United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (UNODCCP)

History of the UNODCCP

The United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (UNODCCP) is a global leader in the fight against illicit drugs and international crime.

UNODCCP is the umbrella organization that makes up the United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), founded in 1991, and the Centre for International Crime Prevention (CICP), established in 1997. It also includes the Terrorism Prevention Branch and the Global Programmes against Money Laundering, Corruption, Organized Crime and Trafficking in Human Beings.

ODCCP has approximately 350 staff members worldwide. Its headquarters are in Vienna and it has 22 Field Offices as well as Liaison Offices in New York and Brussels. ODCCP relies on voluntary contributions, mainly from governments, for 90 per cent of its budget.

Mandate of the UNODCCP

The United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) works to educate the world about the dangers of drug abuse. This programme aims to strengthen international action against drug production, trafficking and drug-related crime through alternative development projects, crop monitoring and anti-money laundering programmes. UNDCP also provides accurate statistics through the Global Assessment Programme and helps to draft legislation and train judicial officials as part of its Legal Assistance Programme.

The Centre for International Crime Prevention (CICP) is the United Nations office responsible for crime prevention, criminal justice and criminal law reform. The CICP works with Member States to strengthen the rule of law, promote stable and viable criminal justice systems and combat the growing threat of transnational organized crime.

UNODCCP in Kyrgyzstan

UN ODCCP in its activities in Kyrgyzstan is following the major directions of its global mandate.

These directions cover:

• development of drug control capacities in supply reduction, demand reduction and poverty eradication;
• assistance in development and implementation of strategy in the area of criminal justice and transnational organized crime prevention; and
• support of the national efforts in developing anti-drug legislation and in bringing the existing one into line with international standards.

UNODCCP (before 1997 UNDCP) has been operating in Kyrgyzstan since 1994. Its first project in the country was the "Institution Building and Improvement of Control Measures in Kyrgyzstan", completed in 2000. The project contributed considerably to the establishment and development of the State Drug Control Commission under the Government of Kyrgyzstan, which became a major coordinating body in the area of drug control activities in the country.

ODCCP participated also in the implementation of two other projects - "Promotion of Community Based Development for Poverty Reduction in Kyrgyzstan" and "Prevention of HIV/AIDS Transmission among Drug Users", completed in 1999 and 2000 respectively.

In 1997-2000 ODCCP had successfully implemented in Kyrgyzstan, along with neighboring Central Asian countries, regional projects "Mapping the Extent of Illicit Cultivation in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan" and "Strengthening Law Enforcement Capacities and Cross Border Cooperation in the Central Asian Sub-region (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan)". Implementation of the first one allowed identifying places and areas of drug cultivation as well as to produce high quality, modern maps, reflecting status of such cultivation. But the major achievement was the development of the national capacity to monitor drugs cultivation in the country in the future.

As a result of the second project's implementation, law enforcement agencies in southern provinces, most exposed to drug trafficking, were provided with communication, drug testing and some other types of equipment. Considerable number of their officers went through extensive training in the areas of drug control techniques and in the use of modern equipment. Rather close cooperation between the Kyrgyz law enforcement units and their counterparts in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan could be considered as the most valuable output of the project implementation.

The overall amount of the finance resources delivered through the above projects in Kyrgyzstan in 1994-2000 was about USD 1,800,000.

Currently, ODCCP is implementing several projects of a regional scale. The largest among them is "Precursors Control in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan)." This project is also a part of the overall efforts to suppress the illicit drug trafficking and goes in line with the Articles 12 and 13 of the 1988 Convention which require States to Apply effective control measures to prevent the diversion of precursors and other materials and equipment from legitimate sources for illicit production or manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.

On the basis of the level of drug control activities achieved in the country by these projects implementation and the assessment of the new realities in the areas of drug trafficking and drug abuse ODCCP was able to work out and start the next cycle of its programme for Kyrgyzstan in 2000.

This cycle presents a compilation of the supply reduction related projects strongly focused on the thoroughly selected objectives, and a heavy tilt towards demand reduction and public awareness goals. It has been designed in a way, which promotes regional and more wide international cooperation in various aspects of drug control.

Moreover, ODCCP provides legal assistance to lawyers, journalists, judges, parliamentarians and other relevant stakeholders so that they can better deal with the issues of drugs and crime. ODCCP also strives to collect information on the extent and nature of the drug abuse and drug related problems as well as at setting up a sustainable data collection and dissemination capacity and system. The objective is to reduce demand in drugs.

Kyrgyzstan, which is a signatory to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime of 2000, has also signed the related project on the "Assessment of Organized Crime in Central Asia." Its implementation is foreseen in years 2001-2002. This action oriented research project aims at a comprehensive showing of trends and patterns in organized crime activities in the region, known not only to be involving illicit drug trafficking, but also smuggling and trafficking of people, firearms, explosives, etc.

ODCCP has its sub-office in Bishkek which reports directly to the ODCCP Regional Office in Tashkent.

The Old Silk Road - The Old Silk Road, the famous trading corridor from Asia to Western Europe, once brought prosperity and wealth to those along its trail. It now also brings grief and suffering in the form of opium and heroin. The borders along the trail are new. Until 1991, many of the countries along the trail were part of the Soviet Union. Today they are independent countries, forced to defend long borders and address new problems. "The authorities are overwhelmed. 'We have no equipment or money' reports one border control agent who was echoing an often-heard complaint. Customs control is often a hut at the side of the road. There are no computers, no telephones and no power. 'Take our radios, for instance, they don't work. Our cars don't go and we don't have money for repairs.' To find hidden drugs he relies heavily upon intuition and luck." ODCCP finances and facilitates many projects that assist border control officers around the world to intercept drugs and drug traffickers. It also develops regional strategies and brokers agreements to ensure that countries are cooperating fully with each other at both the strategic and operational levels.

For more information you can visit www.undcp.org

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