Above: UN Anti-Drug Chief Yury Fedotov (UN Photo/R Bajornas)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Fighting crime and the illicit drug trade must become an “integral” part of the development agenda, according to Yury Fedotov, the executive director of the United Nations’ Office on Drugs and Crime.

Fedotov was speaking to the General Assembly at a special debate on drugs and crime and the threat they pose to development.

“Heroin, cocaine and other drugs continue to kill around 200,000 people a year, shattering families and bringing misery to thousands of other people, insecurity and the spree dog HIV,” he said.

He said just one quarter of all farmers involved in illicit drug crop cultivation worldwide have access to development assistance.

“If we are to offer new opportunities and genuine alternatives, this needs to change,” he said.

Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, president of the General Assembly and the permanent representative of Qatar, said development and the fight against crime “are long-term processes that require our full and persistent attention.”

“It is only by making this fight against crime a central pillar in the development agenda that we can promote a sustainable and effective response,” he said.