For information only - not an official document
UNIS/NAR/1399
10 February 2020
VIENNA, 10 February (United Nations Information Service) - During its 127th session held from 3 to 7 February, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) has held consultations with the Government of Afghanistan under article 14 bis of Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, as amended. The Government of Afghanistan was represented by Mohammad Hashim Aurtaq, Deputy Minister of Interior for Counter Narcotics, Mohammad Humayun Faizzad, Director for Coordination for Counter Narcotics Efforts of the Ministry of Interior, and Khojesta Fana Ebrahimkhel, Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the United Nations (Vienna).
Article 14 bis allows the Board to recommend to the competent United Nations organs and to the specialized agencies that technical or financial assistance, or both, be provided to a Government in support of its efforts to carry out its obligations under the 1961 Convention, as amended. The provision was invoked by the Board with the consent of the Afghan Government in May 2018.
The consultations held with the delegation of Afghanistan provided an opportunity to discuss the current challenges and needs of Afghanistan in addressing the serious drug control situation in the country. The Government raised several specific areas in which assistance by the international community, including UN organs and specialized agencies as well as other donors and partners, was still needed. In particular, the Government of Afghanistan called for urgent and sustained technical and financial support by the international community in the following broad areas:
(a) Building upon the success of existing alternative livelihood programmes, in particular through further support in developing agricultural infrastructure as well as strengthening marketing opportunities for goods and products produced through those initiatives;
(b) Addressing linkages between terrorism, insurgency, corruption and drug trafficking, through integrated crime prevention and criminal justice technical assistance initiatives;
(c) Strengthening law-enforcement capacities in interdiction and investigation of domestic and cross-border drug-related offences through increased provision of training and necessary border control and other equipment;
(d) Facilitating regional cooperation in addressing drug control challenges, based on common and shared responsibility;
(e) Addressing the trafficking of chemical precursors used in illicit drug production, through effective cooperation between source, transit and destination countries;
(f) Increasing health care opportunities for treatment and rehabilitation of drug abusers, in particular forwomen and youth.
The President of the Board expressed appreciation for the ongoing dialogue between the Board and the Government of Afghanistan, while acknowledging the extraordinary challenges and difficulties faced by the Government and the people of Afghanistan affecting peace and sustainable development. The Board reiterated that it stands ready to further facilitate support to Afghanistan, through continuous engagement with the UN and other agencies, and with members of the international community at large, while highlighting that efforts to stabilize the country will not be sustainable without also effectively addressing the country's illicit drug economy.
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INCB is the independent, quasi-judicial body charged with promoting and monitoring Government compliance with the three international drug control conventions: the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. Established by the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, the thirteen members of the Board are elected in a personal capacity by the Economic and Social Council for terms of five years.
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For further information, please contact:
INCB Secretariat
Telephone for media inquiries: (+43-1) 26060 4163
Email:
incb.secretariat[at]un.org
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