Azernews.Az

BAKU – The UN global drugs watchdog has called on the Azerbaijani government to step up combat against drug trafficking.

The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) said in its annual report published on Wednesday that the South Caucasus is "increasingly being used as a transit area for consignments of opiates from Afghanistan, and as a result, drug abuse is on the rise in the subregion".

The INCB said that given the long borders that countries of that subregion share with Iran, Russia and Turkey and their access to the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, the board "remains concerned" that the situation with regard to drug trafficking and abuse in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia "may continue to deteriorate" unless increased attention is given to more efficient border control, drug demand reduction and regional and national coordination of drug control activities.

"To address the problem of drugs being smuggled through Azerbaijan, certain measures, in particular the strengthening of border control, have been taken. In spite of those measures, Azerbaijan continues to be used as a transit country for illicit drug consignments."

The INCB encouraged the government to continue strengthening law enforcement, border protection, regional cooperation and information-sharing to prevent drug trafficking.

It said that in Azerbaijan, the availability of narcotic drugs used for pain treatment is relatively low. The board therefore requests the government to assess the requirements for narcotic drugs used for the treatment of pain, to identify impediments to efforts to ensure that such drugs are available in adequate quantities and to develop policies to overcome those impediments.

In view of "the growing problem in Azerbaijan with regard to the abuse of drugs", mainly opiates, the INCB suggested that the government carry out a national survey of drug abuse and to use the survey findings to design and monitor appropriate drug control strategies. The board also recommended that the government strengthen drug abuse prevention efforts and ensure the availability of facilities for the treatment of drug dependence.

The amount of heroin seized in Azerbaijan increased by 63 per cent (from 144 kg to 235 kg) in 2010, the report said.

The INCB said further that trafficking in drugs along the northern route, through Central Asia, persists. It is estimated that up to 25 per cent of Afghan opiates passed through Central Asia in 2009. However, drug seizures in the subregion have followed a significant downward trend. In 2009, the total amount of drugs seized in the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and in Azerbaijan decreased by 13.4 per cent, from 49.9 tons in 2008 to 43.2 tons in 2009. In particular, the amount of seized heroin decreased by 34.4 per cent, from 3.7 tons in 2008 to 2.4 tons in 2009.

This downward trend appears to have continued in 2010. In the first three months of 2010, the total amount of heroin seized in Central Asia decreased by 26 per cent compared with the same period in 2009. The amount of seized heroin decreased in Kazakhstan by 60 per cent, in Kyrgyzstan by 64 per cent and in Uzbekistan by 60 per cent. Only Tajikistan reported an increase in seizures of heroin, of 33 per cent.

Compared with 2008, there was a decrease of 54 per cent in the amount of heroin seized in Kazakhstan and 31 per cent decrease in Tajikistan, although those two countries still accounted for 76 per cent of the total amount of heroin seized in Central Asia. The amount of heroin seized in Kyrgyzstan increased by 14 per cent.

The total amount of opiates seized in Central Asia and Azerbaijan decreased by 27 per cent, from almost 6 tons in 2008 to 4.4 tons in 2009. the report said.