Vienna Chapter
Madame Chairman,
1-. I have the honour to address this Intersessional Meeting on
behalf of the G-77 and China. First of all I would like to thank the
Chairperson of the CND and the delegation of Mexico for the drafting of
this Joint Ministerial Statement and the efforts made to include the
different positions expressed by delegations during the previous
consultations on the matter.
2-. This document and the rationale for its conception, as was
explained by the Chair, constitutes a valid starting point for the
negotiation of the Joint Ministerial Statement. We can say that it
situates in a viable frame the contents that pertain to the meeting of the
ministers and gives a clear idea of the task we are faced with.
3-. I would also like to thank the Chair for her wise guidance during
the consultations and the Secretariat for their working on the documents,
and for the assistance on the preparation of the intersessional meetings.
4-. At the beginning of the consideration of the Draft Statement I
would like to refer to some aspects of the document. These comments are
made on a preliminary basis and are intended to be followed up by the
Group during the negotiations with concrete drafting proposals:
A)-. With regard to the length of the draft text: from our first
consultations it was understood (taking into account the original purpose
of the ministerial meeting) that the Joint Declaration was going to be a
concise document, with the main emphasis put on the analysis of the
progress report on the goals of the 1998 meeting that were attained in
2003 and a critical evaluation of those that could not be achieved. The
document we have before us appears to be rather long and focusing on some
matters that do not clearly reflect this original purpose of the meeting.
It is also noticeable that an effort was made to look for least
common denominators between some proposals that appear to be
contradictory, and we feel that it might be still too early in the
negotiation process to achieve such a compromise.
B)-. With regards to the contents we feel that it does not reflect
clearly the viewpoints expressed in many opportunities and venues by
Member States in the various thematic areas; in particular some language
proposed by members of the Group of 77 and China does not appear reflected
in the paper in a precise way. In this sense let me remind you of some
valuable proposals already made that the Group wants to give its support
to:
1. "The Group proposes that the fight against demand and supply
of drugs keeps combining prevention and repression and the need for
cooperation in tackling the problems of States most affected by transit of
drugs".
2. "The Group reiterates the need to maintain the balance
between licit supply of, and licit demand for, opiates and
opiate-derivates for medical and scientific purposes".
3. "The Group proposes to call upon international organizations
and developed countries, in the spirit and principle of shared
responsibility, to provide new and additional financial resources and
technical assistance to drug producing countries and transit countries in
their efforts of fighting the drug problem."
4. "The Group reaffirms the need for strengthening
international, regional and bilateral cooperation, particularly for the
purposes of countering the threats posed by linkages that exist with
frequency between illicit trafficking of drugs, money laundering, illicit
traffic of arms, other forms of transnational organized crime and
terrorism".
5. "The Group considers that control of the cultivation of
cannabis, by far the most widely and frequently abused of the drugs listed
in the international drug control treaties (CND Res. 45/8), is a very
important issue, taking into account that cultivation is on the increase
in Africa with negative economic and social consequences. The Group warns
that decriminalisation policies by developed countries on the use of
cannabis may hamper efforts towards supply reduction."
6. The Group reiterates the paramount importance to maintain and
strengthen in spirit and letter the international drug control regime and
calls upon all Member States to continue to uphold their commitments".
7. "The Group is convinced that the fight against the world drug
problem, in order to be efficient in its results, must be based upon a
comprehensive strategy that combines alternative development, including
the preventive alternative development, interdiction, law enforcement,
prevention and rehabilitation."
8. "The Group reiterates the importance of alternative
development programmes and projects including preventive alternative
development, especially for those countries which have adopted measures to
reduce and eradicate illicit drug crops, and also calls upon countries
that have not yet implemented such programmes to do so as soon as
possible."
9. "The Group reaffirms that such efforts have to be supported
with greater international cooperation in order to extend alternative
development programmes, including the preventive alternative development
and to execute interdiction programmes, as well as to enhance the
countries' intelligence systems against drugs, aiming at the
neutralization of the drug trafficking actions, and greater market access
for alternative development products which enhances their competitiveness
vis à vis the illicit drug cultivations."
10. "The Group states that the principle of shared
responsibility can contribute to coherent policies like, for example,
appropriate commercial norms and disciplines that include better market
access conditions for the products proceeding from alternative development
programmes, including the preventive alternative development."
11. "The Group stresses that means should be provided to combat
poverty and social marginalization as well as to improve the quality of
life at the grass-root level through education and economic support, in
conjunction with alternative development programmes and projects,
including the preventive alternative development."
12. "At the same time there is a clear need to strengthen
measures to prevent and combat the laundering of money derived from
illicit drug trafficking and related criminal activities, with the support
of the United Nations system, the international financial institutions,
such as the World Bank and the regional development banks."
13. "An increase of the information shared between agencies
charged with preventing and detecting money laundering derived from
illicit drug trafficking and related criminal activities, should be
contemplated."
14. "The Group strives for further synergy to jointly counter
the global drug problems in all of its manifestations through partnership
and shared responsibility at the international, regional, sub-regional and
bilateral levels."
C) The evaluation chapter was to be prepared on the basis of the
contents of the Report of the Executive Director, and so far only some
chapters on the Report have been distributed. The paragraphs dedicated to
the matter of the evaluation (and specially para. 10) do not provide a
clear picture of the difficulties encountered and the progresses made in
the different areas since 1998. Above all there is a certain lack of
specificity in the diagnosis.
D) As it was manifested supra, some items should be included in the
Evaluation and Recommendation chapters or when incorporated they do should
show a proper balance on the developing of certain ideas. For instance,
the item regarding chemical precursors´ control is not reflected in
all its importance. The same can be said of the para. 24 on money
laundering. There is not enough emphasis on certain areas such as the need
for an increase on technical cooperation, and on the financial constraints
of UNDCP, that affects very clearly the capacity of the Organization for
attaining the leading role proposed for it in the 1998 General Assembly
Declaration.
E) The Group would also like to state that the singularisation of
countries is discriminatory and incomplete in its reflection of the World
Drug Problem, which involves a large number of countries where efforts
have to be undertaken in an integrated manner, and where it is our duty to
look for common and joint solutions.
Thank you Madame Chairman.
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