(INA) publishes the text of the final statement of the first Baghdad International Drug Control Conference

INA-  Baghdad

The Iraqi News Agency (INA) publishes Wednesday, the text of the final statement of the first Baghdad International Drug Control Conference.

The final statement of the conference, which was received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), stated that "under the slogan ((With cooperation and unity of purpose we eliminate drugs)) and at the generous invitation of the Minister of Interior of the Republic of Iraq Abdul Amir Kamel Al-Shammari, the first Baghdad International Drug Control Conference was held from 9 to 10 May 2023."

The participants in the conference expressed "high gratitude and appreciation to the government and people of the Republic of Iraq and to the Ministry of Interior in particular for the good organization of the activities of the first Baghdad International Drug Control Conference and the provision of all facilities for the success of this conference," stressing "what was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly at its twentieth special session in 1998, according to which under it, the member states confirmed its commitment to address the drug problem through the implementation of national and international strategies to reduce the illicit demand and supply of drugs, as well as the United Nations strategy to combat illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.”

The statement added that "the participants agreed that drug trafficking and smuggling lead to high rates of crimes and the formation of organized criminal groups outside the law, which contributes to increasing violence, threatening public stability and undermining the elements of peace, internal security and the rule of law," noting that "there is an urgent need to follow a participatory approach to confront drugs, which requires harnessing the efforts of the security services, civil society organizations and other relevant official agencies for the purpose of confronting this serious scourge.”

The statement stressed "the need for joint cooperation and strategic planning between counter-narcotics agencies regionally and globally to prosecute those involved in crimes of illicit drug trafficking and hit smuggling lines that pass through our countries."

It added that "there are many recommendations agreed upon by the meeting that will strengthen the fight against drugs, the most important of which are: holding periodic meetings for the heads of drug control agencies to determine the results of the measures implemented in the face of the drug phenomenon, presenting obstacles and challenges to the workflow and benefiting from the lessons learned to develop and improve methods to address this dangerous scourge.

It stressed "the need to implement targeted media campaigns and invest the abundance of satellite channels, the best investment in the field of awareness and the establishment of training courses for media professionals to activate the role of media institutions and unify the media message in the field of drug control and demand reduction."