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☆ UN Urges Measures to Stop Arms Trafficking Fueling Haiti's Gang Wars
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Sarah Morland(Reuters) - The head of the United Nation's drugs and crime office on Thursday warned of a "vicious cycle" of arms trafficking to increasingly powerful Haitian gangs, fueling an internal conflict and worsening violence across the Caribbean. "It's more important than ever to take every measure possible to prevent illicit flows," the UNODC's executive director, Ghada Waly, told a U.N. Security Council meeting, saying arms trafficking and gang activity were feeding off each other. A recent UNODC report found that most illegal firearms seized in Haiti came from the United States, notably Florida, Arizona, Georgia, Texas and California. After the Dominican Republic shut its border with Haiti, smugglers were turning to more remote routes including clandestine airstrips, the report said. No date has been set for deployment, which Haiti requested in October 2022.

Persons: Sarah Morland, Ghada Waly, U.N, Robert Wood, Kenya's, Tirana Hassan, Hassan, Jose de la, Michelle Nichols, Leslie Adler Organizations: Reuters, Security, Taurus, Glock, Beretta, Smith, Wesson, Kenyan, Rights Watch, Tirana Locations: Haiti, United States, Florida , Arizona, Georgia, Texas, California, Caribbean, U.S, Dominican Republic, Ecuador

☆ Afghanistan opium poppy supply plummets 95% after Taliban ban, U.N. says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( Charlotte Greenfield | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] An Afghan man walks through a poppy field in the Gereshk district of Helmand province, Afghanistan April 8, 2016. REUTERS/Abdul Malik/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 5 (Reuters) - Opium poppy production in Afghanistan, previously the world's top supplier, has plummeted since the Taliban administration banned the cultivation of narcotics last year, a United Nations report said on Sunday. During their previous rule, the Taliban in 2000 banned poppy cultivation as they sought international legitimacy but faced popular a backlash, according to experts. Many of the provinces where the Taliban has historically had high levels of support, such as southern Helmand, have a large concentration of opium poppy cultivation. The UNODC said many farmers had switched to growing wheat but that this earned significantly less than poppy.

Persons: Abdul Malik, UNODC, Charlotte Greenfield, William Mallard Organizations: REUTERS, United, Drugs, Thomson Locations: Afghan, Gereshk, Helmand province, Afghanistan, United Nations, Helmand

☆ Afghanistan meth trade surges as Taliban clamps down on heroin, UN report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Taliban soldiers celebrate on the second anniversary of the fall of Kabul on a street near the US embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 15, 2023. REUTERS/Ali Khara/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 10 (Reuters) - Methamphetamine trafficking in and around Afghanistan has surged in recent years, even as the Taliban has curbed heroin trafficking since taking power, a United Nations report said on Sunday. The Taliban, which regained power in August 2021, announced a ban the following April on the production of narcotics in Afghanistan, the world's main opium producer. While heroin trafficking has slowed, the UNODC said in a statement, meth trafficking "has intensified since the ban". Countries as far away as France and Australia have reported seizing methamphetamine that likely originated in Afghanistan it said.

Persons: Ali Khara, Ghada Waly, Charlotte Greenfield, William Mallard Organizations: REUTERS, United, Drugs, Thomson Locations: Kabul, Afghanistan, United Nations, Iran, Pakistan, France, Australia

☆ Cocaine production is at record-high levels, UN says, but drug interceptions mean that less is actually available on the streets
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Cocaine production is at a record-high level, according to a new report by the United Nations. The surge in global cocaine supply should "put all of us on high alert," warned UNODC's chief. In 2020, North America represented about 30% of the world's cocaine users, but the report warned of strong potential for a large expansion of cocaine use in Africa and Asia. The UNODC said that there could be 24.5 million additional cocaine users if prevalence levels in North America extend to other regions of the world. Interceptions and seizures have actually been increasing at a higher level than production, meaning the amount of cocaine available for consumption has been somewhat curtailed, the UNODC said.

Acesta se va afla la Viena timp de 3 zile. Programul vizitei include întrevederi cu omologul austriac, Alexander Schallenberg, ministru al afacerilor externe și europene al Austriei, Martin S. Ledolter, directorul Agenției austriece pentru dezvoltare, Helga Schmid, secretarul general al OSCE, Ghada Waly, directorul general al Oficiului ONU de la Viena, ambasadorul Thomas Mayr-Harting, reprezentantul special pentru reglementare transnistreană și cu membrii grupului de prietenie parlamentară Moldova, Ucraina și Belarus. În cadrul vizitei vor fi abordate temele referitoare la relațiile de cooperare moldo-austriacă la nivel bilateral, o atenție deosebită fiind acordată componentei economice și proiectelor de cooperare pentru dezvoltare. Totodată, ministrul interimar al afacerilor externe va discuta agenda europeană și progresele înregistrate de Republica Moldova în realizarea angajamentelor europene ale țării. Pe agenda discuțiilor cu oficialii austrieci și cu reprezentanții organizațiilor internaționale cu sediul la Viena se va afla și procesul de soluționare a conflictului transnistrean, situația regională, precum și criza sanitară globală.

Persons: Alexander Schallenberg, Martin S . Ledolter, Helga Schmid, Ghada, Thomas Organizations: ONU Locations: Viena, austriac, Austriei, OSCE, Moldova, Ucraina, Belarus, austriacă, Republica Moldova

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