President Leonel Fernández in the name of his government and the Dominican people declared "an ‘all out’ war, a war that we will win, against the most serious threat ever faced by mankind: the global plague of drugs" during his address at the United Nations General Assembly special session on drugs. The Drug Summit, held 8-10 June, is the largest multilateral gathering ever held on combating illegal drug trafficking and abuse. It is attended by representatives of 185 countries, including 35 heads of state and government. In his speech, President Fernández pointed out that while the DR does not produce drugs and consumption is only 2%, its geographic location as center of the Caribbean and on the same island with Haiti make it especially vulnerable to the illicit drug trade. The DR is increasingly being used as an alternate route for South American drugs after US drug combating efforts have been effective at reducing trafficking from Mexico to the US. The South Americans ship the drugs to Haiti and from there these are transported by land to the DR for shipment to Puerto Rico and then onwards to the United States. "Due to the vulnerability that our border with Haiti presents, the Armed Forces and the National Bureau for Drugs Control have taken steps to raise the levels of vigilance in the zone." "In this regard," he said, "a military and anti-narcotics personnel reinforcement has been ordered in place along the Dominican-Haitian border, as well as a specialized training of the military men that have been assigned to detecting and identifying narcotics on the border line. He explained that new technologies will be used to facilitate the work of Dominican authorities along the border zone. The President explained that "at the same time, we have sustained coordination contacts with the Haitian authorities, having in mind facing the problem in a joint fashion. In regards to the foregoing, during the next few days, I will meet with the Honorable President of Haiti to analyze, among other topics, this critical problem that affects both our nations." Moreover, President Fernández said that major efforts are underway to prevent the increase of drug consumption. He said that Dominicans could fall prey to drug trafficking marketing efforts due to the expansion of the economy, the increase of the buying power of certain segments of the population and external cultural influences. He also said that the drug traffickers will need new markets to make up for loss of market share in the US due to the intensifying of the drug prevention campaigns there. President Clinton has announced a US$2 billion campaign. On the positive side, there could be a trickle down effect of the US prevention campaign in the DR, such as occurred with smoking cigarettes. President Fernández stated on another hand that throughout the ten years of its existence, the National Bureau for Drugs Control has seized the amount of 19,713.6 kilos of cocaine. He said that last year, 1997, a total of 1,224.9 kilos were confiscated, and from January to May of the current year, an additional 1,221.5 kilos, which is equivalent to almost the totality seized the year before. He highlighted that the strengthening of the judiciary, with the appointment of new judges, will make it more likely that drug traffickers are processed and penalized. He warranted that "we have extradited -and sustain our will to continue to extradite- those renowned criminals." He also stated that his government has been collaborating "actively with the authorities of other countries and with international organisms in different aspects of this fight, particularly by sharing information and by way of joint training operations." Other speakers at the conferenceIn the opening address at the UN conference, President Bill Clinton of the United States called for nations to stop bickering over whether blame for international drug trafficking lies with countries that demand drugs or those that supply them. "Pointing fingers is distracting," Clinton said. "It does not dismantle a single cartel, help a single addict, prevent a single child from trying – and perhaps dying – from heroin. Besides, the lines between countries that are supply countries, demand countries and transit countries are increasingly blurred. Drugs are every nation’s problem." "No nation is so large and powerful that it can conquer drugs alone. None is too small to make a difference. All share a responsibility to take up the battle," Clinton said. "Therefore, we will stand as one against this threat to our security and our future." Clinton announced the US will be launching a $2 billion, five-year media campaign against drugs in the United States, targeting young people with a message that "drugs destroy young lives, don’t let it destroy yours." Similar campaigns will be launched in Mexico, Venezuela and Brazil funded by the government, businesses and philanthropic organizations. Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo later criticized the United States for its anti-drug tactics, and called for a balanced strategy "so that no one can become the judge of others and no one feels entitled to violate other countries’ laws for the sake of enforcing its own." UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called the drug scourge "a tragic reality" and appealed to member nations to work seriously on finding common ground on fighting drugs. "It is my hope that when historians study the work of humankind in drug control they will write about the next few days as the point at which this trend was reversed," Annan said. "We must never give in to the human toll illegal drugs are taking on our societies." Voicing a sentiment shared by other nations, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said an international anti-drug effort must also focus on real rehabilitation for addicts, rather than "the repressive approach based on imprisonment." At the conference, discussions revolved around finding solutions to the problems posed by amphetamines and stimulants; and to identify specific timetables to strengthen and harmonize member states’ laws on money laundering, extradition of drug traffickers, and the sharing of information on drug cartels. World statesmen speaking at the event were: His Excellency Mr. William J. Clinton, President of the United States of America. His Excellency Mr. Ernesto Zedillo, President of the United Mexican States. His Excellency Mr. Jorge Fernando Branco de Sampaio, President of the Portuguese Republic. His Excellency The Honorable Romano Prodi, Prime Minister of the Italian Republic. His Excellency Mr. Hugo Banzer Suárez, Constitutional President of the Republic of Bolivia. His Excellency Mr. Jacques Chirac, President of the French Republic. His Excellency Mr. Miguel Angel Rodríguez, Constitutional President of the Republic of Costa Rica. His Excellency Mr. Carlos Saúl Menem, President of the Argentine Republic. His Excellency Mr. Leonel Fernández Reyna, President of the Dominican Republic. His Excellency Mr. Jules Albert Wijdenbosch, President of the Republic of Suriname. His Excellency Mr. Fernando Henrique Cardoso, President of the Federative Republic of Brazil. His Excellency The Honorable Dr. Denzil Douglas, Prime Minister and Minister for National Security, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Planning and Information of Saint Kitts and Nevis. His Excellency Mr. José María Aznar, President of the Government of the Kingdom of Spain. His Excellency Mr. Luo Gan, State Counsellor of China. His Excellency Mr. John Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. On the Drug Summit in generalThe Drug Summit marks a critical new juncture in the global fight against drug supply and demand. The summit was organized by the United Nations International Drug Control Program (UNDCP), a Vienna-based agency that operates mostly through voluntary contributions. The program serves as a catalyst and coordinator for international efforts against illicit drug supply and demand. Headed by Under-Secretary-General Pino Arlacchi, UNDCP has been described as "a multilateral program that works". For the first time, national leaders from throughout the world came together to agree to: the first truly global strategy to control drugs; the first international agreement on demand reduction; and the goal of substantially reducing and eventually eradicating the illicit cultivation of opium, coca and other narcotic crops in the next 10 years. According to Mr. Arlacchi, who also serves as Executive Director of the United Nations International Drug Control Program and the United Nations Office of Drug Control and Crime Prevention, "narcotics and organized crime are the major threats to the world in the next century. With the involvement of so many world leaders, we now have an opportunity for the first time to meet a global threat with a global response". Leaders at the United Nations point to several reasons why the Drug Summit represents an unprecedented historic opportunity, including: the erosion of East-West and North-South barriers to cooperation, the blurring of previous policy differences between "producing" and "consuming" nations; and a strong commitment on the part of United Nations members to attack the illicit drug trade in a balanced way, striving to reduce supply and demand simultaneously. They also cite advances in enforcement technology, including satellite monitoring, and the willingness of member states to share the knowledge they have gained from successful domestic campaigns against drug traffickers. "This is a fight that can be won, given the political will illustrated by the international community’s participation in this Drug Summit", said Mr. Arlacchi, who previously served as a leading strategist in the Italian Government’s successful campaign against organized crime. "Global coca leaf and opium poppy acreage totals an area less than half the size of Puerto Rico. There is no reason it cannot be eliminated in little more than a decade. The Drug Summit sets benchmarks for nations, and the international community will hold each State accountable for its commitments."
