Syria is keen on taking actions to prevent illicit drug trafficking, says Ambassador Khaddour

VIENNA, Mar.14, ( ST)-Syria’s permanent representative to the United Nations in Vienna, Ambassador Hasan Khaddour has asserted that Syria is a state party to most of the principal international instruments on combating drug and illicit trafficking and is concerned about taking meaningful actions to prevent such non-medical usage.

During his speech at the 66th session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) held in Vienna, Ambassador Khaddour said that the unilateral coercive measures and other sanctions are among the key challenges affecting Syria’s efforts to combat illicit narcotic drugs, preventing the access to technology use for hunting captagon producers and trafficking networks.

He added that Syria has been long struggling with cross-border drug trafficking through its borders among countries of origin and destination.This problem has increased recently due to the terrorists taking control over a number of the border areas, creating an appropriate atmosphere to transport narcotics and obtaining financial returns to fund such terrorist organizations.

The ambassador expressed his deep concern over the ability of terrorist and criminal elements to innovate new methods for smuggling narcotic substances, through their possession of modern technical means and huge financial revenues resulting from illegal drug trafficking.

He called for concerted international efforts and effective cooperation to confront this danger through continuous exchange for relevant information, and ensuring assistance to develop technical capacities and laboratory equipment that Syria has not been able to update since 2011 due to the unilateral coercive measures imposed on it, in addition to ensuring modern detection devices to control borders.

Khaddour pointed out that Syria shares the concern expressed about the legalization of cannabis for non-medical purposes by some countries in violation of the three international drug conventions, and in contradiction to the collective efforts of the international community to implement the 2009 Political Declaration and the results of the 2016 General Assembly Special Session meeting.

It is noteworthy that the Vienna-based Narcotics Committee is holding its 66th session from the 13th to the 17th of this March in cooperation with the International Narcotics Control Board, to work on combating the global drug problem.

Basma Qaddour