Abstract
This report evaluates the existing international, regional, and national legal landscape in order to identify possible legal initiatives furthering deeper regional cooperation the fight against organised crime, especially that involved in narcotics trafficking.
During four extended trips to Tehran intensive consultations were held with the Unit’s staff, supplemented by interviews with a great number of stakeholders in Tehran, Islamabad, Lahore, Kabul, Brussels and Vienna, listed at the end of this report. The original terms of reference started from the premise that the relatively modest degree of cooperation between the law enforcement and counter-narcotics agencies of the region was caused by a plethora of legal obstacles in the respective national penal and administrative codes, as well as an insufficient legal basis of regional collaboration.
These premises could not be validated on the ground. The experts and stakeholders consulted unanimously agreed that the legal framework in the three countries most affected by the trafficking of opium –Afghanistan as the main producer, and Iran and Pakistan as the main transit corridors– is adequate and no legal obstacles to cooperation were identified. Rather, all collocutors agreed that the generally low level of trust that characterises relations between some member states, as well as entrenched corporate cultures inimical to the sharing of information and operational practices were the among the main reasons regional counter-narcotic cooperation remained anaemic.
During four extended trips to Tehran intensive consultations were held with the Unit’s staff, supplemented by interviews with a great number of stakeholders in Tehran, Islamabad, Lahore, Kabul, Brussels and Vienna, listed at the end of this report. The original terms of reference started from the premise that the relatively modest degree of cooperation between the law enforcement and counter-narcotics agencies of the region was caused by a plethora of legal obstacles in the respective national penal and administrative codes, as well as an insufficient legal basis of regional collaboration.
These premises could not be validated on the ground. The experts and stakeholders consulted unanimously agreed that the legal framework in the three countries most affected by the trafficking of opium –Afghanistan as the main producer, and Iran and Pakistan as the main transit corridors– is adequate and no legal obstacles to cooperation were identified. Rather, all collocutors agreed that the generally low level of trust that characterises relations between some member states, as well as entrenched corporate cultures inimical to the sharing of information and operational practices were the among the main reasons regional counter-narcotic cooperation remained anaemic.
| Original language | English |
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| Publisher | Economic Cooperation Organisation |
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| Number of pages | 57 |
| Publication status | Published - 2014 |
