8 Jul 2009

UN / WEST AFRICA INITIATIVE

UN officials brief on the West Africa Coast Initiative which is a multi-agency effort that supports a regional action plan to combat illicit drug trafficking and organized crime. UNTV

Posted at: July 8, 2009 4:55 pm

Duration: 01:40

Available in: SD

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STORY: UN / WEST AFRICA INITIATIVE
TRT: 1.40
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUIAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 8 JULY 2009, NEW YORK CITY

SHOTLIST:

RECENT 2009, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

8 JULY 2009, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, press conference
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC):
"Why is this document important? In my view, because it establishes the diagnostic; it establishes the framework within which, I believe in terms of policy and in terms of operations we all have to operate. It establishes the severity of the problem, the severity of the threat to West Africa; a threat caused by attacks coming from outside –across the Atlantic or across the Mediterranean- affecting these countries and in the case of illicit drugs which are meant to go as far as Europe."
4. Cutaway, journalist
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Said Djinnit, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Office for West Africa (UNOWA):
"UNOWA has been very concerned about this situation, and has been playing important role to sensitize the region and especially at leadership level, about the implication and the impact of this problem on peace, security and stability in the region."
6. Cutaway, journalist
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC):
"Europe is not only destination of drugs; Europe seems to be the origin in a number of problems facing West Africa with organized crime, namely the export of toxic waste, illicit export of toxic waste, as well as the illicit export of so called e-waste, electronic waste. Europe has something like 8.7 million, Europe creates 8.7 million tons of e-waste, part of which goes into West Africa."
8. Wide shot, press conference

STORYLINE:

The United Nations Office on Crime and Drugs (UNODC), the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA), the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and Interpol have formed a partnership to fight organized crime in West Africa.

Launching the initiative today at headquarters in New York, Antonio Maria Costa, the Executive Director of the UNODC told journalists that the publication released on Tuesday was an important one.

Said Djinnit, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa said that UNOWA had played an important role in sensitizing the region, especially at the leadership level, about the implications and  impact of organized crime, security and stability in the region.

Costa asked Europe for greater commitment in fighting the demand for drugs, saying that that Europe seemed to be the origin for the export of "toxic waste, illicit export of toxic waste, as well as the illicit export of so called e-waste, electronic waste."

The UNODC report found that in some cases, the value of trafficked goods exceeds the gross domestic product (GDP) of West African nations, which are among the world's poorest.

The revenue from 45 million counterfeit anti-malarial pills, worth nearly $450 million, is greater than Guinea-Bissau's GDP, while profits generated by cigarette smuggling, with a $775 million price tag, surpasses the Gambia's entire GDP.

Meanwhile, the income derived from illegally selling oil or trafficking cocaine, worth $1 billion annually each, rivals the GDPs of Cape Verde and Sierra Leone, the report said.

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