Director-General/Executive Director
Monsieur le Président,
Excellences,
Mesdames et Messieurs les Membres du Conseil,
Je tiens à remercier la Présidence française pour l’opportunité qui m’est offerte d’intervenir à nouveau aujourd’hui auprès du Conseil.
Lors de mon dernier exposé sur la situation en Afghanistan devant le Conseil en juin 2021, la production illicite de drogues y avait atteint un chiffre record de 6,800 tonnes de pavot et j’avais souligné une augmentation alarmante dans la production de méthamphétamines.
Les chiffres des saisies montrent une augmentation du trafic à la fois d’héroïne et de méthamphétamines en Asie du Sud, ainsi qu’en Afrique, de 2018 à 2021. Les saisies d’héroïne en mer - dans l’océan Indien - se sont accentuées depuis 2021.
Les événements de l’an passé laissent une situation plus incertaine que jamais, notamment en ce qui concerne les possibles effets à long terme sur la culture, la production et le trafic dans un pays qui reste le premier producteur au monde d’opiacés.
Seule une action internationale peut répondre à ces menaces contre la paix et la sécurité, et soutenir le peuple afghan.
Excellencies,
In April of this year, the Taliban de facto authorities announced a complete ban on cultivation and production of all narcotics, while granting a grace period that practically exempted the most recent major harvest of opium poppy, which was concluded in July 2022.
Following the announcement of the narcotics ban, the national average price of opium skyrocketed, reaching 190 dollars per kilogram of dry opium and 127 dollars per kilogram of fresh opium in July 2022, more than double what it was one year ago.
Meanwhile, severe droughts have destroyed food harvests, at a time when the Afghan economy is collapsing, more than half the population is living below the poverty line, and close to 19 million people are facing acute food insecurity.
For many, illicit cultivation may seem to be the only alternative to starvation.
Over the next months, we will see how the narcotics ban and its consequences will truly unfold, as farmers in Afghanistan make decisions on opium poppy cultivation for the next major harvest, in the midst of dire economic and political circumstances.
At the same time, it remains unclear to what extent the ban can and will be enforced by the de facto authorities, considering the economic and political realities in Afghanistan, and the presence of at least a dozen armed groups challenging the authorities’ rule across 18 provinces, as identified by UNAMA.
In the absence of the rule of law, terrorist and organized criminal groups can profit from illicit drugs and other forms of trafficking such as firearms, while desperate conditions in the country are conducive to the trafficking and exploitation of human beings.
We must prevent such threats from destabilizing the region and beyond, by monitoring the situation, improving regional capacities, and helping people.
UNODC is conducting the Afghanistan opium cultivation surveys remotely, and in a week, we will be publishing estimates of how much heroin was produced from the most recent harvest.
We are also tracking seizure data in the region through our drugs monitoring platform, and we will begin tracking human trafficking and migrant smuggling flows.
In countries neighbouring Afghanistan, we are bolstering the capacities of border liaison offices, port control and air cargo control units, and supporting practical measures to counter illicit firearms trafficking, while assisting with the procurement of specialized law enforcement equipment, and promoting regional and interregional cross-border cooperation and information exchange.
Interventions inside Afghanistan are also necessary to help Afghans at risk and in need, as much as the circumstances allow.
In support of the UN Transitional Engagement Framework for Afghanistan, UNODC is jointly working with UN partners on health interventions related to the use of illicit drugs in the south, north and central regions.
We are providing health services to address drug use as well as diagnostic kits for HIV and Hepatitis, and we have launched an initiative to map treatment facilities and identify the factors facing high-risk drug users.
UNODC is also supporting alternative livelihoods for opium poppy farmers in Kandahar and Helmand provinces, which account for 72 per cent of cultivation.
This has included income generation and food security support to over 1,000 female-headed households, at a time when Afghan women are being deprived of their rights, opportunities, and livelihoods.
Distinguished members of the Council,
Afghanistan is at a sensitive juncture.
The international community needs to be ready to respond to the drug challenges and illicit flows emanating from Afghanistan, while extending as much help as possible to those affected by illicit drugs inside the country.
UNODC remains committed to supporting the UN response.
Thank you.
