South Asia: The International Narcotics Control Board 2009 Annual Report highlights the importance of "primary prevention of drug use'

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Regional Office for South Asia in collaboration with the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) presented the 2009 Annual Report of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) on Wednesday, 24 February 2010 at the UN conference hall in New Delhi, India. Mr. Mukul Wasnik, Honourable Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India was the Chief Guest. The Ambassador of Bhutan in India and Representatives from the High Commissions of Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka based in New Delhi, India were also invited. 

The INCB is the monitoring body for the implementation of the three United Nations international drug control conventions. Every year the INCB prepares an Annual Report, which summarizes the findings and recommendations of the Board in this regard. This year the special theme of the report is 'primary prevention of drug use'.

Understanding well that prevention of drug use is a crucial area within drug control, Mr. Wasnik in his keynote address said "...substance use is a very complex issue and the Government of India has formulated specific policies to deal with this menace. There is conscious effort to include more civil society organisations to increase effectiveness in reducing drug use through stronger coordination. We will go through the suggestions and the conclusions presented in the INCB 2009 annual report as it will provide the Government with valuable inputs and help frame our response to address the drug use issue in India.

The UNODC Regional Representative for South Asia, Ms. Cristina Albertin made a presentation which covered the regional trends in drug trafficking and use across the six South Asian countries that the UNODC office in Delhi covers (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka), the observations and recommendations of INCB for each country and how UNODC responds to them. The Ambassador and Representatives of the High Commissions made a statement highlighting the findings of the report and their Government's compliance with the issues raised by the INCB.

 

 

Learn more about the INCB 2009 Annual Report: Primary prevention of drug abuse
The power point presentation (PPT) made by UNODC in the PDF format

Photo gallery

Press coverage for the event:
Illegal Internet pharmacies thriving in India: UN
Drug traffickers use networking sites to recruit peddlers