UNODC Conference on Narcoterrorism: Which Proposals will Benefit India?

Delegates to the UNODC have proposed many solutions to deal with the scourge of drugs

Bryan Watt | The Wire

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Throughout the whole of 10 December 2025, many delegates have been discussing in the UNODC various methods to resolve the problem of drugs. At the start of 11 December, the delegates began debating solutions to strengthen border security.

To give context, delegates to UNODC had been debating measures to reduce narcoterrorism in all its forms. The solutions proposed may be able to reduce, but some solutions are better suited to India than others.

The first solution is providing more infrastructure to enable more efficient and effective detection of drugs during border security checks, namely, X-rays. There has been previously little information on how India conducts border checks, but given that corruption is prevalent in the law enforcement of India, it is confident to say that a lot of checks are being done by eye power alone, and are far from adequate in identifying what drug smugglers carry. It is fortunate that countries in the UNODC have agreed to have more developed countries funnel money spent to tackle the problem, ensuring that countries such as India are able to have access to cutting-edge technology to aid anti-drug efforts. Nonetheless, there are problems that will hinder its implementation. The biggest one would be the lack of elaboration on whether the UNODC or developed countries should supply more money to developing countries. In a press conference with numerous press delegates, the delegate from Russia admitted that there is no funding model, and the council is planning to discuss it. Without a credible guarantee on who is going to fund most of the initiatives, developing countries such as India would find it difficult to ascertain whether there will be enough resources given out to strengthen their borders.

The next solution is intel-sharing. Countries can choose to send in the incidents where they had seized drugs from traffickers and each incident was resolved. These incidents will be compiled into annual reports that will be published by a non-affiliated council. This initiative will be effective in enabling countries to spot patterns within drug trafficking, ensuring more effective actions against drug smuggling. However, the fact that nations do not need to share all information will prevent the successful implementation of this policy. To give an example, India is notorious for its lack of transparency, a factor which is linked to high levels of corruption in India. If India can pick and choose which cases to be sent to be analysed, then patterns in drug trafficking would not be detected.

The first solution to anti-corruption training and whistleblowing. The delegate of Pakistan, the delegate who proposed this solution, said that drug traffickers are known to pay off border security guards. This contributes to increasing the rate of drug trafficking, as border guards would now have an incentive to turn a blind eye to the smuggling of drugs. India also faces such a problem, as numerous border guards were found to be engaged in corruption. It is clear that

reducing corruption and resolving drug smuggling go hand in hand. Unfortunately, when questioned about what such anti-corruption training entails, the delegate of Pakistan had explained that the training involves reinforcing values, including what can be inferred to be loyalty to the country. Relying on the guards to police themselves is highly ineffective in reducing the corruption that fuels drug trafficking. There should be more calls for the punishment of border guards when they act corruptly

In conclusion, the solutions are a mixed bag, with some solutions working out better than others. Delegates to the UNODC should strive to debate and edit their policies, such that their implementation can lead to better outcomes in the fight against drugs, especially in India.

Bibliography

Media Scan. “Corruption at the Border: A Threat to National Security in Raxaul.” Media Scan, May 22, 2025. Accessed December 11, 2025.

https://mediascan.in/corruption-at-the-border-a-threat-to-national-security-in-raxaul/.

Global Agenda Council on India, World Economic Forum, PwC, Pranjal Sharma, Sushant Palakurthi Rao, and Elaine K. Dezenski. “Transparency for Inclusive Governance: An Assessment of India.” Report. World Economic Forum, n.d. https://baselgovernance.org/sites/default/files/2019-02/wef_gac_paci_transparencyinclusivegovernance_report_2012.pdf.

Abbasi, Awais. “India Has a Drug Problem.” International Policy Digest, March 11,

2023. https://intpolicydigest.org/the-platform/india-has-a-drug-problem/.