International Day against Drug Abuse and Illegal Trafficking

Underscoring the link between illicit drugs and violence, corruption and terrorism, the United Nations ‎chief has urged the people of the world to fight illicit drugs and work to promote opportunities ‎through ‎equitable ‎and sustainable development.  ‎‎ ‎UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon made the ‎appeal in his message for the UN's International Day against Drug Abuse and Illegal Trafficking, marked on ‎June 26, Friday.  

Noting the deadly harm to ‎communities and individuals caused by drug trafficking ‎and drug abuse, Ban said “we must consider alternatives to criminalization and ‎incarceration of people ‎who use drugs, and focus criminal justice efforts on those involved in supply.   ‎"We should increase the ‎focus on public health, prevention, treatment and care, as well as on economic, ‎social and cultural ‎strategies."‎  "A balanced approach to the problem," he said, "recognizes the close connections between ‎those who traffic in drugs and criminal networks ‎involved in firearms smuggling, kidnapping, human ‎trafficking and other crimes." Efforts against illicit drugs must be connected to our work to promote ‎opportunities through equitable ‎and sustainable development, he said, adding, "We must continually strive to make the ‎weak and fragile stronger." ‎(Source: UN)