UNITED NATIONS
AGAINST DRUG MAFIA.
Russian functionary is to head the United Nations Office
on Drugs and Crime
We can hardly say that the Russian official was appointed
to such high-ranked post by a chance. Mind that
it is Russia that has recently become undoubted leader of the
emerging world-wide coalition against the spread of drugs with its
principle stronghold in Afghanistan. More than 90% of drugs that come
to the world market are produced there.
High hopes are set on Russian diplomat Yuri Fedotov, who has just
become the leader of the UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime) — one of the most important hopes in this list
is the solution of Afghan problem that is so familiar
to our country. Down to recent times Fedotov used to serve
as the Russian Ambassador to the UK — mind that during the past
years our relationship was quite complex. Now
he is in to show what he’s worth at a far more
difficult frontline.
UNODC was formed in 1997 due to the merging of United Nations
Drug Control Programme and Сenter for International Crime Prevention. The
head-quarter of this authoritative international organization
is situated in Vienna International Center alongside with the
headquarters of IAEA, United Nations Industrial Development Organization
(UNIDO) and few others. During the last seven years Italian expatriate Antonio
Maria Costa — who once used to study
in M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University — was Yuri
Fedotov’s predecessor at the post of the UNODC head. Cooperation
with the Russian Federation has been developing under his authority and
in 2007 joint program of the drug-threat confrontation was worked
out.
According to Ban Ki-moon — UN Secretary General — new Head
of the UNODC has the ultimate experience, he is perfectly aware
of international world view and of the problems that this
particular UN department is to solve. We can hardly say
that the Russian official was appointed to such high-ranked post
by a chance. Mind that it is Russia that has recently
become undoubted leader of the emerging world-wide coalition against the
spread of drugs with its principle stronghold in Afghanistan. More
than 90% of drugs that come to the world market are produced
there.
The problem essentially aggravated due to American offensive to the
territory of Afghanistan under the pretext of "extending democracy"
after terrorist attacks on the 11th of September. Freedom that the
USAF supposedly granted to Afghanis obtained quite dubious shade
of permissiveness at the legal field. Mentioning Talibs — who
actually kept relative control of opium plantations not allowing anyone
to push the boundaries — became a commonplace long time ago. And
now, thanks to the populist policy of the American military, local
population forgot how to work at all and growing mortal poppy
is the only thing they’re capable of.
Afghanistan producers smuggle drugs — among which opiates come
first — to Russia via dealers of Central Asia. And Russia
is a prisoner of the situation due to its geographical
position. As a matter of fact, the Russian Federation was turned
into the biggest heroin market of Europe. And this is indicated
in a rather deplorable statistics: according to data for the
previous year, 503 000 Russian drug-addicts were clinically registered,
while a real number of them — calculated by the UN
method — exceeds 2,5 million.
Yet another serious problem that concerns UN is the connection
of drug abuse and the increase of number of HIV-infected.
An important joint project of UNODC and Russia is directed
to support our country in its control of HIV epidemic among the
injection-drug addicts and in prisons. This project has already been
carried out in Chelyabinsk, Voronezh, Irkutsk and Moscow Oblasts,
in Republic of Tatarstan and in Perm Krai. According to the
various researches, Russia features the world’s highest number
of HIV-infected connected with the injection-drug abuse.
Besides that, 80 up to 90% of new HIV infections happen due
to intravenous drug use. The same is the situation in some
countries of Eastern Europe — for example, in the Ukraine and
in China and some other Asian countries that have never faced such
problems before. So, as the observers point out, they are not ready for
that and there are also no necessary structures to fight this issue.
Antidrug clinics also do not meet several requirements. Drug abuse and
drug addiction are considered to be a crime rather than
a disease in numerous countries. New element is emerging and
being formed — it is the recognition of connection between
drug abuse and HIV infection. New arrangements, such as providing the
clinics with sterile syringes and other equipment, become more and more
important — and not as much for struggle against drugs itself but for
struggle against HIV in a far greater degree. This is just
a single goal of the UNODC department that Yuri Fedotov has
led.
According to the Federal Service for Control of Drugs Circulation
information, 80 people die because of the drug use in Russia
on a daily basis; more than 250 people become drug-addicted.
At the same time, according to the UN information,
law-enforcement agencies make up a pretty good fight against
drugs — they intercept about 40% of heroin coming into country. Every
day approximately 10 kg of heroin are exempted — that makes
up daily heroin shot dose for more than 2 million
of drug-addicts.
According to UNODC experts, there are three components of the
anti-drugs struggle. On one hand there are drug-producers, from the other
hand there are consumers. All of them deserve pity in a certain
way. But between them there are also people who profiteer on both sides.
In Afghanistan heroin costs $1-2 per gram — compare it with $100
in Western Europe. In Russia it is $50-60 dollars
in Russia and $20-30 in Central Asia. So, there are people who take
advantage even of backbreaking peasants’ labor in Afghanistan, drug
addiction of sick and make millions of dollars on it. The
UN goal is to help the first and the second in order
to nip out the activity of the third ones. To stop the deals
of those who launder money, exploit people and control criminality.
By Maxim Nemov
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