Afghanistan, Iran, Serbia, Albania Pinpointed As Key Trouble-Spots.
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Apart from the EU member states and the European Commission, the Dublin Group also includes Norway, the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The Dublin Group, which meets twice yearly, made its recommendations following a meeting in Brussels on June 21 hosted by the Belgian Presidency. The Group has pinpointed the world’s trouble spots and suggested ways of stemming drugs production, combating the trafficker and reducing the demand for drugs. Eastern Europe. “Unfortunately, few things have changed” over the past year in Serbia and Montenegro, the conclusions say. Policing needs to be better, a witness protection programme introduced and a co-operation agreement with the EU police office Europol concluded. In Albania, greater political will is needed to tackle corruption in the police and judiciary. And while Tirana has ratified international drugs conventions, it is not implementing them properly. More transparency is also needed in destroying seized drugs and the problem of drug addiction needs to be addressed. In Romania, the priority should be to dismantle the drug-trafficking networks. As for Russia, the conclusions call for its anti-HIV/AIDS programmes to be enhanced, especially ones based on education rather than law enforcement. Asia. In Afghanistan, the world’s biggest heroin supplier, the government has made “commendable” progress but needs to be given more help to stop drug cultivation and trafficking, the group says. Pakistan needs to boost its anti-narcotics force from 1,600 to 3,000 officers, while India and China need help in tightening up their anti-money laundering laws. The government in Cambodia’s limited capacity makes it hard to fight drug-trafficking and reduce the use of amphetamines among its youth. By contrast, the authorities in Laos have had success in drastically reducing opium cultivation and preventing amphetamine abuse. Myanmar (Burma), something of a pariah state because of its repressive regime, needs assistance in providing former opium poppy growers with alternative livelihoods and in reducing HIV transmission rates. Canada told the Dublin Group it was not yet willing to assist the government. EU-Iran co-operation developing. While no solid aid pledges were given by the EU to Iran at the July 15 meeting in Brussels, a follow-up session scheduled for November 8 may lead to a “commitment to action” document being adopted. Helping Iran fight drugs would have a knock-on benefit for Europe as most drugs produced in Afghanistan are trafficked through Iran and from there they usually arrive in Europe via Turkey and the Balkans. Iranian officials told the EU their needs, which include phone-tapping equipment, mobile X-ray gates for checking vehicles, body scanners for detecting swallowed drugs and radar systems for border controls. The Iranians said they were aware that providing equipment like reconnaissance planes for screening border and mountain areas could be problematic for the EU given that Iran could use them for other purposes. Any pledges made by the EU are likely to be linked to the talks on Iran’s nuclear programme, which are about to enter a make-or-break phase. 290 tonnes of drugs were seized in Iran in 2004, the main cause of which was the rise in opium production in Afghanistan. Iran has some 2 million drug addicts out of a population of 67 million, compared to an estimated 1.2 million problem drug users in the EU, which has a population of 450 million. |