On June 26, U.S. Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Laura Griesmer delivered opening remarks at the joint United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Kyrgyz Drug Control Service (DCS) event to commemorate International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. The event also served as the launch of a comprehensive new drug action plan adopted by the government of Kyrgyzstan.
The U.S. State Department Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) is a major donor to UNODC through the K-50 Project. The K-50 project seeks to improve Kyrgyz law and policies for drug control enforcement; strengthen the technical capacity of the Drug Control Service; and promote regional counternarcotics cooperation and information exchange.
“As a result of our joint cooperation, we have made progress on combatting drug trafficking in Kyrgyzstan,” Griesmer noted. “Disruption of narcotics trafficking networks is vitally important, and an ever evolving task, as law enforcement works to keep pace with the increased sophistication of international criminal organizations. Our overarching goal is to build Kyrgyz capacity to deny safe havens for transnational criminals and their organizations.”
In keeping with the 2014 theme of World Drug Day focusing on health, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Social Policy Damira Niyazalieva noted that additional drug treatment facilities are needed in the Kyrgyz Republic.
For more information about World Drug Day, please visit: http://www.un.org/en/events/drugabuseday/
