UN warns of drug menace at Shanghai conference

By Cao Li (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-27 07:38

State Councilor Meng Jianzhu, (center), Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of UNODC (second from left), Hamid Ghodse, president of the International Narcotics Control Board (second from right) and Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng (right) unveil a "ding" yesterday, an ancient form of Chinese utensil, made to mark the centennial of the International Opium Commission. Gao Erqiang

SHANGHAI: Violence and corruption associated with the global drug trade are on the rise and efforts must be stepped up to combat drug use both in the country and abroad, participants said Thursday at the Centennial of the International Opium Commission.

"It is a costly failure that, if unattended, will undo the benefits of drug control," said Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

"Because drug trafficking enriches criminals, destroys communities and threatens nations, it has to be dealt with urgently and forcefully," Costa said. "We need to develop anti-crime measures able to address all elements of the drug chain in an integrated manner."

Meng Jianzhu, State Councilor, said at the opening of the two-day conference: "Deeply aware of the grave dangers posed by opium and acknowledging that no country would be able to address the global menace itself, our forerunners (from 13 countries) gathered in Shanghai 100 years ago and drafted nine resolutions on opium control, vowing commitment in opium control."

Records show that in 1909, 1.5 percent of the world's population used opium.

A century later, with the international community possessing a modern drug control framework, challenges like diversification of new drugs and increasing drug crimes are still posing threats to the global stability, Meng said.

Today, according to Costa, there are 25 million illicit drug users in the world, nearly 0.5 percent of the world population.

And the number of people who take drugs occasionally (at least once a year) is 5 percent of the adult population. Deaths due to drug abuse are 200,000 a year.

"The world drug challenge remains enormous,'" he said.

In China, the annual growth rate of new heroin addicts is 4.6 percent, with 51 percent of abusers under the age of 35. By the end of 2008, China had 1,126,000 registered drug users, including 902,000 heroin users, according to Zhang Xinfeng, vice minister of the State Ministry of Public Security.

Intensive multilateral co-operation in combating drug abuse and drug-related crimes and more financial and technical support are needed, a declaration signed by all attending parties reads.

"We are reaffirming our political commitment to pursuing anti-drug campaign on the basis of shared responsibility, a comprehensive, balanced and mutually reinforcing approach to supply and demand reduction, devoting more resources and international cooperation at the national, regional and international levels in addressing drug abuse as a health and social issue, while upholding the law and its enforcement," it reads.

Meng said there is an increasing connection between drug crimes and other transnational organized crimes such as terrorism, money-laundering and corruption.

"Close and practical judicial assistance and law enforcement cooperation should be further enhanced, and necessary financial and technical assistance should be provided to developing countries and countries under serious impacts of illicit drugs," he said.