ASEAN, UN to unveil action plan for drug-free SE Asia
ASEAN, UN to unveil action plan for drug-free SE Asia
BANGKOK (AFP): Southeast Asian countries, together with China
and the United Nations, have joined forces to draw up an action
plan to make the region drug-free by 2015, a senior UN official
said on Thursday.
"We are going to propose a change in the international fight
against drugs" to ensure there are "clearly defined targets" and
there is more transparency than in the past, Sandro Calvani, head
of the UN International Drug Control Program (UNDCP) for Asia
told reporters.
The "comprehensive and coordinated" plan of action, entitled
"In pursuit of a drug-free ASEAN 2015", will establish clear and
measurable targets in the fight against the use of drugs and
their trafficking in Asia, he said.
There are more than 100 national, regional and international
drug control bodies in the region tasked with preventing the
illicit drug trade yet they all have their own mandates and
methods, Calvani said.
Even though individual agencies might be good at their jobs
"the insufficiency and absence of coordination among them can
result in the duplication of efforts, and the misuse and waste of
resources," he said.
The UNDCP is responding to a plea made at a July meeting of
ASEAN ministers for all member states to tackle "the drug menace"
which is threatening the stability of the region.
In particular they warned against the increasing threat posed
by the highly addictive "newly emerging drugs" like
methamphetamines and amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS).
Myanmar, one of the 10 ASEAN members, is said to be a major
source of methamphetamines and ATS, and some western states have
accused its ruling military junta of turning a blind eye to the
production and trafficking of the drugs.
More than 600 million amphetamine pills flooded into Thailand
last year across the porous 2,000 kilometer border with Myanmar,
according to Thai military estimates.
The region is also notorious for the "Golden Triangle" -- the
border areas of Myanmar, Laos, Thailand -- which remains one of
the world's largest sources of illicit opium and heroin.
In response to a remark that the plan could lead to an
increase in human rights violations given the widespread
differences between police and judicial authorities within ASEAN
and China, Calvani stressed that all enforcement would have to
remain "within the rule of law."
"And the rule of law is the rule of human rights. It does not
mean shutting up people on drugs or stopping the press," he
added.
The plan will be considered by an international congress
organized by the UNDCP to be held in Bangkok from Oct. 11 to 13
and attended by prime ministers, ministers and non-governmental
organizations from across Asia and Europe, Calvani said.