The fight against drugs

Under the Framework of the United Nations

1. France’s action supports multilateral approaches in all appropriate fora, first and foremost the United Nations. France intervenes in particular through the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, an interstate body reporting to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and the UN Office against Drugs and Crime (UNODC, Vienna), a specialized United Nations agency. The latter develops international standards in the field of narcotics and conducts regular assessments of the threat posed by the cultivation and trafficking of narcotics in the world, with the aim to develop assistance programs (for prevention, upgrading legislation, and alternative crops), and even possible sanctions. It is also responsible for several regional programs combating drugs and drug addiction (Paris Pact combating Afghan heroin, ECOWAS Regional Plan of Action adopted in December 2008 in Praia, etc.). France provides major funding for the UNODC and supports its actions in three areas: combating drug trafficking (especially in Afghanistan and West Africa), implementing the Palermo and Merida Conventions and preventing terrorism (particularly in the Sahel-Saharan region).

In so far as drug trafficking and organized crime have an impact on peace and security, France favors increased international community mobilization on these issues and coordination between the United Nations in New York and the UNODC. This approach was illustrated in 2009 and 2010 with the organization of a thematic debate on “drug trafficking as a threat to international security” on December 8th, 2009 by Burkina Faso and a briefing from the Executive Director of the UNODC before the Council during the French presidency of the United Nations Security Council (February 24th, 2010).

2. We also work with the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), established by the UN conventions on controlling narcotic drugs to ensure the implementation of their provisions by States Parties. Through its normative and statistical activities, the INCB helps control the farming, production, manufacture, and use of narcotics and monitors the legal trade in narcotics.

In Paris in May 2003, in partnership with UNODC, France hosted a ministerial conference on “Drug Routes from Central Asia to Europe” welcoming representatives from 55 states and 14 international organizations. After the conference, participants pledged to tackle this problem in all its aspects. France is particularly involved in monitoring the commitments of this Paris Pact provided by the UNODC. The expert roundtables that have taken place since then have analyzed the main trends, identified the strengths and weaknesses of the fight against trafficking and made recommendations. France remains a major contributor with the Russian Federation and the United States to the Paris Pact and holds an annual meeting of experts. In 2009, a roundtable regarding the heroin routes from Afghanistan to Western Europe was held. This year (November 2010), France is organizing a roundtable on the fight against diverting chemical precursors (essential for manufacturing narcotics). Finally, a ministerial conference dedicated to launching Paris Pact Phase III (programs over the 2010-2012 period) is to be hosted in Vienna in February 2011 by the Russian Federation.

One of the lines of action for combating heroin coming from Afghanistan is the fight against diverting precursor chemicals. On July 11th, 2008, at France’s initiative, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted Resolution 1817 regarding combating trafficking in precursor chemicals used for processing heroin from opium. During the International Conference in Support of Afghanistan held on June 12th, 2008 the French president stressed the importance of the resolution, sponsored by Afghanistan, the United States, Russia, and the European members of the UNSC (United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium, and Croatia). This text marks the first instance in which the Security Council has been seized of the matter in the fight against drug trafficking and acknowledged that it is a threat to peace and stability.

Outside the UN Framework

1. Within the European Union (EU), France participates in several working groups, the main one being the Horizontal Working Party on Drugs. In the field combating narcotics, they work to establish common policies (the EU strategy currently being adopted covers the period 2005-2012 and the EU Action Plan against drugs for the period 2009-2012), to harmonize the legislation in Member States, to coordinate and enhance the EU’s external action against drug trafficking. In particular, the EU provides the most UNODC funding and operates at the forefront against cocaine trafficking from Latin America, which is increasingly destabilizing West Africa. Finally, a major partner in building a common space of security, freedom and justice, France participates actively in developing Europol’s role as the “European Police Office” institutionalized by the Treaty on the European Union signed in 1992.

More recently, France initiated the European Pact to Combat International Drug Trafficking, adopted by the EU interior ministers on June 3rd, 2010. This Pact is threefold: combating the flow of cocaine through West Africa, the Atlantic, and the Mediterranean, combating the flow of heroin through Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Balkans, and trafficking in precursor chemicals; lastly, identifying, seizing, and confiscating criminal assets. Eventually, it will take the issue of cannabis and synthetic drugs into account. The Pact’s goal is to improve law enforcement authorities’ operational capacity in EU countries using existing tools and so moving towards networking analytical, information, and interception tools. It is to be implemented between 2010 and 2012.

2. France participates in the Dublin Group, an informal mechanism for consultation and coordination dealing with global, regional, and national aspects in the fight against drugs. The Dublin Group brings together the main donors in the fight against drugs (EU Member States, USA, Canada, Japan, and Norway). France has chaired the Group for two years beginning on January 1st, 2009 and is very active in regional and local groups observing the situation in host countries in the fight against narcotics and maintaining a dialogue with them. The next Dublin Group meeting will be held on September 14th, 2010 in Brussels.

Operational international Cooperation

1. France also supports several regional organizations combating drug trafficking, such as CARICC, an organization of several Central Asian countries for improving coordination of their actions against opiate trafficking from Afghanistan. France also works regularly with the SECI (Southeast European Cooperative Initiative Regional Center for Combating Cross-border Crime, Bucharest), whose one of the main areas of activity is combating narcotics.

2. At the operational level, several structures have been established in recent years. First, the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centers: in 2007, seven EU member states (including France, who proposed this project in 2005) also established the Maritime Analysis and Operations Center - Narcotics (MAOC-N). This is a monitoring and information exchange body for combating drug trafficking in the Atlantic, based in Lisbon and designed to intercept traffickers by deploying troops and police forces at the right time. MAOC-N’s staff consists of liaison officers from police and customs, naval officers, and legal professionals from the participating countries, as well as officers from Europol and the armed forces from the US Joint Interagency Taskforce as observers. MAOC-N is also open to the 20 other EU member states. In 18 months of operation, MAOC-N has provided for seizing nearly 30 tons of cocaine. France has proposed replicating this experience in the Mediterranean region with the establishment of the CECLAD-M.

In addition, in 2009, two intelligence platforms were set up in Dakar (within the French Embassy) and Accra whose shared analytical and intelligence gathering with participating liaison officers provides for more effective action in terms of interception. These platforms are also designed, under the framework of the European Pact against Narcotics, to work more closely with Europol and the Maritime Interception Operations Centers.

Updated: 09.10