Statement by H.E. Ambassador Xolisa Mabhongo Permanent Representative of the Republic of South Africa at the 53rd Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, Vienna, 10 March 2009

Agenda Item 4: Follow up to the Political Declaration and plan of action on International Cooperation towards an Integrated and Balanced Strategy to counter World Drug problem

Mr Chairperson,

We congratulate you and other members of the bureau on your election. We have confidence that with your diplomatic skills you will guide this 53rd session of the CND to a successful outcome. We thank the Executive Director, Mr Maria Costa, for his opening remarks and for the preparations done by the Secretariat.

We associate ourselves with the statements made by the delegations of Zimbabwe and Algeria for the African Group and the Group of 77 and China.

We are gathered in this 53rd session to seek global solutions to a global problem. No country acting alone, no matter the resources, can successfully address the world drug problem. It requires each of us to play our role – those countries in which drugs are produced, the transit countries, as well as the countries of destination. In this regard the Political Declaration and the Plan of Action present us with a comprehensive framework for the actions we need to undertake. It is in this context that we make this statement reflecting on the situation in my country.

Mr Chairperson,

Cannabis remains a drug of great concern to my country. We have local consumption and instances where it is smuggled through our borders to other countries. It is one of the most commonly used illicit drugs in South Africa.

Cocaine has also been smuggled to and through South Africa. Heroine, alcohol abuse, misuse of over-the-counter medications and mandrax are also prevalent.

We have also experienced the manufacture and abuse of illicit methamphetamine (known as “TIK”) in our country. This has had obviously negative consequences for some of our communities.

My government has taken concrete steps to address these challenges. After the scheduling of the two chemicals, ephedrine and pseudodrine, the number of illegal imports of the precursors decreased. For every import of these chemicals, a permit from Department of Health, in addition to the pre-export notification (PEN) authorization on line, is now required.

South Africa reviewed the Prevention of and Treatment for Substance Abuse Act no 70 of 2008. The Government has since developed the community based services model on reintegration and after care model to assist in the implementation. We are also busy with the development of regulations to guide the implementation of the aforementioned Act. In addition, South Africa is developing an adult prevention model to address the needs of adults.

South Africa has also developed a database for substance abuse and it is accessible to communities. We are also conducting a research on the nature, extent and impact of substance abuse in communities. We have established nine provincial substance abuse forums and 185 local drug action committees to assist in implementing our prevention programmes.

Furthermore we have over the years strengthened penalties for drug offences which include lengthy imprisonment sentences.

In line with our National Drug Master Plan (NDMP) which calls for youth-targeted intervention programmes such as the use of drama, music and sport to motivate young people against substance abuse, and as a further Demand Reduction Strategy the government in partnership with the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) is engaged in other drug prevention projects - the most active being the national drug awareness program known as "Ke Moja - I’m Fine Without Drugs Campaign. This campaign was created to encourage young people to resist the temptation of experimenting with drugs. We are also working closely with relevant stakeholders such as the business sector and civil society.

Mr Chairperson,

In June 2010 South Africa will host the FIFA Soccer World Cup. As part of the preparations we have had to also address the possible linkage of this big sporting event with increased drug abuse. We are confident on the steps that my government has taken together with many other international partners which include the UNODC. In this regard the South African Police Services are also working tirelessly in the fight against illicit drug trafficking at major ports of entry into our country.

Mr Chairperson,

South Africa has followed the work of the UNODC Working Group on improving the financing and governance and we stress the call that has been made by other delegations on the need for more resources to be availed to the UNODC.

We welcome the cooperation between the UNODC and the African Union on drug control and crime prevention, in particular the cooperation to support the implementation of the AU Plan of Action on Drug Control and Crime Prevention (2007-2012). We also appreciate the work that has been done by the Regional Office of UNODC for Southern Africa and we would hope that institutional links with the SADC would be enhanced.

I thank you.