For information only - not an official document
UNIS/NAR/1278
12 May 2016
INCB concludes Vienna workshop on role of partnerships in preventing the diversion of chemicals into illicit channels
VIENNA, 12 May (UN Information Service) - More than 50 participants from 18 countries, among them representatives from national law enforcement and regulatory authorities and industry, as well as international and regional organizations, discussed the key roles and potential of public-private partnerships in preventing the diversion of licit chemicals into illicit drug manufacturing channels during a workshop organized by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB).
During the three-day workshop at the United Nations in Vienna, which ended today, participants exchanged best practices in establishing and implementing public-private cooperative agreements, and drew on the lessons learned by countries which have either introduced, or are developing public-private cooperative agreements.
Diversion of licit chemicals into illicit channels can occur at any stage of the distribution chain. Public-private partnerships should therefore not be limited to the chemical industry only. This is why a representative of one of the world's leading logistic companies, DHL, attended such a workshop and shared his views on the potential and challenges in preventing precursor chemicals from being diverted into illicit channels.
Since the ratification of the 1988 Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, many governments have adopted and implemented a number of measures that have focused on preventing the diversion of scheduled substances from international trade. Governments are now increasingly facing new challenges. Diversion of and trafficking in scheduled precursors is shifting from the international to the domestic level, and their use of non-scheduled chemicals in the illicit manufacture of drugs is increasing. While legislative changes offer long-term solutions, voluntary public-private partnerships, based on shared goals and responsibility and formalized through agreements, have an increasingly important role to play.
The workshop concluded with the adoption of recommendations aimed at developing and further enhancing the concept of the public-private partnerships in preventing the diversion of precursor chemicals.
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INCB is the independent, quasi-judicial body charged with promoting and monitoring Government compliance with the three international drug control conventions: the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. Established by the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, the thirteen members of the Board are elected in a personal capacity by the Economic and Social Council for terms of five years.
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