Brazzaville adopts conventions on drug use, trafficking

The parliament of the Republic of Congo adopted on Tuesday the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and its 1972 amendment, as well as the 1988 UN Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, thereby filling a void in the country's body of law. Prior to the adoption of the conventions, the Congo had only two laws on its books dating back to colonial times pertaining to illegal drugs: an August 1929 decree prohibiting the cultivation of hemp and its use as a narcotic, and an April 1932 decree regulating the possession of poisonous substances. "The fight against the consumption and trade of drugs will gain a whole new dimension with the Republic of Congo's adoption of these three international conventions on the illicit trafficking of drugs," Leon Alfred Opimbat, a National Assembly deputy and president of the Assembly's Foreign Affairs Commission, told reporters in the capital, Brazzaville, on Wednesday. "By adhering to these conventions, the Congo will benefit from the support of the United Nations and other international organizations in fighting the illicit traffic of drugs and psychotropic substances, as well as from international expertise in the training of officials in the customs, police and health sectors," Dorothee Sianard, a project leader with the government's Ministry of Scientific Research, said. However, she said the Congo must now adopt the necessary legislation and administrative measures, and cooperate with other countries and drug control organisations. According to a study by the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Republic of Congo is not only a producer of illicit drugs, but a major transit point in the subregion for these drugs from Asia and South America en route to industrialised countries. "The geographic position of the Republic of Congo has made the country an ideal location for drug traffickers," Opimbat said. He said since 1997, 500 kg of heroin, 1,339 kg of cannabis and unspecified quantity of cocaine have been seized along our borders. He said that repeated civil war in the Congo had been exacerbated by drug use, as, for example, was the case of child soldiers who were more easily manipulated under the influence of narcotics. "Congolese authorities likewise have an interest in making the fight against poverty a reality, because as long as farmers cannot commercialise products like cocoa and coffee, they will not stop cultivating cannabis," a participant in government deliberations told IRIN. "For their part, unemployed youth are more likely to get involved in drug trafficking in the absence of job opportunities."