By Mehru Jaffer

This war, waged from Vienna, is one war that is a welcome one. For it is against the worldwide abuse by criminals of narcotic drugs. It is estimated by the Vienna based headquarters of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) that the number of drug abusers around the globe is shot up to 185 million. And many are children in both developed and developing countries.

What is most worrying is that the scourge affects the most vulnerable and most marginalised in society, attracting those even younger than 15 years. It is five percent of the total number of drug abusers that account for 15 years and above. There are 150 million who consume cannabis, 30 million amphetaminetype stimulants or Ecstacy, 14 million cocaine, 13 million opiates and nine million are addicted to heroin. The growing popularity of drugs such as Ecstasy tablets is of particular concern. Whatever the specific reasons for the addiction, youngsters are found to be confused as they grow up in the midst of rapid social and technological change. Society is far more competitive today while traditional values and family ties have weakened, increasing the need amongst the young for other sources of stimulation. Popular culture has become more tolerant towards the use of illicit drugs, creating an impression that it is glamorous, part of material success and satisfying to personal needs. Young people seem to think that drugs will boost their uncertain self esteem.

Concerned at these trends the UNODC was started by the Secretary General in 1997 to focus on the related issues of drug control, crime prevention and international terrorism. As violence, abuse and addiction gallop globally, the international community called a special session of the United Nations General Assembly in 1998 in an ambitious attempt to control the evil through international drug control Conventions that already exist, the oldest one from 1971.

At that time more than 150 countries committed themselves to combating the illicit supply and demand for drugs by the year 2008 and last week AM Costa, UNODC director hosted a midterm meeting of government representatives, including 75 ministers to review the progress made in the last half decade where he agreed that success has been uneven as organised crime becomes more sophisticated and latches on to the problem of narcotics making some national legislations ineffective. One of the main problems is that cross border policing is bilateral rather than multilateral. Major terrorist attacks in recent times show how violence has gone global but legislations remain local. Economic activity has crossed national borders creating an environment in which people have benefitted materially but also suffer due to the free flow of crime and drugs marching unattacked across the same border.

Since the international community has to still wake up to this danger funds are fore ever in short supply to fight the evil. However it is the support that UNODC gets today from civil society and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) many who are engaged in voluntary work that provides the greatest boost to all its activities, especially at the grassroots. Receiving with a smile over a million signatures from 60 countries, including 294 parliamentarians and 185 organisations by young people from five countries who stand for No to Drugs and Yes to the UN Conventions, Costa complimented the crucial role played by NGOs and called it a magnificent example of the power of partnership with civil society in drug abuse prevention.

Eleanor Frisk, a 15 year old Swede is one of five teenagers who formally presented the signatures to the UN. She took the opportunity to also publicly speak here of the destruction she had caused herself as a drug addict. And hers is only one voice out of countless others that is raised in Vienna against narcotic drugs. At a meeting of NGOs from different countries who have different solutions to the problem it was also pledged that despite their differences they must use Vienna's Drug Summit to improve the working relationship with each other and with as many government representatives as possible in their common goal of saving societies from abusing drugs.

And the voice of Vienna is one that must be heard above all the other noise made in the world for the sake of especially children.