New Initiative Against West Africa Drug Trafficking

Accra – Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has launched a commission to tackle drug trafficking in West Africa, which has increased significantly in the past decade.  The 10-member commission met for the first time in the capital of Ghana Thursday.

Kofi Annan launched the Commission on the Impact of Drug Trafficking on Governance, Security, and Development in West Africa on Thursday.  He said the region is increasingly becoming a transit point for drugs from the Americas and Asia that are headed to Europe, and that the illegal activity threatens to destabilize the region.  Local consumption of these drugs is also on the rise.

“We have seen what has happened in other parts of the world where it has destabilized societies, corrupted the system and brought incredible violence,” he said.  “And of course we don’t want to see that happen here and the idea is for us to look at the issue critically, get the evidence and make recommendations for action.”

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Visit the website of the Commission: www.wacommissionondrugs.org