Bishkek, 14 July 2006 – Today the first Steering Committee meeting to discuss the implementation progress of the Central Asia Drug Action Programme (CADAP) was held in the UN House. The Programme is funded by the European Commission and implemented by UNDP.
Illicit drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, religious extremism and organized crime do not respect state borders and always are closely linked with each other. There is not a single country in the world that could fight these challenges alone. Thus, international donors’ assistance is considered feasible impediments to confront these security challenges. These problems also need regional solutions, with regional authorities cooperating with international agencies and bilateral donors.
The National Steering Committees meetings are envisaged in all five Central Asian countries and are to be held bi-annually. The first such meetings have already been held in Astana, Tashkent, Ashgabat and Dushanbe.
In Bishkek, the first steering committee meeting was initiated to promote further a dialogue and exchange information between national authorities involved in the Programme’s implementation and international donor agencies (the European Commission and UNDP) to ensure the ownership of the Kyrgyz Government in implementing CADAP, and to agree on future perspectives and joint efforts in enhancing the Programme’s impact both at the country and regional levels.
Apart from EC delegation and UNDP, representatives of the Drug Control Agency, Border Service, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Interior, Republican Centre of Narcology and NGOs participated in the Steering Committee Meeting.
“At this stage of the Programme’s implementation we can summarize that some viable results have been achieved,” said Ms. Sezin Sinanoglu, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative at the opening of the meeting. In particular, policy and legal advice to improve current anti-drug legislation is provided; prevention of illicit traffic at borders is being strengthened; research, intelligence and analysis capacity is being strengthened; drug abuse prevention and harm reduction capacity is built.
All these, as well as the Programme’s future interventions were covered in detail by CADAP Programme Management office staff in Bishkek.
The overall objective of CADAP is to foster a development oriented drug control strategy in Central Asia that ensures a sustained reduction of drug consumption and trafficking.
For more information, please contact Ms. Asel Sekimova, BOMCA/CADAP Media and Events Specialist, by phone: 61 20 18/19 or by e-mail: asel.sekimova@eu-bomca.org
