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About the
Drug Control Coordination Unit (DCCU)

In
February 1992, the Council of Ministers of the ECO Member States set
up a new Technical Committee on Drug Control. Drug control was also
included as a major policy field in the Istanbul Declaration adopted
by the ECO Council of Ministers in its special meeting held in
Istanbul in July 1993.
On 15 March 1995,
ECO and UNDCP signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on their
drug control cooperation, inter alia, in improving drug control
coordination within the ECO region. The Consultative Session of the
ECO Technical Committee on Drug Control (Tehran, 5-7 November 1995)
requested UNDCP’s assistance in the creation of a DCCU at the ECO
Secretariat. Based on the ECO-UNDCP MOU and following specific
requests from the ECO Secretariat, UNDCP formulated an Outline of a
Project Idea to assist ECO in creating the DCCU, which was approved
by the UNDCP Project Review Committee. Following consultations with
the ECO Secretariat, UNDCP Offices in Islamabad and Tashkent, and
UN/UNDP Office in Tehran, UNDCP developed the Project Idea into a
full-fledged Project Document.
The 6th
COM Meeting held in May 1996 in Ashgabat after various Expert Groups
and Technical Committee Meetings finalized and adopted an ECO Plan
of Action on Drug Control. It provides a framework for measures to
be taken at national and regional levels such as:
- Eradication of opium poppy crop;
- Elimination of heroin laboratories;
- Strengthening control of drugs and psychotropic
substances used for licit purposes, as well as control of essential
chemical precursors;
- Fight against illicit traffic in narcotic drugs
and psychotropic substances, including promotion of national drug
control legislation, strengthening national and regional structures
and institutions, exchange of drug liaison officers between member
states; exchange of information and experience; training of law
enforcement staff, improvement of interdiction capacities,
introduction of a reward system by member states, measures against
money laundering;
- Reduction of illicit demand, promotion of
treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts.
On the other hand, ECO Plan of Action calls for the establishment of a
Drug Control Coordination Unit (DCCU), which “will operate under the
Secretary General” and shall “in consultation with the UNDCP and
other relevant agencies, prepare and implement projects and
programmes to strengthen national law enforcement agencies and
promote cooperation among them. It may also engage in instructive
programmes and activities aimed at full implementation of the
international drug conventions. The Unit shall serve as a channel of
information and legal and technical assistance to Member States”
(ECO Plan of Action on Drug Control, Chapter II, Section (iii), item
“a”). Accordingly, a
project titled “Assistance in Establishing a Drug Control
Coordination Unit (DCCU) at the Secretariat of ECO” was concluded
with the United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) in Vienna on
March 5, 1998. The Project is expected to promote coordination of
drug control activities within the ECO Region, enable ECO to launch
a continuous drug control dialogue with ECO Member States and thus
to obtain an additional tool for monitoring the implementation by
the Member States of ECO Plan of Action on Drug Control. The UNDCP
is the funding and executing agency for this Project, and the United
Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is associated agency for
provision of certain equipment and services.
The Unit has become
operational on July 25, 1999, following the debriefing session from
Mr. Jean-Luc Lemahieu, UNDCP Consultant who visited the ECO
Secretariat Headquarters from 7 to 25th of July, 1999.
After successful completion of the first phase on
December 31, 2000, the second phase of the Project which is envisaged
to last two years, started as a continuation of the first phase on
December 1, 2002 to enhance regional drug control cooperation and
coordination among ECO Member States by strengthening the technical
capabilities of the DCCU in providing narcotics control related
coordination services to National Focal Points (NFPs) of the ECO
Member States.
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