Senlis Council - a voice of reason in Afghan drugs crisis

Every year drug use and drug trafficking increase, and as a result every year the global illicit drug trade grows and has been estimated as the world’s second largest industry. This is having drastic consequences on the world’s economy, health and security. Thus, it is clear that the current international drug control system has failed to protect both individuals and society from the drug problem.

The Senlis Council is working to promote a plan to license opium / heroin production in Afghanistan for commercial use.

In the light of the Afghanistan International Donors Conference, the Senlis Council held The London Conference on the Afghan Development and Security Crisis on Monday 30 January, followed by the Landmark Journey of Afghan Farmers to the United Kingdom from Friday 3 to Monday 6 February. Both events revealed the state of deep crisis of current Afghanistan reconstruction efforts. Drug policy lies at the core of these efforts, but with traditional approaches, most particularly crop eradication, failing to address the deep-rooted nature of the opium crisis, the entire stability of the country is under threat. The Senlis Council’s series of events also aimed to give a voice to the most vulnerable groups of the opium crisis, namely, farmers and drug user communities. Calling for new thinking on Afghanistan Security and Development During the press conference, the Executive Director of The Senlis Council, Mr Emmanuel Reinert, stressed that drug policy lies at the heart of the Afghan security and development crisis, and as such the failing drug policies currently being applied in Afghanistan must be urgently addressed.

Eradication activities in particular are counterproductive and are undermining reconstruction and development efforts in the country. Mr Reinert revealed that The Senlis Council has proof that aerial spraying campaigns are being planned for Afghanistan, and underlined the disaster this would spell for not only the millions of Afghan people who depend on poppy cultivation for survival, but also the international community presently engaged in development and security efforts within the country.

Mr Reinert questioned the legality of forced eradication campaigns, and noted that The Senlis Council was investigating this issue, especially with regard to the international community’s mandate and NATO’s guidelines in Afghanistan.

Report available here

Minister of defence John Reid is sending UK troops out on an ill defined mission ...he said at Kings College on Monday ..."The British army is a superb and deeply ethical professional body precisely because it seeks to inject morality - right and wrong - into the harsh reality of warfare .... It is precisely this confusion about the morality of drugs / and the reality of subsistence farming which the Senlis Council addresses in a radical program.

Find out more abour the Senlis Council NOW.

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US plans war on al-Qaida's Afghan opium Guradian 24th November 2003

"This is going to be the biggest frickin' pheasant drive you've ever seen," the American official said.

And just published on the web an excellent article A Better Strategy Against Narcoterrorism By Vanda Felbab-Brown from MIT , AlterNet. Feb 14, 2006.