Pledges continued support towards development of peace and security in Myanmar
Naypyitaw (Myanmar), 1 December 2012 - In his official visit to South-East Asia, UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov met today with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Member of Parliament and Nobel laureate, at her residence in Naypyitaw.
Mr. Fedotov congratulated Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on her election to Parliament and recent appointment to Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Rule of Law and Tranquility. He pledged UNODC's assistance and technical expertise in support of Myanmar's rule of law's reforms - particularly in anti-corruption and criminal justice. He also discussed the extension of existing UNODC support in development of alternative livelihood solutions in drug-Shan State as well as in the area of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment.
Noting Myanmar's efforts to resolve ethnic conflicts and create the peace and stability necessary to create sustainable, licit jobs and markets as well as the country's steps to strengthen rule of law institutions, Mr. Fedotov urged the international community to act in support of Myanmar's future.
"There is much to be done in this difficult time of transition" said Mr. Fedotov. "We recognize the important steps taken so far - by the Government and people of Myanmar and the international community - but there is more that needs to be done. We must invest in Myanmar's present for the sake of its people's future, or else this future, now shining with so much hope, will not be realized."
"Clean, effective, trustworthy governance institutions are critical to the sustainable development in Myanmar," said Mr. Fedotov.
Mr. Fedotov will travel to visit UNODC field operations in Shan State - an area of conflict, and the centre of Myanmar's opium poppy cultivation and the manufacture of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS).
Myanmar remains the region's largest illicit manufacturer of ATS. Myanmar is South-East Asia's largest illicit poppy-growing country and the world's second, after Afghanistan. It currently accounts for 25 per cent of global poppy cultivation and 10 per cent of global opium production, relative to Afghanistan figures for 2011. Overwhelmingly produced in remote regions of Shan State, illicit drugs from Myanmar continue to be seized in China and Thailand and, to a lesser extent, Lao PDR.
Myanmar is the second stop for the Executive Director, as part of his five-country, 14-day mission in South-East Asia. Mr. Fedotov has visited Thailand and will move on from Myanmar to visit Viet Nam, Lao PDR and Indonesia.
During his mission, Mr. Fedotov plans to discuss and engage with stakeholders on a broad range of threats including illicit drugs, transnational organized crime, anti-corruption, the illegal trade in timber and protected wildlife, and human trafficking and migrant smuggling.
For further information, please contact:
John Bleho,
Media and Communications Consultant,
UNODC Regional Centre for East Asia and the Pacific
Telephone: (+66) 2288.2091
Mobile: (+66) 81.750.0539
Email: john.bleho[at]unodc.org
David Dadge
Spokesperson, UNODC Vienna
Telephone: (+43 1) 26060-5629
Mobile: (+43-699) 1459-5629
Email: david.dadge[at]unvienna.org
