UNIS/NAR/797
16 May 2003
Spain Supports UN Drug Control Projects Through Confiscated Assets
VIENNA, 15 May (UN Information Service) -- The Spanish Government will support two projects of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime using funds generated by the forfeiture of assets seized in drug trafficking cases.
The first project aims to reduce drug abuse in Iran through a five-year strategy, including research and training of civil society organisations. This project, which started in 1999, received a first contribution last year of EUR114,000. With the new agreement signed between Gonzalo Robles, President of the Plan Nacional sobre Drogas, and Antonio Maria Costa, UNODC Executive Director, during his first official visit to Spain on 6 May, an additional amount of EUR60,000 will be provided in support of the same project. Another EUR140,000 will go to support a UNODC Container Control Pilot Programme implemented in close partnership with the World Customs Organization.
Spain is the second country after Luxembourg to implement the article of the 1988 UN Convention against Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances which invites signatories to contribute proceeds generated by the forfeiture of assets in drug trafficking cases, including money laundering, to international organizations specialising in the fight against drugs.
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