EU Statement on narcotic drugs (CND) - Vienna

Agenda Item 6b: Implementation of the International Drug Control Treaties: International Narcotics Control Board


1. Thank you Madame Chairperson. I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States. 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 notes the comprehensive report of the International Narcotics Control Board for the year 2002, which seeks to provide a very thorough and useful analysis of drug-related issues and trends. The European Union appreciates the work of the INCB, which it considers to be an important contribution to the global efforts to tackle the drug problem, and recognizes that accurate statistics and information are essential for Governments and interested organizations to obtain maximum benefit from the Board's activities.

3. The topic highlighted in the Board's Report for 2002 is the impact of illicit drug production and trafficking on economic development. As the Board underscores, illicit drug production and related activities can contribute to the political destabilization of affected countries and hinder their healthy economic and social growth. The EU sees international cooperation to tackle the drugs problem as part of its efforts to foster sustainable social and economic development. To that end, we support the mainstreaming of drug control efforts into overall development strategies.

4. As well as causing damage to developing countries, especially through the destabilization of their economies, illicit drug production and trafficking have serious social and health consequences throughout the world and especially in developed countries. Furthermore, as the INCB report underlines, there is also evidence of increasing consumption in the production countries themselves as well as in transit countries. This trend calls for our attention.

5. The danger of diversion of pharmaceutical drugs produced for medical purposes, such as pain relieving opiates and amphetamines, is another issue of concern. At the same time, international availability of such substances does not seem to meet the needs of developing countries. With operations Topaz and Purple, as well as project Prism, the Board has strengthened international cooperation and monitoring in the field of precursors' control.

6. The EU wishes once again to stress the importance of adherence to the international drug control treaties, which provide the underlying framework for international cooperation in the field of drugs, and encourages States that have not yet adhered to them to do so as soon as possible. As rightly pointed out in the report, "if the chain of drug control is broken in one country, the whole international drug control system may be put in jeopardy". The European Union also underlines the importance of fulfilling the reporting requirements of the treaties, commends States that have furnished the INCB secretariat with the required data, and notes with satisfaction the increased rate of reporting by states compared with the previous year.

Thank you Madame Chairperson.

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