“Mongolia does not have an official policy or program which fights addictive drugs”
The following is an interview with M. Batchimeg, the Strategy on National Security advisor to the President of Mongolia.
-The President has expressed his support on the work against narcotics and its acceleration, and created a working group to develop a new law proposal. What is its progress?
-The President has proposed the national program against narcotics. I am thankful to the media that they are supporting this program and distributing information regarding the fight against narcotics, especially Unuudur newspaper. Last March, the President held an open forum and gave elaborate information on the dangers of addictive drugs, and encouraged non governmental and governmental organizations to work and cooperate with the people on their work against drugs. Within the framework of the campaign against drugs, he gave advice and a general strategy to the Government.
Mongolia has a law on monitoring addictive drugs and medicines. The President gave a working group responsibility for this law and its updates, and also ordered them to develop a national program against drugs.
He also emphasized the importance of the connection and cooperation between many anti-drug organizations. The working group against drugs includes experts from the Police Department, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs and The Border Agency. Currently the first draft of the law is completed and the working group is taking ideas and comments from people.
-What are the difficulties faced by the working group?
-There are numerous problems. There is no organization that focuses on drug users, traders and carrier statistics in Mongolia. As a result, there is no official way to place funding from the State designated for these kinds of projects. The President’s urgent reminder has accelerated the creation of a national committee against drugs.
-How many drug addicts are there in Mongolia? Is there any information on this?
-We have no information other than small studies conducted by various health and drug organizations. We are currently reviewing the research results of administrative organizations. By looking at countries with a long history of fighting drugs, it is possible to set a quota. For example, one study suggests that behind one drug user, there are definitely three or four more drug users. If we base our calculations on this, Mongolia has over 10,000 constant drug users. In a study conducted on 2,000 public school students, we found about one fourth of them said that they have at least once used an addictive drug, or have been offered drugs before. In addition to the police, citizens report that there are drug users in night clubs. Also, the increased drug addicts approaching health organizations indicate that drug users are increasing in Mongolia.
Mongolia does not have an official stand that fights addictive drugs and gives information to the public. The biggest challenge the State has now, is to create an office against drugs. Although customs and the police are working as directed, their cooperation and connection between them is unsatisfactory and negatively affecting their overall performance.
We Mongolians have talked about the dangers of drugs for many years and it is unfortunate that we still don’t have a State administration that is dedicated to fight addictive and illegal drugs. Until 2005, we had an anti-drug project running, funded by the UN; but since then anti-drug activities are all but forgotten.
-Many counties around the world seem to fight drugs with very strong and aggressive laws and strategies. The closest example we have is China – they execute anyone carrying 50 grams or more cocaine. Looking at the dangers posed by drugs, it would also seem that we need laws as aggressive as China. But the President refused capital punishment, what do you think about?
-It is important to understand that drug prevention is more important than catching a drug user in an illegal activity. We Mongolians meddle with drug users and underground drug transportation systems. So our priority should be to take these Mongolians out of this business and to prevent others from joining in this kind of criminal activities. After that we may talk about punishments for drug crimes. Recently the Criminal Police Department organized a round table discussion with us. Representatives from the police, prosecutors, courts and the General Intelligence Agency (GIA) were present; the result of the discussion pointed out that drug crimes cannot be solved by strong jurisdiction and punishment.
For example, Russia has aggressive punishment for crimes regarding narcotics. But in the past 20 years, drug users have increased in explosive rates. Instead of simply killing drug traffickers, users and business owners, it is more important to create punishments that can imprison them for life, impose a huge fines, confiscate all of their belongings, wealth and properties, or otherwise make their businesses unprofitable. Mongolia is not the only country that refused capital punishment. I think Mongolian citizens acknowledge that the world’s trend is to respect and value human lives. The Mongolian constitution guarantees the right to live.
-A long time has passed since Mongolians began transporting drugs to Malaysia. I just came back from a court case from Malaysia on Mongolian drug traffickers. The Judges there talked about two women living and working in Malaysia, and they use Mongolian citizens on their drug trades. Are there any jurisdictions that can arrest or apprehend these individuals?
-Cocaine or drug problems do not only apply to one country. Drug trafficking is all over the world, nation to nation, culture to culture. On the fight against drugs, international cooperation is very important. Thus we are expanding our partnership opportunities beyond our neighbors. This will allow us to count and identify Mongolian drug traffickers easily.
Additionally, we need to improve and increase the number of experts and professionals on drugs. Currently, this is being done by the police and the intelligence agency. We need to register and create a database for drug users and addicts.
I know how the FBI in the United States works. They are able to stop and prevent a criminal activity before they are done. International convention has laws regarding the arrest and investigation procedure of this kind of crimes. For example, a testing “buying and selling” procedure is conducted by the officials to see if they are really selling or buying drugs and also investigate further if there are any other people, more influential people behind the dealers. Transporters are followed carefully for a long time, and the whole system is taken down afterwards. They should not be happy if they are not caught after several drug deals. The Mongolians who are becoming drug traffickers should know that they are being watched and investigated with evidence piling up against them and will be apprehended when the time comes. Chinese authorities also work the same way.
