unitex@rubbs.fidonet.org (unitex) (09/16/89)
COLOMBIAN BATTLE AGAINST DRUG TRAFFICKERS HAILED
Posting Date: 09/14/89 Source: UNITEX Network, Hoboken, NJ, USA
UN PRESS RELEASE:
VIENNA, 11 September (UN Information Service) -- Colombia's
battle against drug traffickers deserved respect, support and
solidarity, numerous speakers told the second Interregional
Meeting of Heads of National Narcotic Drugs Law Enforcement
Agencies (HONLEA) this afternoon.
The comments were made during discussion of developments and
trends in illicit trafficking and drug abuse since the last
HONLEA in 1986.
Many speakers praised the forceful and energetic stand taken by
Colombian President Virgilio Barco and his Government. They
said other nations could not remain indifferent to the struggle
and must take specific action to combat drug trafficking and
respect the sovereignty of all nations.
The meeting elected Kamoyo G. Mwale (Zambia) as its third
Vice-Chairman, and the representative of China announced that
his country had formally ratified the 1988 Convention against
Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
Statements were made by representatives of the United Kingdom,
Venezuela, Nigeria, China, Yugoslavia, Japan, Cuba, the Soviet
Union, India, Thailand, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt and France. A
statement was also made by the representative from Interpol.
At the next meeting scheduled for 12 September, consideration of
developments since the 1986 HONLEA will continue.
Statements
EBAN BARBO, representative of Interpol, said HONLEA was
important, and Interpol gave its solidarity and support to the
meeting. The war against drugs, which was even more repulsive
because of the actions of criminal groups, made international
co-operation more important.
A recent example of that co-operation was the assistance of the
United Nations to Interpol in overhauling police
telecommunications in the Caribbean.
At the next general assembly of Interpol, a draft resolution
would be introduced, calling for swift ratification of the 1988
Convention, which was an effective weapon in the battle against
drugs.
PETER EDWARDS (United Kingdom) said each region was faced with a
serious -- and growing -- problem of drug misuse. Recent events
in Colombia, and the crack epidemic which had devastated so many
United States cities, illustrated the gravity of the situation.
Heroin addiction continued largely unabated and was now found in
producer and transit countries where it was previously unknown,
he said. Scarcely any country -- and that was true also for the
United Kingdom -- could now be described simply in terms of
being a producer, consumer or transit country. As the problem
grew, so did the cost to society in responding to it. That was
graphically illustrated by the staggering amounts of money quoted
last week by President Bush in announcing his presidential drug
strategy.
It was imperative that in addition to taking action to reduce the
supply of drugs, authorities must also step up efforts to reduce
the demand, he said. It was now up to all to use the 1988
Convention in the war against the drug barons. The United
Kingdom hoped to enact the remaining legislation needed in order
to ratify the Convention. Since 1986, legislation had enabled
courts to trace, freeze and confiscate the proceeds of illicit
traffic.
The new Convention imposed substantial extra burdens on the
United Nations drug bodies. States must ensure that those
agencies were given the resources they need, he said. The
United Kingdom, in close association with United Nations
organizations, had decided to host an international conference
in April 1990 which would examine the effectiveness of current
demand reduction policies.
It would especially look at ways in which international drug
co-operation could be targeted to combat cocaine. He admired
the resolve and courage which Colombian President Barco and
Colombia's judges and enforcement agencies had displayed in
their struggle against the drug barons.
MANUEL IBEDECA ROMERO (Venezuela) read a message from the
President of Venezuela. It reaffirmed Venezuela's willingness
to combat the production, trafficking and consumption of drugs
for the sake of its national security. It said that the
political, social, economic, military, cultural and diplomatic
implications of the problem required integrated strategies.
The message said the Government of Venezuela wished, in line with
Latin American policies of integration, development, democracy,
security and good social order, to give priority to combating
drugs. It also wished to stop production, trafficking and
consumption of drugs, as well as the laundering of drug profits,
which was an illicit activity. It followed stable policies in
line with those of the United States and Europe.
Similarly, the Government of Venezuela and all its drug-fighting
organizations, reiterated their decision to collaborate with
international
organizations in their multilateral and bilateral activities in
the fight against the production, trafficking and the
consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
T.A. MGBOKWERE (Nigeria) said his country had new laws and harsh
sentences to combat drug trafficking. Legislative steps also had
been taken to ratify the 1988 Convention at the earliest
possible opportunity.
In 1987, Nigeria spent $300,000 to fight drug abuse and would
spend $2.5million this year in anti-drug activities. Nigeria
had signed a mutual assistance agreement with the United States,
and a similar agreement had been signed within the framework of
the Commonwealth. It had mutual administrative agreements with
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