National Statement by Ambassador Mitsuru Kitano at Special Segment in 59th CND

Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
 
I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to you, Ambassador Vladimir Galuska, for your election as Chair of the 59^th Session of the Commission as well as the other members of the Bureau.
I would also like to commend the Board for its diligence in preparing for the UNGASS, and in particular the Chair of the Board, Ambassador Khaled Shamaa, for his tremendous efforts to this end.
Our delegation is prepared to engage in productive discussions leading up to the UNGASS. I assure you of Japan’s support in contributing to the success of the 59^th Commission including the UNGASS special segment.
 
Mr. Chairman,
Japan is fully aware that the world drug problem remains a serious threat to be tackled in a comprehensive and balanced manner in accordance with the Political Declaration and Plan of Action of 2009.
Japan is also aware that the world drug problem is most effectively addressed in a multilateral setting and believes the three international drug conventions remain the cornerstone of the international drug control system.
 
In this context, I would like to highlight some of our efforts beginning with our demand reduction strategies.  
 
Mr. Chairman,
In 1998, Japan made the prevention of drug abuse a high priority, in accordance with the “Five-Year Drug Abuse Prevention Strategy”.
Japan promotes effective intervention programs based on cognitive behavioral therapy for the treatment and social rehabilitation of drug abusers. Through these measures coupled with strict law enforcement activities the lifetime prevalence rate of cannabis and methamphetamine use are only 1.0% and 0.5% respectively. These figures clearly demonstrate that Japan has successfully contained the expansion of this drug problem.
We recognize demand reduction approaches should be based on human rights and fundamental freedoms. In this context I am happy to announce that the Government of Japan started will start new legal measures this year, which ensures a rehabilitation period for incarcerated drug abusers, as an alternative of incarceration.
 
(Supply Reduction)
Mr. Chairman,
         Japan is countering the illicit trafficking of synthetic drugs, namely NPS and Amphetamine-Type Stimulants, especially methamphetamine. Japan has strengthened domestic regulation and increased regulated substances. Consequently we have over 2000 NPS under our regulation.
However, it is vital to enhance international cooperation to address this crisis. Japan would like to increase its cooperation by sharing information and developing joint operations with other jurisdictions.
Today, Methamphetamine has become a global threat as Japan has been warning. In this context, Japan has been supporting UNODC’s forensic capacity building activities on synthetic drugs. Last year, we held a successful workshop in Ghana through UNODC to support these activities in West Africa. 
We firmly believe that the UNGASS can be a vital opportunity to highlight ATS including methamphetamine, as well as NPS, to make them a priority of the global agenda, and call for further strengthening of countermeasures.
 
(Alternative Development)
Mr. Chairman,
Alternative Development is another priority of Japan in the UNGASS outcome document. We place special emphasis on the need to further strengthen international collective efforts to address illicit cultivation of crops used for the production of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. Donor countries need to enhance sharing best practices based on “the Guiding Principles of Alternative Development”. For this reason, Japan appreciates Thailand for hosting the ICAD2 (International Conference on Alternative Development 2) last November.
Japan advocates “human security” which underlines the importance of human-centered approach, infrastructure and social development with a long-term perspective. A successful approach of Alternative Development exemplifies the concept of human security as it needs human-centered, sustainable and long-term support.
Alternative Development assistance needs to be based on the Sustainable Development Goals, which give importance to poverty reduction, health, education, gender mainstreaming as well as social stability and the rule of law.
 
(Japan’s contribution)
Mr. Chairman,
Addressing the world drug problem is a common and shared responsibility of the international community. With this understanding, Japan supports counter narcotics measures in various regions including Afghanistan and Neighbouring countries, as well as South-East Asia and Africa. Let me briefly touch upon our recent contribution.
 
(Afghanistan)
The drug problem in Afghanistan is multi-faceted. In addition to addressing the supply and demand of narcotics, Japan attaches great importance to capacity building assistance in order to strengthen criminal justice responses against corruption, illicit financial flow and the financing of terrorism.
Today, it is vital to address the link between terrorism and transnational organized crime including illicit drug trafficking. This year, Japan provided 5 million USD to UNODC for its activities in Afghanistan and neighboring countries.
I would like to share with you an example of international cooperation for capacity building in Afghanistan. In 2012, Japan implemented a project in cooperation with UNODC and the Russian Federation whereby the Afghan Police is provided with counter narcotics training in a training center in Domodedovo, Russia. In addition to funding, Japan has also provided trainers. This project has brought about substantial outcomes. Since its commencement, 5 sessions have been completed and more than 80 officers have been trained. The project expanded its scope to five central Asian countries and just started the new session yesterday (15 March).
 
(Central Asia)
In the Central Asia region, Japan has been bolstering its regional efforts to curb both supply and demand. Based on a high level agreement between Japan and Central Asian countries, our Government recently launched a new initiative to address the emerging threat of NPS in the region. To kick off the initiative, Japan hosted a Regional Seminar in Almaty, in cooperation with the UNODC, CARICC, and the Government of Kazakhstan last month. Further activities will follow in this field.
 
(Sub-Sahara Africa)
    In the Sub-Sahara Africa region, Japan has mainly focused its support on border control related activities. This year, we will redouble our efforts to the region in cooperation with the UNODC, to support the prevention of terrorism and violent extremism. Because Japan is strongly concerned about the emerging nexus between organized crime and terrorism, we decided to, for the first time, provide UNODC with funding to make an assessment of the nexus in this region.
 
(Closing)
Mr. Chairman,
In closing, I would like to reiterate Japan’s commitment to achieve the goals set out in the 2009 Political Declaration and Plan of Action. We highly appreciate the role of the Commission as the leading entity in the UN system for countering the world drug problem. We also value the work of UNODC in technical assistance and promoting international cooperation in this field. Japan believes the UNGASS will be a vital opportunity to increase our efforts to counter the world drug problem.
 
Thank you very much.