International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair of the Permanent Council; Mr. Assistant Secretary General; Mr. Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD); representatives of the Member States.

Over this past year, transnational organized crime has shown a high capacity for adaptation and innovation, managing to exploit new niches for its criminal activities by taking advantage of our States' limited capacity to respond in this time of crisis generated by the pandemic. In the case of drug trafficking, we have witnessed how it has been modifying its supply chains; evidence of this is the use of shipments of medical supplies to transport illicit goods. To confront drug trafficking we need a strategy that covers every aspect of transnational organized crime, since it is closely linked to other illicit activities that affect security across the board. It is evident that such strategies require the Member States to look at these new dynamics from a multidimensional approach and with a comprehensive perspective. Likewise, anti-money-laundering systems and initiatives against the financing of terrorism are key elements aimed at weakening the finances of drug traffickers and thus striking at a vital part of their business.

A central element of the strategy is to continue working to strengthen the mechanisms for recovering assets derived from drug trafficking, corruption and organized crime, so that they can be put to social use for the benefit of the communities that are victims of organized crime. Another of the challenges we face is cybercrime, which, according to recent data from the United States Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), has increased by 15% this year alone. These cybercrimes have also expanded in their forms because of the increased use of technology in the midst of the pandemic. We have likewise seen enormous capacity and creativity on the part of criminals in selling counterfeit medical supplies online, as well as the use of social media to lure potential victims of human trafficking, including children and adolescents.

These examples, chosen at random, justify all the relevant actions this Secretariat has been taking to respond adequately to the new methods adopted by transnational organized crime. In that regard, the work of the Department against Transnational Organized Crime (DTOC) deserves mention, with its anti-money-laundering programs and its coordination as Technical Secretariat of the Group of Experts for the Control of Money Laundering (GELAVEX).

In the case of the Dominican Republic, our country has been taking firm steps to strengthen the National Drug Strategy, focusing on preventing the abuse of controlled substances and on the treatment of people affected by drug use. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has posed a challenge with regard to demand reduction, since our geographic position in the Caribbean places us on the transit route between producing and consuming countries. For that reason, the Dominican State has embarked on a series of national and international partnerships, with special emphasis on strengthening inter-agency coordination and bringing together the various existing resources.

We currently have the support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and we are working on the installation of an early warning system through which the presence of new psychoactive substances can be identified, which will bring us into line with the countries of the area.

With the support and collaboration of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission, we are working on the reopening of the Dominican Drug Observatory (ODD). In addition, through the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism (MEM), we began the operational process for its eighth round, which will select one thematic area per year from 2021 to 2023. Furthermore, through CICAD's “Health and Life in the Americas” (SAVIA) program, the country has begun to implement a comprehensive model of local intervention for the social and occupational reintegration of drug users.

We take this opportunity to note the participation of our experts, today and tomorrow, in the Third Meeting of National Authorities on Transnational Organized Crime (RANDOT III) of the Committee on Hemispheric Security (CSH), whose central theme is strengthening global and hemispheric efforts to address transnational organized crime.

Finally, we reiterate that the Dominican Republic will continue to make enormous efforts to combat transnational organized crime, and we join in the “Commemoration of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking,” confirming our commitment to this common and shared responsibility of our States.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.