Regional anti-drug body proposed

dubai — Participants at the 12th Hemaya International Forum discussed drug issues that are currently plaguing the country.

The forum, held with the theme ‘Regional and National role to control simulators’ specifically focused on the menace of captagon and amphetamines in the UAE.

The forum “recommended the establishment of a Arab observatory body to identify patterns and trends in the spread of narcotic drugs and medical psychotropic and mental synthetic drug, and linked to base data which serves all the institutions to contain the spread of new drugs”.

It also recommended inviting the Arab states who are not members of the UN’s “early warning system” to join and take advantage of the data and monitoring system information, to plan and strategise their fight against drugs.

Arab unrest and drugs

Countries like Iraq and Syria with worsening security scenarios, and other countries like Lebanon and Jordan are the transit areas for the exit of captagon shipments to other Arab countries — particularly the Gulf states, the forum heard. A large number of captagon seizures have also been made in neighbouring Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Container control

Other recommendations by the participants included organising training workshops on the importance of adherence and benefitting from the UN and World Customs Organisation’s programme on “container control” to promote land, air and maritime border protection and enhancing devices’ capabilities.

A team from the UAE should also cooperate with the Arab Office for Drugs Affairs, and the GCCCriminal Information Centre to Combat Drugs (GCC-CICCD), to share their experience of the “drug imprint” circulated among Arab countries, and to benefit from Arab legal and legislative mechanisms.

amira@khaleejtimes.com