Islamic Republic of Iran

 

UNODC Iran Commemorating International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking

 

 

Tehran, 26 June 2019- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Iran commemorated the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking and launching of the World Drug Report 2019. Representatives from the Mini Dublin Group in Iran, namely, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Turkey and UK embassies and donor communities participated in the meeting. Senior officials from national counterparts including Drug Control Headquarters (DCHQ) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), active in the field of demand and harm reduction, also participated in the event. Representatives from selected local press and media were also present during the event.

Mr. Alexander Fedulov, UNODC Iran Country Representative opened the event by reading the message of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Executive Director, H.E. Mr. Yury Fedotov, on 26 June event and referred to the theme of this year, "Health for Justice - Justice for Health".

 

Mr. Fedulov introduced the UNODC World Drug Report 2019 and presented the main findings of the World Drug Report 2019 on latest statistics on global trends, number of drug users among general population 15-64 years of age, narcotic seizures, trafficking routes and drug related mortality. He further referred to the improved research and more precise data revealing the adverse health consequences of drug use being more severe and widespread than previously thought. He also referred to the findings of the report on Tramadol, a synthetic opioid, that has become a rising crisis in West and Central and North Africa. Referring to the findings of the report on the latest available data on new psychoactive substances (NPS), he further stated that the international community has had a degree of success in addressing NPS, evidenced by a decline in the number of NPS identified and reported for the first time to UNODC.

 

The event was followed by a press conference. UNODC Iran supported translation of the press release issued by UNODC Headquarters in Vienna, as well as the messages of United Nations Secretary General, H.E. Mr. Antonio Guterres, and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Executive Director, H.E. Mr. Yury Fedotov, into Persian. The press release and messages were shared with the local press and media by UNIC on 26 June 2019. They were also published on UNODC Iran and UN Iran web sites.