MEMBERS of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, including the Philippines, are expected to adopt two resolutions affirming their roles in the campaign against illegal drugs in the region at the 13th Aipa Fact-Finding Committee meeting on Thursday.
Aipa president Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said the first of two resolutions aims to highlight the urgency to forge inclusive partnership towards a drug-free Asean community while the second seeks to transform the Aifocom into an Aipa Advisory Council On Dangerous Drugs to strengthen its role and mandate as a parliamentary tool to combat dangerous drugs.
“The approval of the two resolutions is imperative in the wake of the alarming situation of drug abuse in the region that has also become a transshipment hub for illegal drugs,” Alvarez, expected to deliver the welcome address at the opening session of the Aifocom on Tuesday, said
The resolutions will be tackled on July 6 during the Third Session of Aifocom.
The first resolution calls for an inclusive partnership towards a drug-free Asean community that recognizes Aipa partnership’s need to have a more holistic approach to the drug problem, the Speaker said.
The resolution, he said, recognizes the urgency to engage the support and cooperation not only of national governments and their law enforcement agencies, but also of the private sector, the non-government and civil society organizations, and local communities.
“An inclusive partnership in the fight against the drug menace also means bolstering legal assistance among Aipa member-countries and strongly supporting the sharing of intelligence information, investigations and joint operations against illegal drugs,” Alvarez said.
It could also mean supporting the requisite research activities and strengthening the framework to fight and prevent drug production, use and trafficking.
The resolution will call on Aipa member-parliaments to enact new laws and review existing laws to determine the necessary amendments that will lead to harmonization of the legal framework on illegal drugs among Aipa member-countries and oversee the enforcement of said laws, Alvarez said.