Annual OSCE-wide Anti-Drug Conference in Vienna explores nexus between illicit drugs, organized crime and terrorism
VIENNA, 10 July 2017 – Some 150 representatives of OSCE participating States and OSCE Partners for Co-operation, including government authorities and experts from drug-related agencies, as well as international, regional and civil society organizations and the private sector, met today in Vienna for the start of a two-day conference to discuss the links between illicit drugs, organized crime and terrorism.
The conference is jointly organized by the 2017 Austrian OSCE Chairmanship and the Strategic Police Matters Unit of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department. It aims to develop practical proposals on how the OSCE can enhance its assistance to participating States and Partners for Co-operation in strengthening law enforcement co-operation in combating trafficking in illicit drugs, tackling financial sources of organized crime and terrorism, and promoting preventive actions.
“The link between trafficking in drugs, organized crime and terrorism might not be a new phenomenon, but it has reached an entirely new dimension through the availability of modern technology and the increasing interconnectedness of our world,” said Peter Gridling, Director of the Austrian Federal Agency for State Protection and Counter Terrorism in his opening address. “Fighting this interlinked web of crime is an enormous challenge. Law enforcement authorities must develop a common strategic response and address these threats in a comprehensive manner, which upholds human rights and the rule of law.”
Yury Fedotov, the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said: “The UNODC works with its partners, including the OSCE, to promote the conventions on drugs, crime, corruption and instruments on terrorism. It also works to confront the challenge of foreign terrorist fighters, and to prevent radicalization in prisons and on the Internet.” He added that “Prevention, allied to educating young people, building institutions and strengthening co-operation, is better than a cure.”
Director of the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre Marcel Pesko emphasized that “A specific concern in the OSCE region is the relationship between trafficking in drugs, human beings and smuggling of migrants, as drug trafficking groups use the same routes and gain advantages by sharing established logistical infrastructure. To tackle it we should work together by increasing our collective capacities, building strategic partnerships and strengthening operational impact.”
During the conference participants will explore ways to tackle links between illicit drugs, organized crime and terrorism and identify proposals to address these threats. In particular, participants will discuss drug prevention and ways and means to tackle drug-related crimes, such as corruption, money-laundering, trafficking in persons and firearms, and terrorism, as the most challenging threats that require an increased and co-ordinated response at the regional and international level.