The Problem of Drug Trafficking in The Kingdom of Bhutan

The Kingdom of Bhutan, where located in South Asia. The area, populations are 38,364 square km and 750,000 respectively.

Drug trafficking is a global issue, which not only affects Latin America but also South Asia. The Kingdom of Bhutan has influenced by drug traffic in India due to free trade and open porous borders. The drug use in the area near India and Nepal is relatively high, especially the use of benzodiazepines and amphetamines. Nevertheless, the issue is not a significant compared to other countries.

The Kingdom of Bhutan has several actions to counter the issue. First, The Kingdom of Bhutan seek the help of International community. The Kingdom of Bhutan is a party of the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances since 1988, which provides comprehensive measures against drug trafficking, including the diversion of precursor chemicals. International cooperation is offered through several methods like extradition of drug traffickers-controlled deliveries and transfer of proceedings. Moreover, the new United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Regional Programme for 2018-2021 and one of the priority areas of cooperation is drug trafficking. The programme is the continuation of the programme in the past.

The Kingdom of Bhutan has a variety of policies with respect to the issue such as the Civil and Criminal Procedure Code, the Sales Tax, Customs and Excise Act, the Medicines Act, the Penal Code of Bhutan, and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and Substance Abuse Act. The Kingdom of Bhutan became the first country to prohibit tobacco sales because the selling of tobacco products to citizens was outlawed. “Karma Tshering of the Bhutanese Customs state that, “If any foreigner is caught selling tobacco products to Bhutanese nationals, he will be charged with smuggling. Tobacco will be treated as contraband.” (“South Asia | Bhutan forbids all tobacco sales.”), which indicates effort of the Kingdom of Bhutan effort to enact drug traffic.

The Kingdom of Bhutan believes drug traffic in Latin America requires a shared responsibility. The resolution requires great efforts on the part of all member States for achieving sustainable development in Latin America. As the result, the Kingdom of Bhutan has always supported establishing cooperation between all member states. The Kingdom of Bhutan looks forward to providing its support to benefit the global community.