21/1/2005
UN Teams Up With Commission To Fight Drug Trafficking, Crime And Terror

The European Commission and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) have signed their first agreement setting out ways in which the two parties can work more closely together to tackle the problems of illicit drugs and organised crime which constitute a major threat to societies.

The agreement is a step towards enhancing international coordination and cooperation in addressing the challenges posed to development, democracy and peace worldwide, and is one of the top priorities for the United Nations as well as for the European Union, both of which have an important role to play. The agreement will improve mutual knowledge and understanding of policy and operational developments. It will facilitate the exchange of information and good practice, the dissemination of lessons learned and joint activities.

“Without a doubt, the greatest single threat today to global development, democracy and peace is transnational organized crime and the drug trafficking monopoly that keeps this sinister enterprise rolling,” UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa said yesterday in Brussels, Belgium, of the joint commitment with the EC.

He called it a “clear recognition of the links between drugs, organized crime and terrorism, and our shared responsibility to combat this immediate, three-dimensional threat.”

The agreement reflects a renewed determination to increase common efforts and provide joint financing for projects aimed at preventing and controlling drug addiction, production and trafficking – problems both organizations agree must be viewed in the larger context of organized crime, especially in developing countries.

“Organized crime continues to rely on billions of narco-dollars to fund a host of heinous enterprises – from child trafficking to prostitution to arms smuggling, and wholesale efforts to sabotage legal institutions and democratic governments across the world via invasive, systemic corruption,” Mr. Costa said.