Topic: Escalating Violence in the International Drug Trade
Country: Syria
Delegate Name: Lauren Wallace
School: Mattawan High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Syria position papers GLIMUN 2010 committees
Violence resulting from certain aspects of the international drug trade is a problem that has increased in size and needs to be stopped. The Syrian Arab Republic has a policy based on Law No. 2 of 1993, which authorizes harsh punishment, which would also include capital punishment for those found guilty of narcotics manufacturing, sales, or even trafficking. This law also requires treatment at rehabilitation centers for those that surrender to the police. Also, the Syrian Arab Republic exempts from punishment the prisoners that show good behavior during treatment. We believe that this policy should be used everywhere, especially with the lower crime rate than some countries. The Syrian Arab Republic is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1961 UN Single Convention as revised by the 1972 Protocol, and the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances. We have also signed the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the UN Convention against Corruption. While the Syrian Arab Republic does not have a counternarcotics agreement with the United States, we were discussing the signature of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to cooperate with not only fighting drug trafficking, but fighting illegal immigration and terrorism as well. Our counternarcotics strategy uses methods such as educating the public on the dangers of drug use and drug awareness through media, and it is also part of the national curriculum for children in school. We are willing to work with other countries in order to solve our own drug transit problem, and are trying to fight drug trafficking, which will help with the violence that comes with it.
