Topic: Escalating Violence in the International Drug Trade
Country: Italy
Delegate Name: Collin Mathias
School: Forest Hills Northern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Italy position papers GLIMUN 2010 committees
Drugs of all forms have been used throughout the history of the world. These substances have always traveled through all societies. Recently though, the trafficking of these substances have become a major underground business. These drugs have destroyed lives. The United Nations has already pushed for some ways to stop this pandemic. Through three resolutions since 1961, the international community has begun to combat this plague. By using the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 and the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988, the world issued a statement that this underground business must be uprooted. Established in 1997, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has served to help coordinate the world to end this plague.
The European Union has enacted a plan of actions that must occur to defeat the international drug trade. Europe, according to the World Drug Report of 2010, is one of the highest consumers of drugs. We, as the Union, hope to begin to shake our people free of the bonds of drugs with the EU Drugs Strategy 2005-2010. The European Union issued that to defeat this plague, international cooperation must occur. The Italian Republic also works very close with the United States. The Italian-American Working Group was an agreement between our two countries to combat the international drug trade.
Some countries have issued the death penalty for drug trafficking. To be caught a smuggler in these countries is to forfeit your life. Other countries, such as the United States, use light terms in prison. The European Union and the many countries of the world now subscribe to the international organizations of Europol and Interpol to combine the mights of countries to combat the international drug trade. Despite these efforts though, the trade continues to penetrate into our families and schools.
The Italian Republic still works closely with the United States. As a country, we regret the fact that many of the European drugs are smuggled through the southern portion of Italy. However, through combined cooperation with the United States, our streets have become cleaner. Italy knows that by working with other countries, we can end this plague. As the European goals state, not only must we stop drugs from entering our countries, we have to strike where they are being grown. Both the supply and demand have to end. The Italian Republic stands ready to end this costly war on our people.
