18 April 2002

African Governments Respond To Illicit Drug Trafficking And Abuse

Vienna -- A new strategy and action plan for drug control in Africa -- which is to commit African Governments and regional organizations to stronger and more decisive action against drug trafficking and abuse -- will be the main focus of the Ministerial Meeting on Drug Control in Africa, to be held May 6-11 in Yamoussoukro, Cote d'Ivoire.

This, according to the U.N. Office of Drug Control and Crime Prevention which made the announcement April 15, will be the first ever Ministerial Meeting on Drug Control in Africa organized by the Organization for African Unity (OAU) and hosted by the Government of Cote d'Ivoire.

Several international organizations and donors, the announcement notes, have pledged support to the OAU for this meeting. The United Nations International Drug Control Program (UNDCP) works directly with the OAU secretariat in the preparation of the conference and an exhibition on drugs in Africa during the meeting.

Three recent incidents highlight the increasing drug trafficking and organized crime problems in Africa, the announcement notes.

On March 16, 2002, South African law enforcement authorities found, amid mustard, pepper and cans of fish, 350kg of cocaine on board a container vessel that came from Latin America through the Caribbean to Cape Town. Just two weeks later, a luxury-cruiser anchoring at Durban port was raided for suspected drug concealment. Also in March 2002, Austrian and Dutch authorities succeeded in the dismantling of African and cooperating international drug trafficking/distribution networks that operated throughout Europe and involved more than 1,500 suspects.

These cases just top up other drugs seizures, including heroin and amphetamines, reported mainly from harbors and airports throughout Southern, East and West Africa. The announcement notes that increased drug trafficking, related organized crime, and its destabilizing impact on the young democratization, stability and development process in Africa are still "neglected phenomena."

With Africa having turned into a transit and re-distribution point for cocaine from Latin America and heroin from Asia, the announcement explains, local consumption is also rising. Several East and West African countries report growing heroin abuse. Cocaine abuse is rising fast in South Africa and also becoming a problem in several other African tourist and trade regions, it adds. Injecting drug use is not yet a major cause of HIV-AIDS in Africa, the continent hit worst by the epidemic. However, initial research in major cities, like Nairobi or Lagos, suggests that the link between drug abuse and HIV-AIDS is stronger than hitherto believed. Growing drug abuse and injection could become another contributor to HIV-AIDS in Africa.

African Governments have demonstrated their commitment to intensified drug control action in the Political Declaration and Drug Control Action Plan of the Organization for African Unity (OAU) in Cameroon in 1996, and the following regional action plans for West Africa by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and for Southern Africa by the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Nevertheless, stronger action is now required to halt the worsening drug problems, a strategy of which this meeting is expected to provide.

UNDCP has been maintaining projects against drug trafficking and abuse with several African governments for the last twenty years. In response to the growing problems, the number of UNDCP Field Offices in Africa has been increased to a total of five, and the program portfolio for 2002-2003 rose to almost $15 million. Together with African officials and experts, UNDCP has also developed a proposed drug control strategy for Africa which will be the subject of discussion and review during the Ministerial Meeting in Cote d'Ivoire.

The United Nations Drug Control Program (UNDCP's) new program for Africa addresses identified drug control priorities in, mainly, the drug abuse demand reduction and law enforcement sectors. For example, a more than one million dollar seaport control project for East and Southern African ports has facilitated the recent interdiction and seizure results in these countries. For improved drug abuse demand reduction, UNDCP projects have stimulated the involvement of NGOs and local communities in drug abuse prevention and education programs in several countries. A major legal assistance project for Southern and East African countries paves the way for better prosecution of identified suspects and, in particular, for functioning regional and international judicial cooperation.

Any new OAU drug control strategy or action plan, the announcement cautions, will depend on improved international and bilateral support to Africa.

"Cooperation with African authorities against organized drug trafficking involving African networks will improve interdiction results in consumer countries and assist African countries in identifying major organizers operating from the African continent," the announcement states. "The sharing of experience and knowledge gained by Western experts, in particular the NGOs and civil society, in their drug abuse prevention and rehabilitation programs will enable African counterparts to protect their youth -- that is more than 50 percent of the almost 800 million Africans -- from growing abuse problems.

"Ultimately," the announcement warns, "it remains a shared responsibility to enable African partners to participate fully in global drug control efforts."

For further information, please contact: UNDCP Vienna, Operations Branch/Africa, 0043-1-26060-5279 (Mr. K. Kouame) 0043-1-26060-4237 (Ms. D. Thomas) INTERNATIONALES ZENTRUM WIEN POSTFACH 500, A-1400 WIEN, ��TERREICH TEL.: 26060/4666/4677 FAX: 26060-5899 Email: [email protected]