franceUNODC

Gabby Reta Period 3 UNODC Migrant Smuggling
 * Background:** Migrant smuggling is the illegal entry of a person into a country in which they are not a resident. Criminals exploit immigrants to fuel corruption and expand organized crime. The criminals that are affiliated with the smuggling gather huge profits that go towards the support of other illegal activities and businesses. No one knows exactly how many people have been smuggled or the routes that are used. However there is evidence that the numbers have decreased due to more secure border control. The immigrants that have been smuggled haven’t been kidnapped, they put themselves in the hands of smugglers to enter countries that they are not residents of. In exchange for getting them across the border, they pay the smugglers. Smugglers can guide them across the border or provide fake paperwork that will allow them to enter the country. The worry that is caused by the act of the smuggling isn’t about the illegal immigrants themselves, but the strength of organized crime. Virtually every country in the world is affected by this problem, and something needs to be done.


 * UN Involvement:** The United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime handles this problem. The UNODC has issued the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land and Sea. It aims to assist all states, whether they are effective or developing, to have the correct response to migrant smuggling. The UNODC’s response to smuggling is to prevent and combat the smuggling of migrants, protect the rights of those who have been smuggled, and promote the cooperation between states. The UNODC assists states in brining justification with the Protocol and develops an effective criminal justice response to migrant smuggling.


 * Country Policy:** France’s policy on migrant smuggling is that it needs to stop immediately. France has problems with citizens smuggling immigrants from Africa. Recently 21 Kenyans have drowned while trying to enter France illegally. Africans come to France because they are looking for a better life than they had. They want jobs and a place to live, and most importantly, a stable government. France is trying to secure their borders so it is harder for people to cross them illegally. They also want to make a harsher punishment for French citizens that make counterfeit paperwork.

 [] [] [] Opium in Afghanistan **Background:** Afghanistan generates the most opium in the world, more than any other country by far. It gains 4 billion dollars illegally from the sale of it and is its biggest export. Afghanistan produces 90% of the world’s supply of heroin. 61% of Afghani land is poppy fields where the opium is grown. That 10 times as much as cocoa. Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran are a big drug trafficking zone known as the “Golden Crescent”. In 2007 Afghanistan harvested 8,200 tons of opium. The production of opium has increased every year since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. The problem with this drug trade is that it is so common, that people feel comfortable taking a part in it. The farmers of the opium also take some of it home for themselves and split it with many other families.
 * Solutions:** France believes that the two main ways of stopping illegal immigration are to secure the borders and have a harsher punishment for those who make fake government papers. Criminals are less likely to risk smuggling if the punishment is very strict. Also, if there are more officials cracking down on the criminals then they know they are more likely to be caught and less likely to commit the crimes. France is looking forward working with other countries to solve this worldwide problem.
 * Bibliography**:[]


 * UN Involvement:** The UNODC is dealing with this problem. There isn’t much that the UN can do in this situation because Afghanistan is its own country and it has its own government. The UNODC is against the production of any illegal drug and is going to do anything it can to stop it. During the Cold War, the U.S. was investigating the opium scene but was forced to back out of it when the Cold War became too time and money consuming.


 * Country Policy:** France is looking to stop the opium production because heroin has become somewhat of a problem. They are looking to stop drug problems all over the world, as well as France. We believe that it isn’t ethical for a country’s major export to be an illegal substance, and the country shouldn’t make so much money off of it either.
 * Solutions: **The only way Afghanistan will stop producing heroin is if they are forced to. Why would they stop of their own free will, after they have had such a benefit from it? The UNODC needs to talk to Afghanistan about all the negative points of farming the opium. Then, maybe they will consider it.

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 * Bibliography:** http://www.usnews.com/blogs/news-desk/2008/2/6/another-huge-opium-harvest-in-afghanistan.html
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