident that it will serve as an excellent basis for the deliberations in the forthcoming ministerial segment.

4. The commitments assumed at the 20th special session of the General Assembly call for sustained, long term efforts at all levels. The fact that 84% of the 117 responding States have taken steps to develop and implement a national drug control strategy or action plan is a positive development. We are pleased to see that progress is also reported towards an integrated and balanced approach, combining control measures and health and law enforcement policies and programmes. Of equal importance is the fact that demand reduction has become a priority for most States. However, the report indicates that the current reporting mechanism does not allow for a qualitative assessment of the effectiveness and impact of the national strategies and action plans around the globe. Finally, we note that some UN Member States have reported difficulties and constraints in implementing the Action Plan on the Guiding Principles of Drug Demand Reduction.

5. The EU is fully committed to the implementation of the action plans and the measures adopted in 1998. In this respect, the EU Strategy 2000-2004 and the concomitant Action Plan set the goals to be achieved in all areas: demand and supply reduction, as well as international cooperation. In this context, the EU believes that monitoring and evaluation of drug policies should be further enhanced, in order to allow for pertinent choices of intervention strategies and for exchange and dissemination of best practices. The EU has just carried out a mid term evaluation of its Action Plan.

6. As the biennial report highlights, the Amphetamine-type Stimulants (ATS) problem has spread geographically, while global awareness on the harmful effects of the ATS abuse remains limited. The EU is particularly concerned with this issue. In order to respond effectively to the threat posed by ATS more efforts are required, which have to be well-coordinated and oriented towards both supply and demand reduction, targeting especially young people. The EU believes that the ATS threat can be efficiently tackled through: a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach, concerted action against production and distribution, continuous training and specialization of all law enforcement agencies involved, awareness campaigns, as well as the wide dissemination of best practices and lessons learned. With regard to ATS consumption we stress the importance of monitoring relevant trends, especially among youth, in order to develop effective preventive measures. In addition, special attention is needed, aiming at preventing diversion of precursor chemicals used in the illicit manufacture of cocaine, heroin and ATS. The EU has established a European Unit on precursors, as well as an analysis databank for the participating EU Member States.

7. Alternative developmentis one of the most important components of a balanced and comprehensive drug control strategy. In the context of shared responsibility the EU considers international co-operation aiming at social and economic development in countries involved in growing illicit crops, as an important contribution to world wide drug control policies. In the EU, international co-operation to tackle the drugs problem is seen as part of the Union's overall efforts to foster social and economic development. Therefore, interventions aimed at promoting alternative livelihoods for those dependent on illicit drug crops should be mainstreamed within a general national development framework to combat poverty and social marginalization. The EU attaches great importance to the impact assessment of the programmes on the reduction of illicit crops and on improvements to the livelihoods of the populations involved. For this reason we are pleased to note that progress is reported by States in introducing monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for measuring the qualitative and quantitative impact of programmes for alternative development and illicit crop elimination, as well as for regularly assessing the impact of enforcement and alternative development measures. In this regard, we welcome also the initiation of a thematic evaluation process for determining best practices on alternative development, in implementation of CND resolution 45/14, and we look forward to seeing its outcome.

8. Judicial cooperation is indispensable in promoting international cooperation to counter the drug problem. Despite the progress reported, further action is needed to strengthen cooperation between judicial and law enforcement authorities at all levels. Extradition, mutual legal assistance, transfer of proceedings, controlled delivery and cooperation in maritime drug law enforcement, as well as protection of witnesses and judicial officers are some of the areas where the EU is constantly developing new measures. In addition to the several legal instruments in force, a closer judicial cooperation will be provided by the new European arrest warrant, which covers offences, such as the illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and by new provisions for seizures of proceeds of crime. From the beginning of 2004 extradition between EU Member States will be replaced by a new mechanism of surrender based on an enhanced system of mutual recognition of judicial decisions.

9. On countering money laundering, significant progress has been made at the EU level since last year, through the adoption of an extended Directive (2001/97/EC) in this regard. This new regime reflects best international practices in this area and considerably enhances the ability of EU Member States to prevent and combat the laundering of the proceeds of drug-related crimes.

10. Concluding, we would like to reaffirm the solid resolve of the European Union to fulfill the commitments adopted at the 20th special session of the General Assembly held in June 1998.

Thank you Madame Chairperson.

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• EU Statement on narcotic drugs (CND) - Vienna (17/4/2003)