International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking; June 26rd.

FORUM: Addressing drug challenges in health and humanitarian crises. International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking 2022.

         

Statement by the U.N. Secreatry-General on International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking; June 23rd;

This year’s International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking shines a spotlight on the impact of drug challenges in health and humanitarian crises.

Conflicts, climate disasters, forced displacement and grinding poverty create fertile ground for drug abuse — with COVID-19 making a bad situation even worse. At the same time, people living through humanitarian emergencies are far less likely to have access to the care and treatment they need and deserve.

Meanwhile, criminals are profiting from people’s misery, with cocaine production at record highs, and a five-fold increase in seizures of methamphetamines and a near-quadrupling of amphetamine seizures over the last decade.

On this International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, we renew our commitment to ending this scourge and supporting those who fall victim to it.

This includes non-discriminatory policy solutions centred around people, health and human rights, underpinned by strengthened international cooperation to curb the illicit drug trade and hold accountable those who profit from human misery.

We must also strengthen science-based treatment and support services for drug users, and treat them as victims who need treatment rather than punishment, discrimination and stigma — including treatment for those living with infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and hepatitis.

We cannot allow the world’s drug problem to further shadow the lives of the tens of millions of people living through humanitarian crises.

On this important day, let us commit to lifting this shadow once and for all, and giving this issue the attention and action it deserves.

U.N. Secretary-General.

International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking 2013, 26 June

 

° Día Internacional de la Lucha contra el Uso Indebido y el Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas, 26 de junio.
°  Международный день борьбы со злоупотреблением наркотическими средствами и их незаконным оборотом, 26 июня.
° Journée internationale contre l'abus et le trafic de drogues, 26 juin.
°International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking,26 June.
°  禁止药物滥用和非法贩运国际日, 6月26日.
° 
بمناسبة اليوم الدولي لمكافحة إساءة استعمالالمخدرات والاتجار غير المشروع بها

United Nations Secretary-General's Message for 2013

This year I visited the San Patrignano drug rehabilitation centre in northern Italy where more than 1,200 young women and men from 28 countries are learning how to free themselves from the curse of addiction and enjoy dignified, productive lives. Their road is not easy.  It demands courage, commitment and the compassion of dedicated mentors.  But the members of this inspiring community understand that they are fortunate.  All over the world, drugs threaten the health and welfare of youth and children, families and communities, and the billions of dollars generated by the drugs trade feed corruption, enhance the power of criminal networks and create fear and instability. 

Illegal drug trafficking is a clear obstacle to development.  This cross-border problem requires a robust and coordinated law enforcement response within and among countries.  Tackling organized crime and the illicit drugs trade is a shared responsibility.  But the rule of law is only part of the equation. For instance, farmers dependent on the cultivation of illicit drugs such as coca, marijuana and opium must be offered alternative livelihoods, while drug users and addicts need help not stigmatization. 

A human rights and science-based public health approach is the only sound basis for preventing and treating addiction and related consequences such as HIV transmission through unsafe injecting practices.  We must also address threats such as the emerging problem of new psychoactive substances, many of which are not under international control.  Young people, in particular, must be made aware of the dangers of these drugs.

On this International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, I call on governments, the media and civil society to do everything possible to raise awareness of the harm caused by illicit drugs and to help prevent people profiting from their use.


 Events Organized for 2013

Sharing best practices in the implementation of the United Nations comprehensive framework on the world drug problem

Special event on “Sharing best practices in the implementation of the United Nations comprehensive framework on the world drug problem”, co-organized by the Permanent Missions of Italy, Qatar and Thailand and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Wednesday, 26 June 2013, from 11:00 to 13:00, in Conference Room 1 (CB).
[All are invited to attend. For further information, please contact Ms. Anne Beckmann,
UNODC (e-mail: beckmann@un.org; tel. 1 (212) 963-5635).]

 Radio series

UNODC has teamed up with a group of international teenagers to put their questions about drugs to the experts. In this series of interviews we put cannabis, ecstasy, cocaine and heroin under the spotlight. And talk frankly about the production, trafficking and damaging effects of these illicit drugs.
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Intro	Promo	Cannabis	Ecstasy	Cocaine	Heroin
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