Abstract: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) today issued its Report 2010. “This Report shows how health, security and justice are the antidotes to drugs, crime and terrorism,” said UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa. The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, during an official visit to Austria, said: “The UNODC 2010 Report showcases the extraordinary task accomplished by this small office. This is further proof of how Vienna has become a hub for human security issues, and how the UN can deliver assistance in the field to save people from the misery of drugs and crime.” The Report covers the full range of UNODC’s work around the world: promoting drug treatment and alternative development; improving criminal justice; strengthening integrity; and reducing vulnerability to crime. Its descriptive chapters are brought to life by photos and personal accounts, like those of a trafficking survivor, a prison employee, a cacao farmer, and a recovering drug addict. The Report also explains how UNODC carries out its renowned research, including its growing capacity in scientific and forensic services. The Report concludes by offering a blunt assessment of UNODC’s resource requirements: “currently, resources available are minute compared to the gigantic menace that we face,” said Mr. Costa. One of the main themes throughout the Report is the threat posed by organized crime. The issue is high on the international agenda. Organized crime has been debated in the Security Council several times over the past six months, it will be the focus of the Twelfth UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice that will take place in Salvador, Brazil next week (12-19 April), as well as the fifth session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN (Palermo) Convention against Transnational Organized Crime to be held in Vienna this October. “2010 – which is the 10th anniversary of the Palermo Convention – should be the year for strengthening the international response to organized crime,” said Mr. Costa. “There is plenty of bad news about drugs and crime. This Report shows that these threats can be addressed in a way that has wider benefits for society, namely improving health, security and justice for all,” said Mr. Costa. The UNODC 2010 Report is available in hard copy and on the UNODC website: www.unodc.org

Abstract: Le chapitre I du Rapport mondial sur les drogues de cette année donne un aperçu des tendances récentes et de la situation de la production, du trafic et de la consommation de drogues et des conséquences de cette consommation en termes de traitements et de maladies et de décès liés à la drogue. Le chapitre II présente d’un point de vue diachronique les caractéristiques du problème de la drogue, son évolution et les principaux facteurs qui le déterminent. Il débute par un examen des principales caractéristiques du problème actuel, suivi d’une présentation des changements observés au cours des dernières décennies, puis s’achève par une analyse des facteurs qui ont influé sur son évolution et un bref aperçu des tendances futures probables.

Abstract: Many illicit drug markets have reached global dimensions and require control strategies on a comparable scale. In that context, there is a need to better understand these transnational markets and the manner in which they operate. The yearly World Drug Report is a contribution towards that objective. This year’s edition starts with an overview of the illicit drug situation worldwide and regionally, followed by more comprehensive discussions and statistical trends for the key transnational drug markets, namely opium/heroin, coca/cocaine, amphetamine-type stimulants and cannabis.