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UNODC Raises Alarm Over Growing Global Illicit Drug Supply
UNODC Raises Alarm Over Growing Global Illicit Drug Supply
By: Michael Mike
Growing illicit drug supply and increasingly agile trafficking networks are compounding intersecting global crises and challenging health services and law enforcement responses, according to the World Drug Report 2023 launched by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on Monday.
New data put the global estimate of people who inject drugs in 2021 at 13.2 million, 18 per cent higher than previously estimated. Globally, over 296 million people used drugs in 2021, an increase of 23 per cent over the previous decade. The number of people who suffer from drug use disorders, meanwhile, has skyrocketed to 39.5 million, a 45 per cent increase over 10 years.
The Report features a special chapter on drug trafficking and crimes that affect the environment in the Amazon Basin, as well as sections on clinical trials involving psychedelics and medical use of cannabis; drug use in humanitarian settings; innovations in drug treatment and other services; and drugs and conflict.
The World Drug Report 2023 also highlighted how social and economic inequalities drive – and are driven by – drug challenges; the environmental devastation and human rights abuses caused by illicit drug economies; and the rising dominance of synthetic drugs.
The report showed that demand for treating drug-related disorders remains largely unmet with only one in five people suffering from drug-related disorders were in treatment for drug use in 2021, with widening disparities in access to treatment across regions.
Youth populations are the most vulnerable to using drugs and are also more severely affected by substance use disorder in several regions. In Africa, 70 per cent of people in treatment are under the age of 35.
The report argued that public health, prevention, and access to treatment services must be prioritized worldwide, or drug challenges will leave more people behind. It further underscored the need for law enforcement responses to keep pace with agile criminal business models and the proliferation of cheap synthetic drugs that are easy to bring to market.
Reacting to the findings of the report, UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly said: “We are witnessing a continued rise in the number of people suffering from drug use disorders worldwide, while treatment is failing to reach all of those who need it. Meanwhile, we need to step up responses against drug trafficking rings that are exploiting conflicts and global crises to expand illicit drug cultivation and production, especially of synthetic drugs, fueling illicit markets and causing greater harm to people and communities.”
According to the report, the right to health is not granted to many people who use drugs; large inequalities in access and availability of controlled drugs for medical use persist, particularly for pain management; the disparity is particularly prevalent between the global North and South and across urban and rural areas, making some people feel the negative impact of drugs more than others.
Some 86 per cent of the world’s population live in countries with too little access to pharmaceutical opioids (as controlled under the 1961 Single Convention) – mainly low and middle-income countries; some impoverished and vulnerable populations, such as those in the tri-border area between Brazil, Colombia, and Peru, are trapped in rural areas with a high prevalence of drug-related crimes, with their remote locations make it exceedingly difficult for them to benefit from treatment services, resources, or the rule of law.
The report explained that the drug economy in the Amazon Basin is exacerbating additional criminal activities – such as illegal logging, illegal mining, illegal land occupation, wildlife trafficking and more – damaging the environment of the world’s largest rainforest. Indigenous peoples and other minorities are suffering the consequences of this crime convergence, including displacement, mercury poisoning, and exposure to violence, among others; environmental defenders are sometimes specifically targeted by traffickers and armed groups.
It stated that while the war in Ukraine has displaced traditional cocaine and heroin routes, there are signs that the conflict could trigger an expansion of the manufacture and trafficking of synthetic drugs, given the existing know-how and the large markets for synthetic drugs developing in the region: in the Sahel, the illicit drug trade finances non-state armed and insurgency groups, while in Haiti, drug traffickers take advantage of porous borders to bolster their businesses, fueling the country’s multiplying crises.
The report said while new research on the use of controlled drugs such as psychedelics to treat mental health conditions and substance use disorders shows promise, it however cautioned that the fast pace of developments could jeopardize efforts to enact policies that place public health concerns over commercial interests; without well-designed, adequately researched frameworks in place, there may be too little access for those who need treatment – potentially causing patients to turn to illegal markets – or conversely, the psychedelics may be diverted for non-medical use.
The report said the cheap, easy, and fast production of synthetic drugs has radically transformed many illicit drug markets; criminals producing methamphetamine – the world’s dominant illegally manufactured synthetic drug – are attempting to evade law enforcement and regulatory responses through new synthesis routes, bases of operation, and non-controlled precursors.
It raised the alarm that fentanyl has drastically altered the opioid market in North America with dire consequences, noting that in 2021, the majority of the approximately 90,000 opioid related overdose deaths in North America involved illegally manufactured fentanyls.
It was however said drug ban in Afghanistan may have reversed upward opium production trend; the 2023 opium harvest in Afghanistan may see a drastic drop following the national drug ban, as early reports suggest reductions in poppy cultivation, stressing that the benefits of a possible significant reduction in illicit opium cultivation in Afghanistan in 2023 would be global, but it will be at the expense of many farmers in the country who do not have alternative means of income generation.
It added that Afghanistan is also a major producer of methamphetamines in the region, and the drop in opiate cultivation could drive a shift towards synthetic drug manufacture, where different actors will benefit.
UNODC Raises Alarm Over Growing Global Illicit Drug Supply
NIDCOM Says 163 Trafficked Victims Rescued from Ghana in Five Months
By: Michael Mike
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) alongside other stakeholders have rescued another set of 13 trafficked Nigerian girls from Ghana, thus bringing the total number of those repatriated from the same country to the nation within the last five months to 163.
According to a statement on Friday signed by the spokesman of NIDCOM, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, the rescued operation was as a result of the combined and coordinated efforts of the Ghanaian Anti-Human Trafficking Police , The Rescue live foundation International, and NIDO Ghana working in collaboration with NIDCOM.
