Topic: Escalating Violence in the International Drug Trade
Country: Saudi Arabia
Delegate Name: Jimmy Tian
School: Northville High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Saudi Arabia position papers GLIMUN 2010 committees
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia recognizes that the international drug trade, which is mostly in the control of several prominent cartels, is responsible for and directly implicated in the escalation of violence connected to illicit substances.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia vehemently opposes the immoral and un-Islamic use of drugs: severe punishments are instigated for all peoples charged with possession of drugs and other controlled substances, while drug trafficking carries a zero-exception death penalty. Citizens addicted to illegal substances are sent to one of three treatment and rehabilitation centers in the Kingdom while non-citizens are usually deported.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is party to all three international drug conventions, and does not have a major problem with drugs and drug violence. Most crimes in Saudi Arabia are petty street crimes, and even these are less common than in Western countries such as France and the United States. The use of illegal drugs in Saudi Arabia is rare and no significant drug production occurs. Most drugs used in Saudi Arabia are variants of the amphetamine 'fenethylline', marketed as Captagon. These drugs are usually produced in Central and Eastern Europe in connection with the Russian mafia.
As a result, Saudi Arabia is committed to limiting drug violence by denying the cartels a source of revenue in Saudi citizens by strictly preventing the abuse of drugs in Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom also supports anti-drug measures internationally through the operation of five international anti-drug liaison offices, and by the annual contribution of $50,000 to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
