The Fourth Session of the AU Conference of Ministers for Drug Control and Crime Prevention opened today, Friday 1 October 2010 at the head quarters of the African Union Commission (AUC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, under the theme "Turning the tide of drugs and crime in Africa – from policy to action".

The President of Ethiopia Mr Girma Woldegiorgis made the welcoming remarks to the official opening ceremony, which was also attended by the Deputy Chairperson of the AU Commission Mr. Erastus Mwencha. Mr Girma placed the importance of the meeting within overall efforts at continental level.

"The lessons learnt from the fight against drugs and crime in Africa and the exchange of information at this time among AU member states is no doubt critical for the continuous regional and continental efforts to be carried out in the area", the President said.

In her opening address to the Ministerial meeting, Commissioner of Social Affairs at the AUC, Advocate Bience Gawanas outlined the extent of the drugs problem in Africa.

"Since the Executive Council Meeting almost three years ago, reported cases of drug trafficking on the continent have been on the increase, with revenue generated from illicit activities even distorting some economies and destabilizing some African countries… Africa is facing a severe and complex drug problem: not only drug trafficking, but also production and consumption".

The Commissioner observed that poverty ridden countries are the most vulnerable to crime and pay the highest price in terms of erosion of social and human capital, loss of domestic savings, reduction of foreign investment, white-collar exodus, increased instability, and faltering democracy. Further, Commissioner Gawanas suggested some solutions.

"First and foremost, we must strengthen the development of our judicial systems and the rule of law at national level. The greater challenge is for our Member States to also be capacitated to address the trans-national organized crime threat. Secondly, we must strengthen information-sharing among affected countries in order to disrupt trafficking networks."

Other speakers to address the official opening ceremony were Mr. Francis Maertens, Director of Operations at the United Nations Office on Drug Control and Crime Prevention (UNODC), and Dr. Hamid Ghodse, President of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB).

During the meeting, Ministers from AU member states will reach consensus regarding the strengthening of continental early warning systems, through the inclusion of epidemiological networks and threat assessments that will embrace data on illicit trafficking and epidemiological trends and adopt key action areas for the strengthening of criminal justice systems in Member States, law enforcement cooperation, as well as for drug dependence treatment in order to turn the tide of drugs and crime in Africa.

The Ministerial meeting that started today was preceded by an experts' meeting, which was held from 28-30 September.

During their meeting, the experts heard the report of the Chairperson of the AU Commission Dr Jean Ping on the Drug Control Programme of the Commission. Dr Ping outlined the work, successes and challenges encountered by the Commission in implementing the recommendations of the last conference of Ministers for Drug Control and Crime Prevention. Significantly, the Chairperson reported that, since February 2010, the AU Commission has strengthened its human resources capacity by hiring a Senior Drug Control Officer and the Head of Division, Social Welfare, Vulnerable Groups, Drug Control and Crime Prevention. In addition, the Programme Manager for the joint UNODC/AUC project and two project staff were appointed in the DSA, and the Project Management Unit is now fully functional.

The Chairperson reported that under the AU Plan of Action on Drug Control and Crime Prevention, the AUC has strengthened its cooperation in the areas of drug control and crime prevention with relevant international organisations, such as INTERPOL and UNODC, the European Union (within the framework of the Africa-European Union Strategic Partnership), South America and the United States of America. There has also been cooperation in implementing the plan of action among departments at the AUC and with Regional Economic Communities, member states and cooperation partners.

The experts' meeting also discussed the status of prevention and treatment of drug dependence in Africa, the status of law enforcement and criminal justice intervention concerning illicit trafficking in Africa, and the strengthening of continental early warning systems and inclusion of epidemiological networks and threat assessments.

The report and recommendations of the experts' meeting will be considered by the Ministers today, before they adopt their conclusions and recommendations/resolutions.

Participants at the conference include: Ministers and experts responsible for drug control and crime prevention in AU Member States, AU Commission and other AU Organs, RECs, specialized national agencies, particularly those involved with research on drugs and crime, and international organisations and agencies.