Iran: Resolving global drug problems requires int’l determination
TEHRAN(Basirat): Iran’s Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said resolving the global drug problems requires international determination as well as expansion of cooperation, regardless of political issues.
Rahmani Fazli made the remarks during the 61st session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) that opened in the Vienna International Center on Monday, IRNA reported.
He emphasized that Tehran supports the UN commission as the main policy-making organization on the issues related to the drugs.
Rahmani Fazli pointed to the necessity of cooperation between the countries, especially the destination countries and regional and international organizations with the countries which are on the frontline of war on drugs.
Referring to the Iran’s successful experience in its fight against drug traffickers, the Iranian interior minister said that Tehran is ready to cooperate with the commission’s member states to root out the "sinister phenomenon”.
About 100 delegations of the UN member states, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations attended the event in Vienna.
The preparation for the high-level meeting on the Review of the Implementation of the UN Political Declaration and Plan of Action on Drugs in March 2019 is the priority for this session.
Participants of the meeting plans to discuss the key aspects of the world drug problem: drug prevention, drug abuse treatment, fight against drug trafficking and money laundering, law enforcement cooperation, alternative development programs.
The CND plans to give special attention to new narcotic drugs and psychoactive substances. It is expected that twelve such substances will be placed under international control.
Iran, which has a 900-kilometer common border with Afghanistan, has been used as the main conduit for smuggling Afghan drugs to narcotics kingpins in Europe.
On Sunday, Iranian forces managed to capture a major haul of opium destined for a country in Western Europe. More than 250 kilograms of opium in a trailer truck were seized.
Despite high economic and human costs, the Islamic Republic has been actively fighting drug-trafficking over the past decades.
The country has spent more than $700 million on sealing its borders and preventing the transit of narcotics destined for European, Arab and Central Asian countries.
The war on drug trade originating from Afghanistan has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers over the past four decades.
Source:Irandailynews
