30/03/2022
El objetivo de la 7º fase de CADAP es reducir la demanda de drogas entre los grupos vulnerables a través de un enfoque basado en el género y los derechos humanos
Drug use and trafficking of illicit substances is a global problem, but particularly affects some regions such as Central Asia. Nearly 80% of global opiate seizures in 2020 took place in Asia. That is where 90% of the world’s illicit opium supply is produced, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). To address this situation, FIIAPP and the National Plan on Drugs have joined forces in an international public cooperation project: the 7th phase of the Central Asia Drug Abatement Program (CADAP). The aim of the European project is to develop policies that reduce drug demand and combat illicit drug trafficking and related crimes.
More than a hundred people participated today in the presentation event, including the main beneficiary agencies, embassies of Central Asian countries, EU Member States and international organizations working on security and drug reduction.
Mercedes Millán, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim in the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Tajikistan, Jorge Urbiola López from Montenegro, highlighted at the event the mobilization of knowledge and experience of the National Plan on Drugs of our country and other European institutions through the FIIAPP, and stressed that “CADAP 7 reflects the continuity of the EU’s long-term commitment to Central Asian partners to help strengthen their national drug demand reduction plans and to continue cooperating in the development of integrated and balanced drug policies”.
The Deputy Director General for Institutional Relations of the Government Delegation for the National Plan on Drugs (DGPNSD), Elena Álvarez Martín, presented the role of the Plan in the international arena, insisting on the need to work in a context of international collaboration, and shared the approach to addiction policies in Spain based on a public health perspective, which is based on respect for Human Rights, the principles of equity and universality, and the necessary proportionality of the legal-penal consequences of related crimes.
The EU Deputy Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, Raimonds Vingris, stressed that stability and security are priorities in the new European Strategy for Central Asia: “The EU will seek new ways to intensify cooperation with the region to combat organized crime, trafficking of migrants and illicit substances. The EU will continue to cooperate to develop an integrated and balanced drug demand reduction policy while tackling supply and related organized crime,” he said. Europe is the second region in the world in terms of substance use. The EU has made a major effort in recent years to combat the entry of illicit substances into its territory. With the CADAP program, the EU has supported the governments of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in implementing measures to reduce drug demand and promoting prevention initiatives, but also improving the treatment of drug users in Central Asia by public institutions.
“FIIAPP will continue to cooperate with Central Asian countries to ensure the reduction of drug use, organized crime and related crimes. In the coming years, we will continue to mobilize specialists from Spanish and European institutions and exchange experiences to support the governments of the countries in the region in combating the drug problem, always with a gender perspective,” said Peggy Martinello, FIIAPP’s Director of Social Affairs and Public Administration.
In the aftermath of covid, drug use and trafficking have undergone changes, and their effects may be favoring the expansion of drug markets, while at the same time they may have reduced access to treatment for many people. The new phase, which will run until 2024, aims to continue drug demand reduction policies among vulnerable groups with a gender and human rights-based approach. The program will also focus on new psychoactive substances, attention to migrants and drug use among young people, and will analyze the consequences of the pandemic on drug trafficking and consumption in Central Asian countries.
