DUSHANBE, April 2, Asia-Plus — A roundtable meeting to discuss issues related to introduction of mechanism of coordinated approach to the fight against drug trafficking from Afghanistan to Central Asia and Europe will be held at headquarters of the Drug Control Agency (DCA) in Dushanbe on April 2.
The source at a DCA said that the meeting participants include representatives from Mini-Dublin Group, diplomatic missions and international organizations accredited in Tajikistan as well as representatives from relevant ministries and organizations of Tajikistan.
The meeting will be presided over by the Mini-Dublin Group head Angelo Persiani, who is Ambassador of Italy to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
The Dublin Group was established in 1990 on the occasion of a CELAD (European Committee to Combat Drugs) meeting in Dublin under the Irish Presidency. However, it is not an EU mechanism but, rather, a broad based initiative.
The Dublin Group is an informal coordination group made up of like-minded countries that meets periodically with three main objectives: firstly, to analyze and exchange views on international drug problems – as regards production, trafficking and abuse – particularly in mainly-producing and transit countries. Secondly, to make recommendations both to its members and to its partner countries on how to address these problems. Thirdly, to coordinate their response to these problems particularly as regards their members’ cooperation with partner countries.
Members of the Dublin Group are the European Commission and the Member States of the EU, the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and Norway. The UNODC also participates in the Group’s meetings and the Secretariat of the Group is assured by the EU Council Secretariat.
The Dublin Group meets in Brussels at central level twice a year in June/July and December/January. Delegations are usually led by officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, or similar departments, often at Ambassador level. Every two years the Regional chairs are elected by consensus at these meetings. Each of these chairs – there are about ten – have the responsibility for monitoring and informing the Dublin Group at the central level about the evolution of the drug situation in a particular region. They do so by preparing once a year a “regional report” (and six months later a “follow-up” to this report), which contains (sometimes proceeded by a regional summary) the information and recommendations submitted by the mini-Dublin Groups established in the region.
These mini-Dublin Groups (one per host country) consist of representatives from the Missions and Embassies of Dublin Group members in each host country. They usually meet twice a year at the initiative, and under the chairmanship, of the Mission whose country holds the regional chair. Often, their meetings are also attended (in part or entirely) by officials from the host country.
