Director-General/Executive Director
Distinguished Chair,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is my pleasure to address the Commission today at the opening of these important thematic discussions.
I want to thank and commend Ambassador Krois, who is doing an admirable job of leading this Commission’s work, and will no doubt continue to do so in leading these discussions.
The Commission on Narcotic Drugs has a vital and unique responsibility within the UN system, addressing drug-related challenges through shared responses.
The topics being addressed this week reflect the Commission’s commitment to living up to that responsibility.
Your discussions offer a chance to draw insightful conclusions on very important topics: how drug trafficking feeds into other crimes, just as it feeds off of them; how new technologies are being misused to expand drug-related criminal activity; and how the proceeds of drug trafficking continue to evade confiscation worldwide.
This is the right forum to address the threats that lie at the intersection of drugs and crime.
And this is the right time to focus on those threats.
A sophisticated criminal infrastructure has developed around drug trafficking, creating pockets of mutual interest between traffickers, terrorists, and other criminals.
A Europol study this year revealed that about 40% of all criminal groups in the European Union are engaged in more than one criminal activity, and that is just one regional example.
Across the globe, drug traffickers are often using the infrastructures and routes used for other illicit flows such as firearms. In some cases, they are exploiting victims of human trafficking in cultivation and smuggling of drugs.
Technology is also being misused in support of the illicit drug market, as darknet sales continue to grow.
Corruption is opening doors for these criminal groups to facilitate their operations across borders, while money laundering allows them to reap the profits of the illicit drug trade, and sometimes reinvest them in other criminal activities.
Alarmingly, there are reports of terrorist groups relying on illicit drug proceeds as a source of financing, a threat recognized by the Security Council in 2019.
Terrorist and criminal groups are likely to take advantage of any new opportunities to exploit illicit narcotics, particularly as the situation in Afghanistan develops.
Afghanistan already accounted for 85% of the world’s opium production in 2020. In light of recent events, there is an urgent need to prevent illicit flows and exploitative crimes, to stop the country from becoming a haven for terrorists and their resources, and to address expected spillover in neighboring countries.
UNODC is hard at work developing a strategic outlook to address these challenges. We will need the support of Member States in its implementation.
Ladies and gentlemen,
In recent years, discussions at the CND have reflected different positions and perspectives on many drug-related issues.
Nevertheless, consensus has prevailed on one vital goal: protecting people and their health, including by keeping them safe from the criminals who profit from the illicit drug trade.
This shared commitment was reaffirmed in the ministerial declaration adopted by this Commission in 2019, which guides these thematic discussions.
The declaration builds upon foundational commitments reflected in the three international drug control conventions.
When implemented together with the UN conventions against corruption and against organized crime, these instruments form a powerful framework against drug trafficking and its linkages with other crimes.
Relying on these frameworks, UNODC has been working with member states to establish effective laws and capacities to confront the intertwined threats of drug trafficking, organized crime, corruption, and terrorism.
We are also providing operational assistance to stem illicit flows, including through our Container Control Programme, which operates in over 70 countries and has supported the seizure of 115 tons of cocaine just this year.
Now, the thematic discussions that you are kicking off today will give us an opportunity to reflect on the big picture, on how this Commission can help target the criminal structures that sustain drug trafficking.
The Commission can foster political momentum, and provide strong normative frameworks and guidance to UNODC, to address the criminal economy that surrounds the illicit drug market.
The CND’s sister Commission, the CCPCJ, enjoys mandates that are directly relevant, and will be holding its first-ever thematic discussions next month.
This represents a unique opportunity to explore joint and complementary efforts in the substantive work of the Commissions, and it is an opportunity that I encourage you to consider.
We also need a clear and accurate picture of the drug situation at the global level, and I call on all Member States to share their latest data, to the extent possible, through the Annual Report Questionnaire that has been adopted by this Commission.
It is my hope that this timely and inclusive dialogue will inform the mid-term review of international drug policy commitments in 2024 in important ways.
The fight against drug traffickers, criminals, and terrorists is a fight that unites us. It is a fight for the lives and safety of people everywhere.
Let us seize this chance to focus on what unites us, and to live up to our shared commitments.
Thank you, and I wish you fruitful discussions.
