[Editorial] Controlling the flow of drugs across borders seems to be the main focus of the UNODC

Rochelle Tanujoyo | The Hankyoreh

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The press conference with the delegates of the UNODC reveals their first priority of securing borders globally before moving on to preventative measures and stopping production.

Today marks the third day of committee sessions for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) focused on the question of Narcoterrorism. Narcoterrorism is the relationship between drug traffickers and terrorist organisations. Members of terrorist organisations protect drug traffickers and drug traffickers fund terrorists. This system is a cycle that funds transnational crime and violent ideologies like fascism.

The delegates in the UNODC have come up with a four-pronged approach to narco terrorism. Training border personnel in the use of X-rays, profiling and more, information sharing about the incidents in each country, the development of technological infrastructure and anti-corruption. Though they have yet to discuss methods of rehabilitation and preventative measures for citizens, some delegates have mentioned their own potential proposals. The UNODC currently has no legal jurisdiction, and cases will be tackled by local governments.

In the recent Press conference, the delegate of Russia has stated that securing each country's border was first on their list before stopping production and other forms. This, however, limits each country to having to deal with internal threats independently unless bilateral agreements are made for countries to provide support for other countries. Delegating the issues to each country limits the effectiveness of the approach, simultaneously enabling narcoterrorism to fester, turning into a domestic issue.

While it is true that securing borders can be the most effective way to stop international narcotics trafficking, international cooperation internally is still needed to fully ensure that narcoterrorism can be stopped.

To do so, delegates have also brought up the use of regional hubs in order to train personnel in anti-corruption and the use of equipment like X-rays. The regional hubs can be used for the communication of information. The delegate of Pakistan has also proposed a bi-annual intelligence report on narcoterrorism from each country, while important incidents can be reported on separately but still be included. The intelligence report can be used to spot patterns in data, and the information can be used to further tighten security in trafficking hotspots. For lesser developed countries, it has been suggested that they can have their data analysed by more developed countries.

While the topic has not been brought up in debate yet, the delegate of Laos has suggested a mobile anti-drug campaign to educate people. The personnel in the campaign would be ex-offenders and people who are educated in drug trafficking. This can help to prevent people from going on the wrong path and becoming drug traffickers. These solutions can stop the flow of drugs around the world from producer nations to consumer nations, but fail to address the production of drugs. Current proposals are limited to border control, and also require money, personnel and equipment. Some less developed countries may not be able to fully execute these solutions. Hence, there should be a fund distributed by the regional hubs to each country to ensure all countries are able to partake in the solution.

Korea currently has one of the strictest policies on drugs, and the UNODC’s tighter border controls may help to prevent smuggling in drugs from abroad. However, does this really solve the problem? Drug smuggling stems from people wanting to consume drugs, and ex-offenders who are unable to earn money from any other sources will also turn to drug smuggling. Preventive measures like education and rehabilitative campaigns may be more effective than further tightening regulations.

UNODC’s proposal is likely to be effective at controlling the flow of drugs across borders. The focus on expanding access to such measures to less developed countries will help to ensure that globally there will be less profit made off drugs. However, there should still be more preventative measures that can reduce the demand and flow of drugs.