Speaking on the latest efforts, Chairman/CEO Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa expressed her gratitude to the First Lady , Senator Oluremi Tinubu, the Governor of Ebonyi State, Francis Nwifuru for their support in facilitating the safe return of the girls back to the country.
She also commended the vital roles played by the BOT Chairman (Rescue live foundation International/NIDO Ghana),
Chief Callistus Elozieuwa, and the Ghanaian Anti-Human Trafficking Police Unit in bringing the traffickers to justice.
She reiterated NiDCOM’s commitment to protecting Nigerians in the diaspora under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which gave priority to combating human trafficking and safeguarding the rights of Nigerian citizens at home and in the Diaspora.
The statement revealed that the rescued young girls, ages 19 to 30 years, are from Ebonyi, Benue, Kaduna and Rivers states.
According to the statement, they were lured to Ghana under the false promises of employment but were instead forced into exploitative situations and bound by an oath of secrecy, while the traffickers are making money off the dastardly act.
NiDCOM representative, Mr Akinboye Akinsola, who accompanied the ladies back to Nigeria, where they were handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for rehabilitation and reintegration said these set of ladies surrendered themselves willingly , having heard of the ealier operation conducted in Kpone Katamanso and Tema.
Elozieuwa said with Rescue live Foundation International/NIDO Ghana’s assistance, the ladies were provided shelter for some days after they all willingly indicated their interest to come back home.
The Senior Special Assistant to Governor of Ebonyi State, Mr Valentine Okike Uzo, thanked the Governor for his willingness to bring the ladies back home which in line with his efforts to care for all Ebonyi indigenes both home and in the Diaspora.
He assured that all efforts are in place to ensure a proper rehabilitation for the victims from Ebonyi state.
NIDCOM Says 163 Trafficked Victims Rescued from Ghana in Five Months
ECOWAS Court Dismisses Application for Default Judgment in Case Against Nigeria
By: Michael Mike
The ECOWAS Court of Justice has delivered a judgment in the case of Chukwuemeka Edeh v. Federal Republic of Nigeria, dismissing the Applicant’s request for a default judgment.
The Applicant, Chukwuemeka Edeh, a Nigerian citizen from Enugu State, filed his application against the Federal Republic of Nigeria, alleging unlawful detention and torture by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
The Applicant claimed that SARS operatives subjected him to acts of physical abuse, including spraying of tear gas into his eyes, beatings, and forced confession, in violation of his human rights as guaranteed under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other international instruments to which Nigeria is a party. Mr. Edeh sought compensation of N5 million for his suffering.
Following the failure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to submit a defense, Mr. Edeh applied for a default judgment. In the Judgment delivered by Justice Edward Amoako Asante, the Judge Rapporteur, the Court held that it had jurisdiction over the matter and that application was admissible, having complied relevant requirements in the Protocol of the Court. However, after examining the Applicant’s submissions and evidence, the Court found that the Applicant’s claims were not substantiated by sufficient evidence to warrant a default judgment. Therefore, it dismissed the application for a default judgment.
The three-member panel of the Court were Honourable Justice Ricardo Cláudio Monteiro Gonçalves(presiding judge), Honorable Justice Dupe Atoki (panel member), and Honorable Justice Edward Amoako Asante (judge rapporteur).
ECOWAS Court Dismisses Application for Default Judgment in Case Against Nigeria
ECOWAS Court finds Sierra Leone guilty of human rights violations during Makeni protests
By: Michael Mike
The ECOWAS Court of Justice, has delivered its decision in the case of Hassan Kargbo and seven others against the State of Sierra Leone.
The applicants brought an action before the ECOWAS Court of Justice against the State of Sierra Leone for serious violations of their fundamental rights during the tragic events that took place in Makeni in July 2020, particularly the violations of the right to security of the person, the right to life and the right to an effective remedy.
The events leading to this case took place on 17 and 18 July 2020, when a demonstration by young people was violently quelled by the Sierra Leone law enforcement.
According to the applicants, the army and police used live ammunition and tear gas against the demonstrators, causing deaths and serious injuries among unarmed civilians. Several victims, including Foday Kargbo, Mohamed Sillah and Alusine Sesay, died as a result of this crackdown.
The State of Sierra Leone neither appeared nor presented a defence. The Court delivered its judgment by default.
In the judgment delivered on Thursday by Justice Gbéri-bè Ouattara, Judge-Rapporteur, the Court found that the State of Sierra Leone had violated the right to security of the applicants Hassan Kargbo and Mohamed Fornah. Nonetheless, the Court found that the State had neither violated the right to life of the applicants, who were still alive, nor their right to an effective remedy.
As for the unarmed civilians who had lost their lives in the violence, the claim of the applicants who had presented themselves as their rightful heirs was declared inadmissible for failure to provide proof of their death and of their kinship with the victims.
Furthermore, the Court found that the State had failed in its obligation to conduct investigations into the events at Makeni.
As compensation for these violations, it ordered the State to pay USD 15,000 in damages to each of the applicants Hassan Kargbo and Mohamed Fornah for violation of their right to security. It also enjoined the State to take measures to prevent the excessive use of force during peaceful demonstrations and to conduct an investigation to identify and prosecute those responsible for the violence.
The three-member panel of the Court were Honorable Justice Ricardo Cláudio Monteiro Gonçalves (presiding judge), Honorable Justice Gberi-Bè Ouattara (judge-rapporteur) and Honorable Justice Edward Amoako Asante (panel member).
NIDCOM Says 163 Trafficked Victims Rescued from Ghana in Five Months
ECOWAS Court Dismisses Application for Default Judgment in Case Against Nigeria
ECOWAS Court finds Sierra Leone guilty of human rights violations during Makeni protests
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