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.