DATE=6/5/98
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
NUMBER=5-40617
TITLE=U-N DRUG MEETING PREVIEW
BYLINE=MAX RUSTON
DATELINE=UNITED NATIONS
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: ON MONDAY (6/8), WORLD LEADERS WILL MEET AT THE UNITED
NATIONS IN NEW YORK FOR WHAT IS EXPECTED TO BE THE LARGEST
MULTI-LATERAL GATHERING EVER ON COMBATING ILLEGAL DRUG
TRAFFICKING. FROM OUR U-N BUREAU, CORRESPONDENT MAX RUSTON TELLS
US WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE THREE-DAY SPECIAL SESSION OF THE U-N
GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
TEXT: THE UNOFFICIAL THEME OF THE CONFERENCE IS "GLOBALIZATION,
THE WORLDWIDE SPREAD OF ILLEGAL DRUGS." U-N NARCOTICS EXPERTS
SAY THAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TREND IN THE TRAFFICKING OF DRUGS.
AND THEY SAY IT IS ALSO THE REASON WHY NEARLY TWO-DOZEN WORLD
LEADERS WILL TAKE PART IN THE SO-CALLED "DRUG SUMMIT" ... TO
DEVELOP A GLOBAL RESPONSE TO A GLOBAL PROBLEM.
THE CONFERENCE AGENDA FOCUSES ON TOPICS SUCH AS REDUCING THE
DEMAND FOR DRUGS, THE ELIMINATION OF ILLICIT CROPS, JUDICIAL
COOPERATION AND MONEY LAUNDERING.
THE DIRECTOR OF THE U-N INTERNATIONAL DRUG CONTROL PROGRAM, PINO
ARLACCHI, SAYS MONEY LAUNDERING IS A RELATIVELY NEW ISSUE FOR THE
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO FOCUS ON.
/// ARLACCHI ACT ///
WE THINK THE ISSUE OF BANK SECRECY AND TAX HAVENS SHOULD
BE RAISED, UPGRADED, INCLUDED INTO THE WORLD AGENDA AND
WE ARE SUPPORTED IN THIS IDEA BY THE RECENT RESULTS OF
THE BIRMINGHAM (ENGLAND) G-EIGHT SUMMIT THAT ADDRESSED
THE ISSUE IN A SIMILAR MANNER AND SUPPORTED OUR VIEW.
/// END ACT ///
MR. ARLACCHI SAYS MEASURES ARE NEEDED TO PREVENT BANK SECRECY
LAWS FROM BEING USED BY DRUG TRAFFICKERS.
THE CONFERENCE WILL ALSO DEAL WITH EFFORTS TO REDUCE THE DEMAND
FOR DRUGS. THE UNITED NATIONS ESTIMATES THERE ARE CURRENTLY
ABOUT 190-MILLION DRUG USERS AROUND THE WORLD. METHODS OF
ACHIEVING DEMAND REDUCTION HAVE BECOME CONTROVERSIAL. SOME
EXPERTS SAY LAW ENFORCEMENT POLICIES DESIGNED TO REDUCE DEMAND BY
PUNISHING DRUG USERS HAVE PROVEN UNSUCCESSFUL.
JOE MCNAMARA IS A FORMER CITY POLICE CHIEF FROM THE STATE OF
CALIFORNIA. HE NOW WORKS FOR A PRIVATELY FUNDED ORGANIZATION
THAT IS HIGHLY CRITICAL OF POLICES IN THE UNITED STATES AND OTHER
COUNTRIES THAT CRIMINALIZE THE USE OF DRUGS.
/// MCNAMARA ACT ///
WE HAVE IN FAIRNESS TO ASK THE QUESTION OF PEOPLE WHO
SUPPORT THE CURRENT POLICIES, THAT THEY SHOULD BE ASKED:
'HOW DO YOU DEFEND THESE POLICIES, GIVEN THE RESULTS
THAT EVERYONE AGREES ON THAT THEY HAVE NOT WORKED, THAT
THEY LEAD TO WHOLESALE CORRUPTION AND VIOLENCE AGAINST
THE POLICE AND BY THE POLICE, AND THEY DESTROY THE
POLICE TRUST EVERYWHERE?'
/// END ACT ///
MR. MCNAMARA IS ONE OF HUNDREDS OF REPRESENTATIVES OF PRIVATE
ORGANIZATIONS WHO HOPE TO HAVE THEIR VOICES HEARD AT THE U-N DRUG
CONFERENCE. HE SAYS DRUG USE SHOULD BE SEEN AS A HEALTH PROBLEM,
NOT A CRIMINAL ONE.
POLICIES AIMED AT DRUG-PRODUCING COUNTRIES WILL ALSO BE EXAMINED
AT THE CONFERENCE, IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE THEM MORE EFFECTIVE. MR.
ARLACCHI SAYS THE UNITED NATIONS SUPPORTS A SHIFT IN POLICY AWAY
FROM THE SIMPLE ERADICATION OF ILLICIT CROPS, TO STRATEGIES THAT
PROVIDE GROWERS WITH ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF INCOME.
/// ARLACCHI ACT ///
OUR STRATEGY IN PRODUCING COUNTRIES IS ALTERNATIVE
DEVELOPMENT. IT MEANS PROVIDING FARMERS THAT CULTIVATE
ILLEGAL CROPS WITH VIABLE ALTERNATIVES IN TERMS OF
INCOME BUT MOST OF ALL IN TERMS OF BETTER QUALITY OF
LIFE.
/// END ACT ///
CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS SAY THEY HOPE TO SET A NUMBER OF TARGETS
DURING THE CONFERENCE. THEY SAY WITHIN THE NEXT DECADE, THEY
HOPE TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS POSED BY SO-CALLED "DESIGNER"
DRUGS AND TO -- IN THEIR WORDS -- HARMONIZE AND FORMALIZE
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ON MONEY LAUNDERING, EXTRADITION OF
DRUG TRAFFICKERS AND THE SHARING OF INFORMATION. (SIGNED)
NEB/UN/MPR/LSF/RRM
05-Jun-98 3:48 PM EDT (1948 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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