COOPERATION IN
DRUGS AND NARCOTICS CONTROL)
During the period under review, efforts
continued to be effected to prevent and control
the problems of use and trafficking in illicit drugs
in the region. The alarming increase of cases of
AIDS in the region and its proven close relation-
ship with intravenous drug-taking habits port-
rays the drug problem in a new perspective.
However, ASEAN cooperation in drugs and
narcotics control continued to be beset by the
lack of financial supports for those projects
already approved for implementation.
2 The 13th Meeting of the ASEAN Senior
Officials on Drug Matters (ASOD) was held in
Bandar Seri Begawan, on 3 - 6 September 1990.
In reviewing the activities implemented over
the past year, the Meeting lamented on the
conspicuous slackening of financial support for
drug preventive education programme which is
the main thrust if the drug problem is to be
contained. In view of this situations, the Meeting
decided that those drug preventive education
projects which had not been implemented since
it was approved as far back as 1985 would be
incorporated and repackaged as an ASEAN
Three-Year Plan of Action in Drug Preventive
Education. The Philippines had agreed to under-
take the exercise and table it at the 14th Meeting
of ASOD in 1991 in Jakarta.
3 The Period under review saw only five
regional drug prevention and control activities
being carried out. These were:
a. The Training Workshop for Drug Law
Enforcement Officers; 5 - 16 November
1990
b. The Seminar of Forfeiture and Seizure
of Assets; 28 January - 1 February 1991
c. The ASEAN-EC Experts Seminar on
Preventive Education, 25 February - 1
March 1991, Manila
d. The ASEAN-EC Experts Seminar on
Treatment and Rehabilitation, 17 - 21
June 1991, Kuala Lumpur;
e. The ASEAN-New Zealand Training in
Detection and Investigation, 10 June -
August 1991, Singapore.
(The Preparatory Meeting for the
Seminar in (c) and (d) was held at the
ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta on 21-22
September 1990.)
f. The ASEAN Training and Handling
of Narcotics Detector Dogs, held in
Singapore (New Zealand's assistance).
4 All these activities were parts of long-term
drug prevention and control projects. The
Second Training Course for Forensic Chemist
under the ASEAN-EC Research and Detection of
Drugs in Body Fluids which was scheduled to be
held at the ASEAN Research Training Centre in
Singapore in February 1991 was not able to be
implemented due to the non-arrival of the
necessary funds from the EC.
5 Despite the decrease in the number of
projects and activities for regional cooperation
in the fields of drug prevention and control,
national activities continue to be implemented,
Bilateral and trilateral cooperative measures
among ASEAN Countries have also been carried
out for further strengthened in the joint efforts at
preventing and controlling the menace.
6 Pursuant to the EC's new guidelines for
cooperation with developing countries in Latin
America and Asia, it was decided that 10% of the
total allocation of the EC's budget assistance
amounting to 2,750 million ECU will be spent on
environment, particularly for the protection of
tropical forest, and the fight against drug abuse.
For more information, please refer to the
project details