EU Presidency Statement - Crime prevention and international drug control

Mr. Chairman,

I have the honor to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Associated Central and Eastern European Countries Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta, Turkey, Iceland and Norway associate themselves with this declaration.

(International drug control)

Mr. Chairman,

1. The European Union wishes to express its concern about the growth of drug production, drug trafficking and drug consumption. Drug use is a global phenomenon. It affects almost every State in the world, even if the scale and characteristics of the problem vary according to region. Certain States, particularly in Africa, are rendered even more vulnerable by drug trafficking and drug abuse. In drawing up its 2000-2004 Action Plan to Combat Drugs, the European Union has set geographical priorities, which are linked to the seriousness of the problem. The European Union calls on the UNDCP to provide optimum support for efforts by the African countries to launch sustainable anti-drug programmes at national and regional level.

2. Drugs frequently go hand in hand with an upsurge in crime and violence, the spread of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis, the need for treatment and social exclusion. The European Union is fully supportive of the UNDCP's increasing commitment in questions relating to the link between drug consumption and HIV/AIDS.

3. The European Union believes that greater priority should be given to countering the threat posed by synthetic drugs, in particular amphetamine-type stimulants, at every level. It calls for urgent action to face up to this challenge, which is now a global one. It denounces the sale of these substances on the Internet. Cooperation between States importing and exporting precursors should be further improved.

4. In the political declaration adopted at the XXth Special Session of the General Assembly in June 1998, the Member States undertook to make special efforts against the laundering of money linked to drug trafficking and emphasized the importance of strengthening international and regional cooperation. The European Union urges all Member States to adopt appropriate legislation and to establish financial investigation units in order to ensure that the set objectives of action against money laundering may be achieved by 2003.

5. At the XXth Special Session, the Member States recognized that demand reduction was an indispensable pillar in the global approach to countering drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking. The European Union welcomes the significant increase in UNDCP activity in the area of demand reduction. Demand reduction strategies include prevention, assistance for drug addicts in weaning them off drugs and access to treatment through rehabilitation and social reintegration.

6. On the question of prevention, the European Union appreciates the assistance provided by the UNDCP for the development of demand reduction strategies consistent with internationally approved principles. It also supports the spread of the best on-the-ground practices. Certain categories of persons, such as street children, children and young people in particularly vulnerable situations or victims of sexual violence or abuse need specific participatory strategies.

7. Regarding access to treatment and rehabilitation, drug addicts have specific needs. Women, young people, refugees and minorities need easier access to social assistance and social services. The special needs of pregnant drug addicts and children of drug addicts must also be addressed. Drug addicts, once they are undergoing treatment, frequently need vocational training and help in finding accommodation and being reintegrated into society. Alternatives to imprisonment should be considered for drug addicts who commit criminal acts, in order to break the cycle of drug abuse and crime.

8. Supply reduction is also a key feature of efforts to combat drug abuse. The European Union fully supports any plan to prevent, limit and eliminate the cultivation, production and distribution of and the trafficking in drugs. National strategies for eliminating illicit cultivation through alternative development are starting to reap rewards in several parts of the world. Improved regional cooperation between countries affected by drugs is helping in the fight against cross-border trafficking. Border controls should be reinforced by the supply of modern working tools and training in better practice in the area of law-enforcement procedures.

9. The European Union attaches particular importance to developing both the collection of reliable objective data and the evaluation of national, regional and global action to combat drugs. Governments and UNDCP require updated statistics on the profile and motivations of drug users. The Global Assessment Programme on Drug Abuse (GAP) was launched in 1998. It established a global system and nine regional systems for gathering reliable, internationally comparable data and for assessing the scale and patterns of drug use and abuse at national, regional and world level.

