Interview: UN drug, crime office chief believes sustainable development could curb illicit drug production

As the world drug problem is closely connected with sustainable development, paths could found to reduce illicit drug production in some regions by pushing forward economic development, Yury Fedotov, the chief of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) told Xinhua.

The theme of UNODC's 2016 world drug report is about the role of sustainable development in dealing with the world drug problem, Fedotov said.

"There is a very clear connection" between the two, the executive director said.

He noted the drug trade in Afghanistan precisely illustrated this relation.

"Sustainable development can support the eradication of illicit drugs because farmers in Afghanistan, may be psychologically prepared to move from illicit crops to licit crops, but they don't have sustainable markets for this production, no one is buying their fruits and vegetables. There are no roads, no bridges, no markets," he noted.

He said the situation in other countries was similar, such as the one in Myanmar where in some remote or mountainous regions, farmers also have difficulties selling normal crops and have to cultivate illicit drugs to make a living.

"With drugs there are drug dealers, they are coming, they are offering cash, they are taking everything and farmers don't have to worry about their future," he said.

The UNODC head said there had been some progress made in Afghanistan, in which small industries had been built to process fruit and vegetables to help farmers gain access to a good market.

Some progress had also been made in Latin America, where in major cocaine producing areas, UNODC was supporting programs to reduce this phenomenon.

"But we need to do more, for that we need more funds," Fedotov stressed.

In the past years, UNODC, together with other partners, has been trying to support farmers to grow alternative crops with many success stories in the above-mentioned regions.

"If we make important efforts to develop countries, to provide alternatives to people, in terms of job creation, either in agriculture or some small industry, it can immediately have an impact on cultivation and production of illicit drugs," he noted.

Proof of this was evident in Thailand where they succeeded to entirely eradicate all illicit cultivation of the opium poppy 10 years ago, because of very meaningful alternative development programs for farmers.

For this to work elsewhere, three things were needed, he said.

"First of all, strong political commitment at a national level, and strong support at an international level, and sufficient finances for that. If all these components are there, we can count on the success in eradicating illicit cultivations," Fedotov stressed.

There is still a lot of work to be done to promote sustainable development in many less-developed regions in the world to find the way out of the drug economy which has lasted for many years.

"We need to establish a clear international policy in support of countries like Myanmar and Afghanistan, and that requires more efforts in sustainable development of these countries. Building roads, infrastructure, creating new markets, other jobs not necessarily in agriculture, that is the only way we can solve this problem," he said.

The UNODC's chief concern was drugs providing the main funding source for insurgents, rebels, and the Taliban in Afghanistan, as most of the drugs are produced in provinces under their control.

"They can finance their activities, their insurgency, through selling drugs and getting enormous benefits. In accordance with some estimates, the Taliban can get up to 200 million U.S. dollars a year from drug lords to support their activities," he said.

According to UNODC's report, published in May, Afghanistan remains the world's largest opium producer, accounting for some 70 percent of global production.

After the war in Afghanistan broke out in 2001, the drug problem seemed to worsen, and the average annual production of opium seemed to grow due to a lack of strong governance in the country, resulting in some regions of the country becoming economically dependent on drugs, he said.

"I would say safely about 20 to 25 percent of GDP of this country consists of production of drugs," saying it was possibly "the only economic activity in Afghanistan that works well," he said.

The UNODC chief said that to combat the complex drug problem worldwide, drug policies should put people first.

"As long as demand for drugs continues, there will be always supply. That's why we need to address the world drug problem from another angle ... the prevention, treatment, rehabilitation ... people first. We need to pay more attention to human beings, on all continents, and save them from the deadly impact of drugs," he said.

The office's 2016 report shows the world drug problem has remained grave in the past years. Around five percent of the adult population, nearly 250 million people between the ages of 15 and 64, used at least one drug in 2014.

Meanwhile, the number of people classified as suffering from drug use disorders has increased disproportionally for the first time in six years. There are now over 29 million people within this category (compared to the previous figure of 27 million). Endit