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Cambodia Prepares for New Fight: the Intellectual War Against Drugs and Crime

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Cambodia Prepares for New Fight: the Intellectual War Against Drugs and Crime ODCCP Eastern Horizons News on the fi ght against drugs and crime No. 8 in East Asia and the Pacifi c December 2001 Cambodia Prepares For New Fight: The Intellectual War Against Drugs And Crime Myanmar Stars Against Drugs International Day Against Drug Abuse And Illicit Traffi cking A Time For Leadership In The Fight Against The HIV Epidemic Business And Labour Responds To HIV/AIDS Targetting Illicit Profi ts Goes To Scale The Marginalisation Of Substance-abusing Street Children FIGHTING AGAINST DRUGS Cambodia Prepares for New Fight: THE INTELLECTUAL WAR Against Drugs and Crime P.M. Hun Sen met ODCCP delegation on 26 September Following the terrorist attacks of 4 to the deep-sea port of Sihanoukville and September 11, 2001, in the U.S.A., the Road Number 5 to Northwest Cambodia borders of Afghanistan have been closed and onwards to Thailand, are all likely to to all forms of trade, both legal and see a dramatic increase in illicit drug move- illegal. Consequently, it is possible that ments in the coming months as the impact the production and traffi cking of illicit of Afghanistan’s isolation hits hard on the drugs in the Golden Crescent, which drug production and traffi cking gangs. The includes Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, on-going rehabilitation of the road linking will move to other areas of the world, in Phnom Penh with Koh Kong and the Thai particular to the Golden Triangle. Province of Trat is also certain to see a large increase in the fl ow of drugs. he Golden Triangle, which encom- passes Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and At a meeting held in Phnom Penh with the Yunnan Province of China, has UNDCP Representative for East Asia and T used with permission. Maps courtesy of www.theodora.com/maps, already undertaken efforts – with the assis- the Pacifi c, Dr. Sandro Calvani, on Septem- tance of the UNDCP – to clamp down on ment and judiciary. All the indicators point ber 26, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen both drug production and traffi cking. Due to the likely attempt by drug traffi ckers stated unequivocally that the Cambodian to such efforts to increase interdiction, to try to increasingly use Cambodia as a Government is committed to doing ‘what- especially in Thailand, it is clear that the major highway for their deadly cargo. The ever it takes’ to stop the drug traffi ckers. transnational organized crime gangs will River Mekong and Road Number 7 that seek easier routes to get their illegal prod- run down the eastern side of Cambodia to Hun Sen noted that many and varied ucts to market, both within the region and Phnom Penh, the capital, are considered resources were required to beat the drug globally. as one of the most likely routes for a sub- traffi ckers in this ‘intellectual war’. Dr. Cal- stantial increase in drug traffi cking in the vani gave the Prime Minister his assurance Cambodia has, for some time, been near future. that the ODCCP, having now established regarded as the ‘weak link’ amongst the an offi ce within the country, would be an countries of South East Asia due to its lack Well established traffi cking routes down active partner to help the development of human and fi nancial resources as well Cambodia’s Road Number 1 from Phnom of the National Authority for Combating as endemic corruption in its law enforce- Penh to Southern Vietnam, Road Number Drugs (NACD) and in establishing an effec- “ Cambodian Government is committed to doing “whatever it takes” to stop the drug traffi ckers ” 2 UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL DRUG CONTROL PROGRAMME FIGHTING AGAINST DRUGS MOVING FROM TALK TO ACTION Parliamentarians’ Drug Control Summit TO BE HELD IN JAPAN IN 2002 The Federation of Japanese one was held in Bolivia in February 2001. standing of the situation, to exchange views Parliamentarians, the Government of At the Bolivia meeting Japan expressed its and experiences, and to discuss action Japan, and UNDCP are jointly intention to host the 2002 meeting. to be taken. Each subject will be intro- organizing the International Drug duced by legislative or executive experts Control Summit in Tokyo in April 2002. The 2002 Conference will be the fi rst one after which national legislators explore the to be held in Asia. The conference will topics through open dialogue. his will be the fi fth drug control duly focus on the mounting problem to the summit organized for parliamentar- region and to the world: the increase in the It is hoped that the conference will be an Tians. The fi rst International Drug supply and the demand of Amphetamine- opportunity for parliamentarians to start Control Summit took place in Scotland, type Stimulants (ATS) and other synthetic taking appropriate, concrete steps. Their United Kingdom initiated by members of drugs. action in