14 November 2019

SUBMITTED TO: Special Political

FROM: Russian Federation

SUBJECT: International Drug Trade

DELEGATE: Amanda Morello, Royal Oak High School

 

According to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, “thirty-five million people in the world suffer from drug use disorders and require services.”(1) This staggering statistic doesn’t come as a surprise to the Russian Federation. In 2013, the Russian government claimed 6% of their population used serious drugs like heroin. Alcoholism, which is commonplace, even before the transition from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to the Russian Federation, has yet to be eliminated from Russian society. Beginning in 2013, Russian Narcologists established a tiered system of detection and treatment enacting a Zero Tolerance Drug Policy. This action highlights a commitment to destabilizing the international drug trade.

 

It must be noted that Mr. Yury Fedotov of the Russian Federation is the executive director of the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime and the United Nations Director-General of the United Nations Office in Vienna. Mr. Fedotov has ensured that not only is the Russian policy on drugs evident in the international community, but is also committed to upholding the office’s legitimacy in analyzing reports and data on drug trafficking trends, curbing the illicit development and distribution of drugs, and ensuring the office’s capacity to continue its mission. Russia has sent millions in USD to the UNODC, beginning in 2011(2). The Russian Federation, separate from its involvement in the UNODC, has established a trilateral effort between themselves, Afghanistan, and Japan to counter the development and distribution of narcotics in the eastern drug corridor. This effort met its second phase on 11 December 2015 and was reacknowledged on 12 November 2018(3). 

 

At the launch of the World Drug Report on 26 June 2019, Mr. Fedotov said, “Health and justice need to work hand in hand to effectively address the world drug problem…” (4) This is something Russia has taken in stride and has defined its projected path with. Furthermore, for the Special Political Committee to continue its fight against the international drug trade, we must implement a solution for both the supply-side and demand-side of the drug trade. This includes looking at the actions of the United States and its NATO allies in destabilizing the Middle East, the US opioid crisis, and drug wars in unstable Latin and South American countries. A specific cause for concern for Russia and several other member states is the international community’s desire to legalize cannabis for non-medical purposes(5). Such acts like these normalize drug use and establish a precedent for the recreational use of harmful substances.

 

Russia is committed to safeguarding its future against the global drug crisis and seeks a resolution that emphasizes the need for multilateral cooperation. This will result in a strengthened domestic health care policy and education.  Internationally, a resolution must bring attention to the consequences of the actions of the United States and its NATO allies in facilitating the growth of a hostile environment for drug and criminal networks to survive by provoking the conflict in the Middle East. There, the destabilization of governments allowed the Islamic State and other extremist groups a stage to fund their war efforts, consequently increasing the amount of trafficked drugs into Russia and their use within Russian society. In order for Russia to be fully behind a resolution it must see that national legislation is ultimately left to be determined by appropriate governing officials.  This is imperative to ensuring the Russian Federation values territorial integrity, national unity, and sovereignty.

 

This committee’s resolution must have a five-pronged approach:

1. Establishes and promotes law enforcement to curb the illicit drug trade as it funds insurgencies and destabilizes communities including clauses acknowledging and countering international trade networks;

2. Reaffirms the importance of judicial cooperation to ensure producers, manufacturers, distributors, and users are held accountable for their actions;

3. Realizing the importance of social and human development to understand the effects of drugs on the human body;

4. Believing fully that the research and analysis of the effects of policy is imperative to working towards an international community unscathed by drugs; and

5. Keeping in mind the violation of sovereignty, national unity, and territorial integrity by nations whose political motives do not have a region’s best interest in mind.

This will only be possible if we allow for an open dialog between the international and scientific community, furthering the mission of Mr. Fedotov in the UNODC, ensuring the global community enacts a zero-tolerance policy on drugs including their manufacturing and distribution, and the perception of drug use in society.

 

The Russian Federation has made clear its efforts to tackle the global drug problem first hand.  The Russian delegation will bring up the consequences of western influence in the Middle East to not only demonstrate how our efforts have begun to restabilize the region, but to ensure that a solution works to reestablish the bounds of national sovereignty. 

1. Fedotov, Yury.  Launch of the World Drug Report 2019. UNODC.  26 June 2019. https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/speeches/2019/wdr-260619.html. 

 

2. UNODC. UNODC Executive Director Notes Key Role Of Russia In Curbing Drug Trafficking. 2019, https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/press/releases/2011/April/unodc-executive-director-notes-key-role-of-russia-in-curbing-drug-trafficking.html. Accessed 13 Nov 2019.

 

3.  “Trilateral Cooperation Between Japan, Russia And UNODC To Support Counter-Narcotics Efforts Of Afghanistan”. Unodc.Org, 2019, https://www.unodc.org/islamicrepublicofiran/en/trilateral-cooperation-between-japan–russia-and-unodc-to-support-counter-narcotics-efforts-of-afghanistan.html. Accessed 12 Nov 2019.

 

4. Fedotov, Yury.  Launch of the World Drug Report 2019. UNODC.  26 June 2019. https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/speeches/2019/wdr-260619.html. 

5.  Ulyanov, Mikhail.  STATEMENT of the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the International Organizations in Vienna Mr. Mikhail Ulyanov at the 5th intersessional meeting of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. UNODC. November 7, 2018. https://www.unodc.org/documents/commissions/CND/2019/Contributions/November/MS_Statements/7_November/Russian_statement_7_November_ENG.pdf

• Delegate Name: Amanda Morello