SECRETARIAT PRESS RELEASE 30TH ASOD,30th SEPTEMBER, 2009:
Work Plan on Combating Illicit Drug Production Established
Phnom Penh, 30 September 2009
With the goal of achieving a drug-free ASEAN by 2015, an action-oriented “ASEAN Work Plan on Combating Illicit Drug Production, Trafficking and Use (2009-2015)” has been put in place.
The work plan will guide ASEAN to sustainably reduce illicit crop cultivation, the production and trafficking of drugs, the prevalence of illicit drug use and drug-related crime. It also presents ways for ASEAN to collaborate with Dialogue Partners in addressing these issues.
The work plan was agreed to by the ASEAN Senior Officials on Drug Matters (ASOD) during their 30th meeting, held from 29 September to 20 October 2009 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. During the meeting, ASOD also agreed on a mechanism to monitor the implementation of the work plan.
The 5th Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC) Plus Three Working Group on Narcotics was also convened, in addition to consultations with India and Pakistan. Discussions between ASOD and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on the future of the ASEAN and China Cooperative Operations in Response to Dangerous Drug (ACCORD) mechanism, which will end in 2010, was also held.