10. In the opinion of the European Union, the UNDCP must continue to focus on its twin role of catalyst in the launching of new initiatives and promoter of regional cooperation between governments in drug-affected areas. The UNDCP must also continue to provide assistance in finalizing national plans for balanced supply and demand reduction to States, which have decided to tackle the drugs problem. In a word, the UNDCP must encourage political undertakings in the area of drug control and assist in their practical implementation. The European Union supports the more effective integration of UNCDP action in the programmes of other UN agencies (Common Country Assessments and United Nation Development Assistance Frameworks).

11. The European Union has noted the measures recently adopted by the Executive Director, which are a first step towards improving the functioning and administrative, financial and operational management of the UNDCP. The European Union has also noted the inspection report from the Office of Internal Oversight Services (BSC/OIOS) and will be keeping a close eye on the way in which the UNDCP follows its recommendations.

(Crime and Criminal Justice)

Mr. Chairman,

12. One of the major events of last year, and one which the European Union cannot but welcome, was unquestionably the opening for signature in Palermo, in December 2000, of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its additional protocols. These documents mark a major stage in the international fight against organized crime and represent considerable progress, particularly in reinforcing judicial cooperation measures. They also allot a special place to prevention and the protection of victims in international cooperation. Furthermore, they contain provisions likely to strengthen capacity and technical assistance and to facilitate the exchange of information between the party States. The European Union appeals to all States to ratify these instruments as soon as possible and fully supports the technical assistance projects drawn up to that end in the context of CICP activities.

13. The European Union, its Member States and the Commission affirm their intention to sign the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, their Parts and Components and Ammunition (adopted by the General Assembly on 31 May 2001) at this session of the General Assembly and urge the other States to follow suit. They also call on the Member States to ratify this Protocol.

14. Globalization provides a favorable climate for the extension of trafficking in human beings. Two of the Additional protocols to the UN / Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, viz. the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, mark a turning-point in the fight against this menace, a menace which obliges States to devise and implement global strategies. It is essential that countries of origin, transit and destination should prepare effective joint strategies and penal measures in the fight against this form of trafficking. The European Union is fully supportive of the activities and projects conceived in the framework of the Global Programme against Trafficking in Human Beings and of the CICP's efforts in this area.

15. The European Union also attaches great importance to the preparation of an international convention against corruption. The European Union welcomes the outcome of last summer's meeting in Vienna of the intergovernmental group of experts responsible for drawing up draft terms of reference for the negotiation of such a convention. Those broad terms of reference will enable the ad hoc committee responsible for drawing up the Convention to have fruitful discussions on many essential aspects, such as criminalization, prevention and international cooperation. The European Union calls on the Member States to adopt the resolution approving these terms of reference during this session of the General Assembly. The European Union also encourages all the Member States to participate in the proceedings of the ad hoc committee responsible for drawing up the convention. The Union hopes that the preliminary draft text to be drawn up at the Buenos Aires meeting in December will constitute a useful starting point for negotiations.

16. The European Union notes with interest the United Nations' efforts to combat the spread of modern forms of crime. The exploitation of information technology for criminal purposes - cybercrime or computer crime - is a matter of deep concern to us.

17. The action plans adopted at the tenth session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice implement the Vienna Declaration proclaimed at the tenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and the Treatment of Offenders held in April 2000. The European Union believes that these action plans constitute an important tool for initiating concrete measures to combat international crime.

(Role of the United Nations)

Mr. Chairman,

18. Over the years, the international community has increasingly recognized the need to make progress in the field of drugs trafficking and crime. The European Union invites Member States to reinforce the pre-eminent role of the UN's specialized bodies in the design and operational implementation of the various components of the response to the challenges confronting the modern world. It welcomes the contribution made by the international Office for Drugs Control and Crime Prevention in this connection.

19. The European Union believes that the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice play an important role in setting general guidelines for the UN's specialized bodies on the subject, contributing to the study of these phenomena and to the search for appropriate responses by means of legislation and conventions.

20. The European Union calls on Member States to provide the resources needed by the UNDCP and the Center for International Crime Prevention (CICP), bodies which play a central role in coordinating international cooperation on combating drugs and crime, so that managing well and effectively they can conduct their activities and carry out their mandate.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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