Iran Attends 57th Session of UN Commission on Narcotics


TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, who is also head of the country's anti-drugs headquarters, attended the 57th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), held in Austria’s Vienna.

The CND, one of the several commissions of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is slated to hold its 57th session in Vienna on March 13-14.

The CND has currently 53 members. During the upcoming session, the commission will review the progress made by the member states in implementing the plans outlined by the global body previously.

A brief joint ministerial statement will be issued at the conclusion of the high-level review, identifying achievements, challenges and priorities for further action.

Iran is on a major transit route for drugs being smuggled from Afghanistan to Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the country's war on drug-traffickers has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police forces over the past 34 years.

According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Iran is netting eight times more opium and three times more heroin than all other countries in the world combined.