their capacity as advocates and the European Parliament in 1998. The legislatures is critical to address the bottle- second conference took place in Austria, The conference will gather parliamentari- necks which prevent the implementation and the third in the United States. For ans and members of congress and drug of previously agreed action and to tackle the fi rst time a delegation of Japanese control policymakers/offi cials of executive the problems of ATS which threaten human parliamentarians attended the Washington offi ces from East Asia, as well as partici- security in the region and elsewhere. meeting, after which the Federation of Jap- pants from Europe and the Americas and anese Parliamentarians’ desire to tackle international organizations. The aim of the –Narumi Yamada, UNDCP, Bangkok the drug problems was awakened. The last conference will be to increase the under- tive drug control programme throughout Cambodia. Getting to Know the Laws Dr. Calvani also met with the Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the NACD, Sar Kheng, at which the Cambodian Govern- THE UNDCP/LAS LEGAL BRIEF ment’s priorities were further outlined. The As of 1996, the UNDCP Legal previous quarter, organized alphabeti- top priority is that of demand reduction edu- Advisory Section (LAS) in Vienna cally in a columnar format which offers an cation, awareness and prevention activities circulates a noteworthy newsletter easy overview. A compilation of the Legal followed by the development of an effec- named “The Legal Brief”. Brief issues produced between 1996 and tive and effi cient law enforcement capabil- 1999 was prepared and distributed in ity. The third priority of the Government is f you want to read about all the latest early October 2001. that of creating operational drug treatment in the Law of Drugs in a simple, lay lan- and rehabilitation facilities in the country. Iguage, this is what you have to look for. It is hoped that the Legal Brief will be The Legal Brief contains summaries of available online in early 2002. In the In his discussions, Dr. Calvani noted that the legislation enacted by Governments meantime, electronic (Word 97) and hard the Cambodian Government’s priorities in the fi eld of drug control. copies can be obtained via the ODCCP and those of the ODCCP were very similar Headquarters in Vienna. and that this bodes well for a cooperative The Legal Brief started as an internal partnership over the coming years. The information tool for UNDCP/ODCCP staff. There is, moreover, an online legal library, Cambodian Government has, through its It has, however, gone beyond its original which contains electronic national legisla- unequivocal statements at the very high- goal and is now shared with interna- tion published in the E/NL series from 1990 est levels, declared war on those who seek tional, inter-governmental organizations, to 1999. Still in force legislation published to use Cambodia as a route for the traffi ck- research institutions, etc., with an inter- prior to 1990 is currently being added. The ing of drugs and also against those who est in drug-control matters. Library is available at the Treaty and Legal are already trying to infl ict suffering upon Affairs/Legilsation link at ODCCP’s web site: the people of Cambodia through the pro- For the moment, The Legal Brief is only http://www.odccp.org duction and sale of illicit drugs, especially issued in English, on a quarterly basis. Methamphetamine, within the country. Such regular quarterly issues contain – Gerassimos Fourlanos, UNDCP, Bangkok national legislation published during the –Graham Shaw, UN/ODCCP, Phnom Penh EASTERN HORIZONS • DECEMBER 2001 3 FIGHTING AGAINST DRUGS Responding on the fact that drugs are making their ugly entry intro the Myanmar society and that drug abuse Myanmar STARS is on the rise, is not an easy task. They are called opium and heroin, but also “yaba” and have already created havoc in neighbouring countries. Myanmar, Against Drugs a major drug producer, will not much longer continue to escape the global drug-consumption trends. What do concerned citizens do to prevent the spread of drug use? How does the society react to this increasingly alarming phenomenon? ecently, in a bid to give an answer to these and other questions the RUnited Nations International Drug Control Programme launched a new initia- tive by the name of “Stars against Drugs”. Youth is the most vulnerable group. But, at the same time, this group is also subject to the strong power of persuasion emanating from its idols. With the support of popular national celeb- rities and in the presence of over 25 national and international media repre- Launch of the campaign “Stars against Drugs” sentatives, this launching ceremony was designed to have a strong anti-drug mes- a self-selected core group, comprising admired singer, a legendary actress, the sage delivered by those who are regarded celebrities such as a popular rock star, an energetic manager of one of the most as role models by the youngsters.
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