From: EurasiaDigest (digest@eurasianet.org)
Date: Thu Feb 02 2006 - 17:17:31 EST
AFGHANISTAN LAUNCHES COUNTERNARCOTICS STRATEGY
Afghan Counternarcotics Minister Habibullah Qaderi and the executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Antonio Maria Costa, launched Afghanistan's updated National Drug Control Strategy (NDCS) during the London conference on 31 January, according to a statement issued by the Afghan Ministry of Counternarcotics on 1 February. The statement said the updated NDCS reflects the need for a "cross-cutting" approach to counternarcotics efforts. The main policy goal enshrined in the NDCS is "to secure a sustainable decrease in cultivation, production, trafficking, and consumption of illicit drugs with a view to complete and sustainable elimination." The updated strategy focuses on four priority areas: law enforcement, in particular targeting traffickers; alternative livelihoods and economic development; tackling addiction; and strengthening national and provincial government institutions. The Afghan government is "determined to win" the battle against "this destructive scourge," Qaderi said in London on 1
February referring to his country's struggle with drugs. According to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, total elimination of his country's illicit narcotics problem is likely to take a decade or longer (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 31 January 2006). AT
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