STATEMENT BY MR KOH BOON PIAU, DELEGATE TO THE 64TH SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON AGENDA ITEM 105, ON INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AGAINST THE WORLD DRUG PROBLEM, THIRD COMMITTEE, 8 OCTOBER 2009

STATEMENT BY MR KOH BOON PIAU, DELEGATE TO THE 64TH SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON AGENDA ITEM 105, ON INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AGAINST THE WORLD DRUG PROBLEM, THIRD COMMITTEE, 8 OCTOBER 2009

Mr Chairman,

Please allow me to first congratulate you and the Bureau on your appointments. My delegation has full confidence and regard for your able leadership and you can be assured of our full cooperation.

2. Let me begin my statement on the issue of international drug control by sharing a story about the terrible scourge of illegal drug use and its dark impact on the lives of its users, their families and society at large. I was recently told of an account of a woman living (and nearly dying) with a husband who was a drug addict and trafficker. They married out of love despite family and community objections and three children were produced in quick succession. But a pall was soon cast over the marriage as the husband started to betray signs of absenteeism, emotional and physical abusiveness. The trauma of seeing a father and husband in a drugged daze most of the time and living in fear of the next bout of verbal or physical abuse by him was only halted when he was apprehended for his substance abuse. In spite of his addiction and the time spent away in jail and rehabilitation, the family accepted him back upon his release. This would have been a happy ending, if not for the lure of quick highs and fast money that snared the man into a relapse and worse, stepping off the edge to become a trafficker. The abuse started again, punctuated by his frequent absence for drug runs overseas for an international drug syndicate. The large amount of money made for being a drug mule was spent almost entirely to fuel his insatiable appetite for drugs, leaving his wife and their three children to scrape by on state assistance. He even tried to persuade his wife to become a drug runner to help fuel his addiction and her refusal landed her in hospital after a severe beating. Fearing for the safety of her children, the woman courageously turned her husband in, ironically a step which saved him from paying the ultimate price. He is now on the long hard road to redemption with the help of the authorities and community. He hopes to come clean and one day win the forgiveness of his wife and children, who have now grown accustomed to life without him thanks to the support of their family and community.

3. Millions of stories like the one above are being repeated across the world as we speak. The scourge of illegal drug use continues to plague our communities, causing untold suffering and representing a huge drain on resources. According to the World Drug Report 2009, there could be as many as 38 million "problem" or chronic drug users. More sobering is the fact that up to 250 million people aged between 15-64 may have used drugs at least once last year. Drug use among young people, especially of amphetamine-type stimulants, is rising alarmingly. An increasing proportion of our present and future generations are getting addicted and we cannot ignore this peril. This is a global evil that respects neither age, gender, race nor national limits.

4. Singapore is not immune to the impact of illegal drug use and trade. We have thus adopted an integrated multi-pronged anti-drug strategy comprising strict laws, vigorous enforcement, preventive education, rehabilitation and aftercare, as well as community involvement, to ensure that the situation in Singapore remains under control. Vigorous enforcement of the Misuse of Drugs Act by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) has been a critical element in reducing the inflow of drugs brought in by drug syndicates and abuse of drugs domestically. Eleven international drug trafficking syndicates have been broken up thus far this year and there was a fall in the number of drug abuse cases by 13% in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year. Part of the credit for this success must be attributed to the cooperation with regional and international authorities that Singapore benefited from in the fight against illegal drug use and trade. Many like-minded countries have worked closely with Singapore or under the auspices of ASEAN to combat the transnational reach of these international drug syndicates as well as to share best practices on facing up to the challenges of drug abuse.

5. In tandem with strict enforcement measures, the authorities have also focused on a high profile preventive education programme targeting schools and youth groups. In addition, community partners such as the National Council Against Drug Abuse (NCADA) and Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association (SANA) partner the authorities in educating the public on the perils of drug abuse. Corporate partners, such as media agencies, also lend their voices against drugs by volunteering their services in conceptualizing and developing annual anti-drug campaigns.

6. In terms of rehabilitation and aftercare, Singapore continues to adopt a differentiated approach towards drug abusers. First and second time offenders who abuse drugs are sent for treatment and rehabilitation in Drug Rehabilitation Centres (DRCs) and do not incur criminal records. The DRC regime focuses on abstinence, religious and social counseling, work, skills training and education so as to help drug abusers overcome their addiction. Third and subsequent time offenders are viewed as recalcitrant drug abusers who persist in their drug habits despite being given the chances and assistance offered to them. In this regard, recalcitrant abusers are subjected to a strict penal regime to contain potential spillover effects into our community.

7. Much attention and resources have also been focused on reintegrating former addicts into society as well as providing support for families of addicts so that they can deal with their difficult situations. A substantial part of the support in the pre-release and aftercare phases - be it helping ex-addicts secure gainful employment or providing counseling - are in fact provided by community partners. Community-run halfway houses where abusers learn life skills to mould them into useful citizens of society and programmes to help families and the community accept returning redeemed addicts may help families such as the one I mentioned earlier find a happier ending.

8. Singapore will remain a committed partner in the international fight against drug trafficking and drug abuse. We will continue to adapt our integrated multi-pronged national anti-drug strategy to improve its effectiveness while working with other international partners to rid ourselves and future generations of the terrible scourge of illegal drug use and trafficking.

9. Thank You.

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