Download 2017_GA2_1_1

FORUM: General Assembly (2nd Committee)
QUESTION OF: Combatting the trafficking of illegal drugs in Southeast Asia
SUBMITTED BY: United Kingdom
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
Bearing in mind that as defined by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC),
drug trafficking is the illegal cultivation, manufacture, distribution, and sale of drugs and other
relevant substances,
Deeply concerned by the fact that illegal drug abuse negatively affects the individuals
themselves, their families and friends, the society, and the government, according to the National
Drug Intelligence Center,
Alarmed by the proliferation of the global and Southeast Asian drug market, with over 400 tons
of heroin being bought and sold every year,
Noting with deep concern that the cultivation of opium in the Golden Triangle, a region in Asia
that is known for producing vast amounts of opium, has tripled since 2006, according to a recent
UN report,
Emphasizing the importance of helping farmers and individuals in rural areas find alternative
methods to maintain daily sustenance other than by cultivating opium or other drugs that are
extremely appealing due to the rate at which they can be produced and their high-income
potential,
Affirming the significant role border control and cooperation between neighboring countries will
play in ensuring there will be less transnational drug trafficking in the future,
1. Requests for actions from organizations such as UNODC and the United Nations
International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) to be made to spread awareness to
the citizens in Southeast Asian nations, especially adolescents, particularly about the
effects of the production and the use of illicit drugs, by:
a. implementing an educational program of tri-annual lessons in schools regarding
illicit drugs, for students of all ages, focusing particularly on:
i.
the importance of abiding to local laws
ii. the consequences of acting negligently in the face of these laws
iii. the different varieties of illicit drugs
iv.
the effects illicit drugs have on the human body
b. requesting broadcasting networks to raise awareness through programs that add an
element of realism to the issue, such as but not limited to:
i.
ii.
documentaries about the lives of the drug crop farmers and addicts
PSAs or radio broadcasts about the effects of illegal drugs, and locations
of treatment and rehabilitation centers;
2. Recommends Southeast Asian nations to improve the quality of facilities and treatment
processes in drug treatment centers by:
a. inviting the policy advisor of the United Nations Office for Project Services
(UNOPS) to help update old laws, especially the 1993 Narcotics Drugs and
Psychotropic Substance Law, to make them more relevant for the conditions of
the status quo and enhance the practicality of drug-related laws to be more region
specific
b. permitting relevant organizations, such as the UNODC and the World Health
Organization (WHO), to conduct biannual, sporadic examinations of the quality
of primarily medical institutions
c. ensuring all medical institutions have capable doctors, psychologists, and
counselors, some of which lack the necessary expertise to help reintegrate
substance abuse victims back into society, by giving a number of experts of
pertinent organizations, such as UNICEF, the UNODC, and the International
Association of Rehabilitation Professionals (IARP), the task of:
i.
creating digital training packages that instruct local counselors and health
experts about how to deal with patients according to their level of drug
addiction
ii. hosting educational seminars in specific regions without access to the
digital training packages to instruct the local health experts in person;
3. Calls upon the UNODC and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to work
collaboratively to hold annual conventions and workshops for the officers from Border
Liaison Offices (BLOs) and other security branches of every Southeast Asian nation for
the purpose of:
a. occasionally equipping them with only the most essential digital tools, software,
or systems, such as portable field tablets or the Case Management and
Information System (CMIS), that will be in use within urban and rural trading
ports, supplied by the UNODC
b. training officers with hands-on, digital exercises that will make them more
familiar with the technology they need to be able to use to not only identify a
crime, but collect, analyze, and share information pertaining to border activity
c. discussing inefficiencies in the communication between two or more parties in
response to previous incidents of unsuccessful coordination regarding
international imports and exports
d. finding new avenues to improve the communication between neighboring
governments and increase the monitoring of the borders with possible new
security regulations, while continuing the flow of commerce
e. evaluating local law enforcement agencies in their use of resources so that they
are effectively working towards reducing overall drug trafficking in the area of
jurisdiction;
4. Invites the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and
the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) to work collaboratively to
expand infrastructure with the condition that farmers producing illegal drug crops agree
to halt production of such crops, in order to:
a. formulate a strategic plan for the coverage and the sequence in which specific
regions in Southeast Asian nations are going to be helped
b. construct more roads, allowing farmers to export products, travel to more urban
areas of the region, and access public institutions, such as educational or healthrelated ones
c. supply farmers with machines pertaining to agriculture, such as tractors and
trucks, that will give the farmers the ability to plant, cultivate, and transport crops
at a more efficient rate
d. assist farmers in abandoning of drug crop farms in a safe and orderly manner after
the organization's experts deem the farms will be able to maintain sustenance for
the time being during the transition, with regular audits to confirm the
abandonment of drug crops
e. conduct annual research about the conditions of the environment in Southeast
Asian nations, such as the soil and air quality, for the purpose of formulating
updated theories regarding which type of crop will be most suitable to the given
environment in Southeast Asia and to the farmers cultivating the land;
5. Calls for an annual conference with Southeast Asian nations, the heads of some of the
largest organizations that deal with issues pertaining to drugs, such as the UNODC, and
representatives of farmers who have previously abandoned their illicit drug crop farms in
participation, in order to:
a. give the farmers themselves an opportunity to give a first-hand account of the
situation, as government agencies and organizations often are unaware of the
hardships they actually face
b. involve these highly relevant individuals to share their viewpoints during
decision-making processes for future policies and legislation the community will
be affected by
c. draft joint statements regarding the progress made and the steps that should be
taken in the future after recognizing existent flaws in the status quo;
6. Implores for the creation of biannual conferences under the supervision of
intergovernmental organizations, such as the United Nations (UN) and the Association of
Southeast Nations (ASEAN), between the governments of certain Southeast Asian
nations, such as Myanmar, and opposition groups for the purpose of:
a. encouraging constant, regular political dialogue between the parties to build
reconciliation and national peace
b. creating a platform for discussion and negotiation about political issues rather
than only militant ones in ceasefire agreements;
7. Requests Transparency International (TI), Global Organization of Parliamentarians
Against Corruption (GOPAC), and more anti-corruption organizations to help gradually
improve anti-corruption policies in every Southeast Asian nation that will:
a. give authority to anti-corruption auditing agencies to conduct sporadic
investigations of the nation’s financial management and border control systems
b. improve the regional level of anti-corruption legal frameworks on aspects
including but not limited to:
i.
the Freedom of Information Law
ii. asset declarations
c. create centralized bank and payment account registers of public officials that will
only be accessible to anti-corruption organizations and financial intelligence units
(FIUs) when investigation is absolutely necessary
d. create a whistleblower protection system to ensure public officials do not feel the
need to remain confidants;
8. Further requests the UNODC to write periodic, detailed reports regarding the severity of
drug trafficking in each Southeast Asian nation, for the purpose of:
a. determining the intensity of the issue and certain trends that have been formed
b. analyzing the primary reason why drug trafficking is or is not declining in both
rural and urban regions of a given Southeast Asian nation
c. working in collaboration with regional think tanks to devise suitable
developmental policy recommendations using the conducted research for the
different social and political environments of the regions in each nation;
9. Requests member states in the Southeast Asia to reconsider laws and regulations for
consequences to drug trafficking and consumption through ways such as but not limited
to:
a. Implementing harsher punishments for those caught in the action of drug
trafficking or consumption of drugs
b. Pardoning drug addicts who decided to come forward and admit to drug
consumption
c. Sending those who come clean to rehabilitation centers as necessary as to ensure
they don’t return to the drug trade.