Enforce ECOWAS Drug Action Plan to address illicit drugs trafficking.
The special representative of the President of ECOWAS Commission in Liberia Irene Wallace said, drugs trafficking organizations have been on the increase using West Africa as a transit point for smuggling large amount of cocaine from South America to Europe. There are indications of increase in substance abuse in West Africa. This exerts further pressure on our already fragile national health, economic and security system.
Irene Wallace said that in 2008 the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and government adopted a political declaration on the prevention of drugs abuse, illicit drug trafficking and organized crime in West Africa which give rise to the development of ECOWAS Drug Action Plan to address illicit drugs trafficking. The ECOWAS Authority directed the Commission to take appropriate actions for the development of an ECOWAS convention against illicit drug trafficking and abuse as well as demanded for the harmonization of ECOWAS legal instrument into a single and updated regional protocol on drug control and prevention of organized crime. This becomes necessary in order to foster effective cooperation amongst member States in enforcement of drugs laws and other related legislations. Irene indicated that when the drugs law is amended in Liberia, it will help arrest some of the drugs problems in Liberia.