thsnarcoticsluxembourg

Noël Hong THSMUN '08

Committee: Narcotics Topic: Drug Trafficking Country: Luxembourg

I. __Background of the Topic__:

Drug trafficking is defined as the exchange of illegal drugs, including the substances involved, and the manufacturing process. Prohibition/interdiction is established by governments to eliminate the exchange of illegal goods. Drug-trafficking continues to expand, cross-border, and internationally. The growth of drug trafficking is a result of the expanding consumer market and poverty. The costs of drugs are increasing, which is making the sale or drugs more profitable for cartels. There has been an increase in successful interceptions, yet the black market continues to produce higher amounts of illicit drugs. Some of the major drugs being traded are opium, morphine, and heroine. Afghanistan has the highest cultivation of opium.

II. __United Nations Involvement__:

Efforts directed at drug trafficking vary in different parts of the world. Groups and committees have been formed, such as the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention. Other organizations such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, were formed. The UNODC runs many projects in Latin America, Southwest Asia and Southeast Asia. They help develop policies and strategies. The UNODC supports governments to manage natural community resources. The Harrison Act, formed in 1914, was one of the first broad anti-drug laws in the United States. The United Nations International Drug Control Programme, UNDCP, estimates that drug trafficking is so quantitative, that the revenue of illegal drugs is two times the revenue of the global pharmaceutical industry.

III. __Country Policy and Involvement__:

Luxembourg has done much to halt the trade of illegal drugs. The Luxembourg Fonds de Lette contre le Trafic des Studefiants, Fund for the Fight against Drug Trafficking, was established in 1992 due to a provision of the UN COnvention Against Illicit Traffic and Psychotropic Substances in 1988. They provided a contribution of $500,000 to the UNDPC. Two agreements were recently signed for more contributions from the Luxembourg Fund to UNDCP: $73,500 for treatments and rehabilitation centers in South Africa, and $100,000 to drug abuse prevention of the UNDCP program for Iran. The Fund provided $223,600 in 1998 for the first phase of an alternative development project in Vietnam. Luxembourg is a major donor for the UNDCP. It also funds its own drug control activities in Luxembourg. The Fund supports international drug control and recently provided $300,000 to the Government of Cape Verde, in order to support their fight against illegal drug trafficking.

IV. __Solutions__:

The country of Luxembourg strongly opposes drug trafficking. We propose forming a committee called S.T.O.P., the Stop Trafficking Organizational Program. WIth this program, Luxembourg believes that the world can communicate and cooperate on means of halting illicit drug trafficking. We can raise funds to finance international drug control and treat and rehabilitate drug addicts.

V. __Bibliography:__

http://www.unodc.org/pdf/technical_series_1998-03-01_1.pdf

http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/pressrels/2000/nar682.html

http://www.drugpolicy.org/global/drugtraffick/

http://www.un.org/ga/20special/featur/launder.htm

http://un.org/News/Press/docs/1998/19980610.ga9421.html