Khaddour: Some countries have used drugs as a tool to fund terrorism in Syria
The drugs problem has grown in recent years because the foreign-backed terrorist organizations have established control over some border areas and the terrorist activities of the cross-border criminal groups have escalated, Syria’s Permanent Representative to the UN Office and other International Organizations in Geneva Hasan Khaddour has stated.
“This has created a suitable environment for the transfer, smuggling and promotion of drugs and helped the terrorist organizations secure massive financial returns to fund their terrorism,” Khaddour said in a statement during the 31st session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) in Vienna, clarifying that this confirms the close relationship between terrorism, organized crime and drug trafficking.
Khaddour added that the Syrian Arab Republic is a party in most of the international instruments concerned in combating drugs, drugs trafficking and the use of drugs for nonmedical purposes, and it has been keen on modernizing its national laws to be in line with the international agreements. Syria has also exerted relentless efforts to enhance collective awareness about the danger of drugs and to build and qualify national capacities in order to consolidate the international efforts to end the global problem of drugs, he pointed out, calling for lifting the sanctions imposed on Syria.
He clarified that Syria is greatly interested in close cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna and is looking forward to witnessing more cooperation by this office in this regard, particularly in the light of the extraordinary circumstances Syria has faced since 2011 which led to the destruction of the country’s infrastructure. He explained that during the crisis in Syria the terrorist groups attacked civil status departments in several provinces and stole identity cards and passports to use them for free movement.
The Syrian diplomat renewed the Syrian government’s request during the Office’s last session for support and for providing the country with a system for issuing secure identity card, warning of the ability of the terrorists and criminals to own and use modern communication means and social media programs to carry out their crimes, to promote hate speech and human trafficking, to sell looted antiquities and to commit cyber crimes.
He called on all countries to assume their responsibilities and boost cooperation in taking necessary control and protection measures and to work with the concerned international organizations to protect the rights of the countries member in the instruments concerned in combating drugs.
He concluded by saying that the circumstances created by the war on Syria and the coercive measures imposed by the European Union and the United States on the Syrian people have resulted in wide waves of displacement of citizens who sought refuge in neighboring countries and this led to the emergence of many problems including human trafficking and to the increase of crimes. He called for drawing out an urgent plan to protect the Syrians residing in these countries and lift the sanctions imposed on Syria to help the country prepare the ground for the voluntary return of the refugees to their homeland.
Hamda Mustafa