24 February 2010
UNIS Vienna organized a press briefing on 24 February with the President of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), Professor Sevil Atasoy, at Presseclub Concordia in Vienna, Austria. UNIS Vienna Director Maher Nasser moderated the event.
In his introductory remarks at the press conference, UNIS Director Maher Nasser said that the INCB Report was the most comprehensive global assessment of drug production, trafficking and abuse. He stated that, according to the INCB, the world needs to give urgent attention to preventing drug abuse and he gave an overview of main topics of the Report, including the growing problem of prescription drugs, increase in the use of date-rape drugs by criminals and alarming trends of new processes, routes and substances to manufacture drugs.
After having described regional trends in drug abuse , Professor Sevil Atasoy, President of the INCB, stated: "The increasing dimension of prescription drug abuse is a disturbing development. The diversion of pharmaceuticals from domestic channels is an underreported phenomenon. Therefore, we do not know the actual level of abuse of such drugs. This problem is not confined to developed countries - almost all countries are affected. It is a new trend that especially young people abuse prescription drugs." She labelled the abuse of "date-rape drugs" as an issue of big concern and called upon Governments to consider imposing stricter controls on the production and sale of this type of chemicals. She stressed the importance of cooperation between Governments and the pharmaceutical industry, e.g. to develop formulations with safety features. Professor Atasoy concluded by saying: "One of the concerns of the Board has been and still is the inconsistency of the drug laws and policies throughout the world and even within countries. The history of the international drug control is a success story. The treaties enjoy near universal adherence and they are respected globally, but to be effective the application of the treaties should be unified."
The briefing was followed by a question-and-answer session.
31 representatives of international and local media attended the launch, including:
A representative of the Austrian Permanent Mission also attended the launch.
Launches wordlwide
UNIS Vienna coordinated the launch of the 2009 Report in 29 cities worldwide, involving the UNICs/UNISs/UNOs network, UNODC field offices and NGOs. Launches were held in Accra, Ghana; Ankara, Turkey; Asuncion, Paraguay; Athens, Greece; Bogota, Colombia; Brazzaville, Congo; Brussels, Belgium; Budapest, Hungary; Cairo, Egypt; Canberra, Australia; Geneva, Switzerland; Jakarta, Indonesia; Kathmandu, Nepal; Lagos, Nigeria; London, United Kingdom; Lusaka, Zambia; Mexico City, Mexico; Minsk, Belarus; Moscow, Russian Federation; New York, United States; Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; New Delhi, India; Pretoria, South Africa; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Tashkent, Uzbekistan; Tehran, Iran; Tunis, Tunisia; and Vientiane, Lao PDR.
