By Hassan Ibrahim Conteh
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) has held a one-day consultative conference aimed at combating drug abuse in the country.
The consultation was a response by African countries, including Sierra Leone, to the call by the United Nations Special Session of the General Assembly (UNGASS) to review Africa’s old drug laws and adopt an effective drug control system. The proposed session of UN member states on drug law and human rights issues is expected to take place in April this year in New York.
UNGASS has revealed that Africa is increasingly becoming a “commercial hub” of drug production and consumption and that many countries in the world has also faced problems of illicit drug trafficking, money laundering, migration and human trafficking. It also noted that profits derived from the sale of narcotics were negatively impacting on African economies as the poorest states’ value of trafficked drugs exceeds their countries’ national income.
The UN body has attributed the spate of drug trafficking to weak criminal justice systems in member states, ineffective law enforcement mechanism, and high rate of urbanisation, among other factors.
Amid these actors, UNGASS has called for immediate commitment to strengthen international cooperation to support regional and national effort to address the challenges.
UNGASS urged African governments not to see the purchasers of the drugs as “criminals” but the “manufacturers” and “suppliers” since the drugs trade would result into a rich, powerful and illegal drug market.
Minister of Internal Affairs, Joseph Bandabla Dauda, said at the consultative forum convened at the Miatta Conference Hall in Freetown that the views contained in the the country’s position paper on UNGASS was in consonance with the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063, with the theme: ‘The Africa we want.’
“The hosting of this forum is a manifestation of that tenet,’’ he said.
The Minister told the audience that the action plans of the AU and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) were designed to respond to emerging issues associated with drug control and related crime prevention. He highlighted recommendations in the AU and ECOWAS action plans relating to a more effective border patrol and inter-agency cooperation on drug as well as the need to channel more resources to the drug fight.
“The ECOWAS Plan of Action provides that countries should create programmes for families and communities and promote alternatives to those whose vulnerabilities make them susceptible to engaging in illicit drug production,” the Minister said. He added that three international conventions had been ratified by most countries but that they paid attention only to the formulation of drug policies and programmes and enactment of laws that criminalise the possession of drugs.
OSIWA provided 90% of the funds to co-host the forum on Tuesday. The global civil society organization is active in 10 countries in the region (Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone) and focuses on law, justice and human rights and economic and political governance.
OSIWA said it found out that West Africa was increasingly becoming a hub in the global drugs trade particularly through the shipment of narcotics from Latin America through West African to Europe. In January 2013, the West African Commission on Drugs (WACD) was set up to discuss drug –related issues and their impact on governance in West Africa. Organized crime syndicates are also operating in West Africa leading to substantial increase in local production and consumption of drugs. It said these would pose a serious threat to governance, peace and stability, economic growth and public health in the sub region.
WACD, in June 2014, launched a report entitled ‘’Not Just in Transit: Drugs, the State and Society in West Africa.’’ That report suggested series of evidence –based recommendations for drug policies across the region.
‘’At a time of dynamic drug policy reform debates and developments around the world-especially in Europe and in the American - the West Africa Commission on Drugs report is timely for the region,’’ Joe Hindovei Pemagbi, country officer OSIWA, said at the conference.
The organization suggests that the active participation of CSOs is highly important to ensure that the WACD’s findings and recommendations are implemented, promoted and monitored at the national and regional level.
Mr Pemagbi told the conference that OSIWA had provided grants to the University of Legon, Ghana to complement its ongoing effort to capacitate civil societies groups in order to meaningfully contribute to the fight against drugs and related crimes in West Africa.
A draft communiqué was presented at the end of the conference.
Part of the recommendations was that there should be a rehabilitation centre for the treatment of drug affected persons. It also recommended increasing the price of drugs and drug taxation in line with alcohol contents.
(C) Politico 03/0316
