Chinese state councilor calls for partnerships to advance drug control

Chinese State Councilor Guo Shengkun proposed building "partnerships of win-win cooperation to jointly advance drug control efforts" at Tuesday's UN General Assembly special session on world drug problem.

Noting that the partnerships should be based on equality and mutual benefit, Guo said that it is important that countries honor the principle of sovereign equality as enshrined in the UN Charter and avoid injecting political factors into anti-narcotics efforts or using drug control as a pretext to interfere in other countries' internal affairs.

The international community should embrace a mindset of win-win cooperation, forge global partnerships and build a community of shared destiny for mankind in combating the drug problem, he noted.

On improving the drug control system, he said that while international drug control agencies need to play a leading role, the producer, transit or consumer countries as well as those affected by the drug menace should share the responsibility of narcotics control.

It is also important to mobilize and involve international organizations, NGOs and civil society in countering the drug problem so as to create a situation where drug control agencies play a leading role, national governments share the responsibility, and the whole society gets actively involved, Guo added.

The State Councilor also called for pursuing an integrated and balanced drug control strategy in line with national conditions and forming standardized, practical and efficient operation mechanisms.

In particular, countries should carry out joint actions to combat drug-related crimes, step up international and regional law enforcement cooperation, and establish standardized, practical and efficient mechanisms on intelligence sharing, case-based cooperation, anti-money laundering and mutual legal assistance, he said.

As for China's fight against the drug problem, Guo shared recent progress.

"For years, we have carried out the people's campaign against drugs and achieved notable progress. In the past decade, we have cracked down on more than 1 million cases of drug crime and seized 751 tons of drugs," he said.

Moreover, Guo noted that the Chinese government is firmly committed to fighting drugs and that China will continue to support the work of UN anti-narcotic agencies, take an active part in international and regional cooperation and jointly combat relevant transnational crimes.

"We stand ready to work with the international community to build partnership for mutual benefit, advance the cause of drug control, and work tirelessly for the health, safety and well-being of mankind," he said.

Guo also met with Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Paiboon Khumchaya, Justice Minister of Thailand, among others on Tuesday.

The 30th Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on the World Drug Problem, which runs till Thursday, includes a plenary meeting and five separate multi-stakeholder roundtable sessions.

At the special session on Tuesday, the UN General Assembly adopted an outcome document to tackle the emerging challenges in fight against illicit drug use. Enditem