TOP UN ANTI-DRUG OFFICIAL SEES 'SIGNS OF PROGRESS' IN GLOBAL FIGHT AGAINST
ILLICIT DRUGS

IRNA -- World governments and local communities have achieved promising
results in the fight against illicit drugs by introducing innovative crop
development strategies that give farmers an alternative to cultivating
poppy and cocoa plants, the United Nations top anti-drug official said.

As the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs opened its forty-sixth session in
Vienna Tuesday, Antonio Maria Costa, the Executive Director of the UN
Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), introduced a mid-term progress report
which examines whether the international community is on track to reduce
illicit drug production, trafficking and abuse, said a press release by the
United Nations Information Center here on Wednesday.

The Commission is the central UN policy-making body dealing with
drug-related issues. This year's session, set to run through April 17, will
feature a ministerial segment, marking the first five-year milestone for
Member States to review their achievements and the commitments made in 1998
at the twentieth special session of the General Assembly on the
international drug problem.

During that summit in New York, more than 150 countries promised to achieve
significant and measurable results to reduce the illicit supply and demand
for drugs by 2008.

Introducing his report to the Commission today, Costa said that in recent
years, efforts to reduce abuse of illicit drugs have shown signs of progress.

Based on reports from governments -- and for this year's session, 117
governments have submitted responses to an UNODC biennial questionnaire --
the action plans and measures adopted in 1998 served as a catalyst for
action in implementation of the international drug control treaties.

Costa said that, in recent years, a large number of governments have
incorporated demand reduction into their strategies to deal with drugs, and
have also launched information campaigns on drugs. "Now they see their
national efforts integrated in -- and supported by -- the global strategy
against illicit drugs," he said.

Citing 'encouraging progress towards still distant goals," Costa emphasized
the positive experiences in four major elements of the international drug
policy -- overall drug control policies, demand reduction, supply reduction
and international cooperation. Here, he urged governments to work together
in the fight against drugs, warning, "Otherwise, problems are only pushed
around, from one country to another, in a zero-sum game."

During its deliberations, the Commission will also discuss new challenges
encountered in recent years, including the dramatic increase in injecting
drug use-related HIV/AIDS cases -- especially along drug trafficking routes
- -- as well as the worldwide spread of synthetic drugs.