The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) was established to assist the UN in addressing a response to the interrelated issues of illicit trafficking in and use of drugs, crime prevention and criminal justice, international terrorism, and political corruption. It also functions as the secretariat to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) and the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB).
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IDPC response to the UNODC 2011 World Drug Report
International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC)
September 2011This IDPC response to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)’s flagship publication, the World Drug Report, provides an overview of the data and topics presented in the Report and where appropriate, within the broader context of the current state of the UN drug control framework, offer a critical analysis of both.
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The 2010 World Drug Report
A response from the International Drug Policy Consortium
International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC)
September 2010The aim of this review is to provide an overview and analysis of the contents of the 2010 UNODC World Drug Report and highlight a number of key issues of interest and concern. The authors begin with a critique of Mr. Costa’s contribution to the publication and often the only part of the 300-page document that receives significant attention: the Executive Director’s Foreword. They also reflect briefly upon his tenure at the UNODC between 2002 and 2010.
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The 2009 World Drug Report
A Response From the International Drug Policy Consortium
International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC)
September 2009The World Drug Report 2009 was the first publication of note to come from the UNODC since the High Level Segment of the 52nd session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. As such, it was eagerly anticipated for not only what it would say about the trends in world drug markets, but also what it might reveal about the outlook of the senior management of the Office itself after the UNGASS review.
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IDPC Response to the UNODC 2008 World Drug Report
International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC)
September 2008In this response to the UNODC's World Drug Report 2008, the IDPC continues to support the concept of the Office acting in a capacity as a 'centre of expertise' that collates data, analysis and information on best practices, objectively facilitates policy debates between member states and civil society, and implements multilateral programmes. Nonetheless, it argues that there are still too many examples in the Report where the objectivity and expertise of the Office can be questioned.
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UNODC rewrites history to hide failure
In the new 2008 World Drug Report the UNODC is trying to hide failures behind a bad history lesson. Instead of a clear acknowledgement that the 10-year UNGASS targets have not been met – on the contrary, global production of cocaine and heroin has increased – the WDR decided to go back 100 years into history claiming success in comparison with Chinese opium production and use in the early 20th century. Twisted logic is used to fabricate comparisons with higher production last century.
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See also: Rewriting history. A response to the 2008 World Drug Report, TNI Drug Policy Briefing nr. 26, June 2008 -
Rewriting history
A response to the 2008 World Drug Report
TNI Drug Policy Briefing Nr. 26
June 2008The world today is not any closer to achieving the ten-year targets set by the 1998 UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on drugs. These goals were “eliminating or significantly reducing the illicit cultivation of coca bush, the cannabis plant and the opium poppy by the year 2008.” Instead global production of opiates and cocaine has significantly increased over the last ten years. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) global illicit opium production doubled from 4,346 tons in 1998 to 8,800 tons in 2007. This is mainly due to the massive increase in opium production in Afghanistan. The estimated global cocaine production increased from 825 tons in 1998 to 994 tons in 2007, an increase of 20%.
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The World Drug Report 2007
Still winning the war on drugs?
International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC)
August 2007This IDPC Briefing reviews the data in the latest report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime on the state of the global market, criticises the claims made in the report that international action is successfully controlling the market, and questions the political objectivity of the UNODC as we approach the review of the global objectives set in 1998.
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The 2006 World Drug Report: winning the war on drugs?
International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC)
September 2006This briefing paper looks at the issues raised by the publication in June of the latest World Drug Report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The briefing paper analyses the developing data collection methodologies used by the UNODC and, while recognising their limitations, summarises the findings of the 2006 report on trends in the demand and supply of the main types of internationally prohibited drugs.
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International Drug Control: 100 Years of Success?
TNI comments on the UNODC World Drug Report
TNI Drug Policy Briefing 18
June 2006In its 2006 World Drug Report, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) struggles to construct success stories to convince the world that the global drug control regime has been an effective instrument. An escape-route used in this year's World Drug Report is to fabricate comparisons with higher opium production levels a century ago and with higher prevalence figures for tobacco.
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A cannabis pandemic?
UNODC World Drug Report 2006 full of scientific insults
TNI Press Release
June 26, 2006In its 2006 World Drug Report, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) struggles to construct success stories to convince the world that the global drug control regime has been an effective instrument. UNODC Executive Director, Antonio Maria Costa claims that the world is experiencing a devastating “cannabis pandemic”. His strong language is at odds with other sections of the report, TNI commented in a press release.
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