HC Deb 10 January 1990 vol 164 c648W
39. Mr. Gregory

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what efforts are being made to co-ordinate international action against the drugs trade.

Mr. Sainsbury

International co-operation against the drugs trade takes place in a number of fora, notably the United Nations, the European Community and the Council of Europe. In my statement to the United Nations General Assembly in November, I called for greater resources for the United Nations drugs effort; and for a restructuring of the United Nations drugs bodies to make them more effective. The General Assembly has now called on the secretary-general to convene an expert group to review these issues. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs hopes to attend a United Nations special session on drugs in New York next month. The Government will also host a world ministerial summit in London in April 1990 to look at ways of reducing the demand for drugs and combating the cocaine threat.