But when Mongolians think that drug trafficking brings a lot of money in such a short time, they tend to do it again, pulling themselves closer to certain death.
Policies followed by the world will be reflected in our law proposal.
-Which organization should be responsible for narcotics – the GIA, Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs or the Police Department?
-The working group is proposing a number of different variants for this. Investigation and crimes concerning narcotics will be preserved by the police. Health, police and education organizations will do their designated tasks. So there should be one specific administration that controls all of this.
-Sources report that drug traffickers who bring drugs to Mongolia in small amounts are prostitutes in Beijing and Erenhot. Is there a way to stop this route?
-Cocaine or drug trafficking is interesting in that it is almost always accompanied by human trafficking. Once the strategy is set and policies are passed, there will be more chances of blocking out these kinds of operations. Cocaine is not a case of just one person injecting, snorting and smoking alone. It carries a great risk and damage to society. Especially to a country like Mongolia with less people, it could pose a danger to national security.
Drug trafficking is followed by human trafficking, prostitution and sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS; and all of them pose great health hazards. Once a drug addict cannot buy anymore drugs, that person will begin selling his or her belongings and once that is depleted they will turn to crimes for money, and they join larger and organized crimes. In other words, drugs turn people into something else – they are not normal people anymore. I think Mongolians would understand and acknowledge the dangers of drugs. Currently, Russia has 1.8 million people using the injecting method of drugs, and 1.6 million people that use different methods. Another statistic indicates that 70% of drug addicts are HIV carriers and that one fourth of all drug addicts have liver illnesses.
-It seems that Mongolian customs agents’ knowledge and their tools are unsatisfactory when it comes to drugs. What do you say on this?
-Although the police and other concerned authorities do their tasks against drugs as ordered, it is true that general human resources against drugs; tools on identifying and discovering drugs are unsatisfactory or not available at all. So the situation will get better if the Government creates an administrative body that takes
care of narcotics, and also resolve financial difficulties.
It is time for the Government to pay more attention to the safety of its people. Although we are constantly talking about the great development and growth following the mineral riches of Oyu Tolgoi and Tavantolgoi, we should never forget about safety. There is no doubt that Mongolian people will develop, live and work in a safe environment. It makes no sense to talk about living in harmony when we leave the question of safety behind.
Don’t think anyone would argue the idea that the foundation of country’s development is safety and security. The funding set from the State for national security is not enough. Government strategy is implemented after bypassing through the budget strategy. Looking at the budget, it is obvious that funding dedicated to human safety activities and projects are so low. The air pollution work has begun only just recently. We are saying that there are only 10,000 drug users in Mongolia, but in a few years it could reach up to hundreds of thousands. We should aggressively accelerate our work against drugs and the State should support in terms of strategy.
-Is it known if the law on narcotics will be passed through this State Great Khural? When will it be passed?
-Of course, if the law races with elections, it will not be as effective or of high quality. So we plan to develop it further and propose it once the new parliament is created.
-The President has expressed his support on the work against narcotics and its acceleration, and created a working group to develop a new law proposal. What is its progress?
-The President has proposed the national program against narcotics. I am thankful to the media that they are supporting this program and distributing information regarding the fight against narcotics, especially Unuudur newspaper. Last March, the President held an open forum and gave elaborate information on the dangers of addictive drugs, and encouraged non governmental and governmental organizations to work and cooperate with the people on their work against drugs. Within the framework of the campaign against drugs, he gave advice and a general strategy to the Government.
Mongolia has a law on monitoring addictive drugs and medicines. The President gave a working group responsibility for this law and its updates, and also ordered them to develop a national program against drugs.
He also emphasized the importance of the connection and cooperation between many anti-drug organizations. The working group against drugs includes experts from the Police Department, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs and The Border Agency. Currently the first draft of the law is completed and the working group is taking ideas and comments from people.
-What are the difficulties faced by the working group?
-There are numerous problems. There is no organization that focuses on drug users, traders and carrier statistics in Mongolia. As a result, there is no official way to place funding from the State designated for these kinds of projects. The President’s urgent reminder has accelerated the creation of a national committee against drugs.
-How many drug addicts are there in Mongolia? Is there any information on this?
-We have no information other than small studies conducted by various health and drug organizations. We are currently reviewing the research results of administrative organizations. By looking at countries with a long history of fighting drugs, it is possible to set a quota. For example, one study suggests that behind one drug user, there are definitely three or four more drug users. If we base our calculations on this, Mongolia has over 10,000 constant drug users. In a study conducted on 2,000 public school students, we found about one fourth of them said that they have at least once used an addictive drug, or have been offered drugs before. In addition to the police, citizens report that there are drug users in night clubs. Also, the increased drug addicts approaching health organizations indicate that drug users are increasing in Mongolia.
Mongolia does not have an official stand that fights addictive drugs and gives information to the public. The biggest challenge the State has now, is to create an office against drugs. Although customs and the police are working as directed, their cooperation and connection between them is unsatisfactory and negatively affecting their overall performance.
We Mongolians have talked about the dangers of drugs for many years and it is unfortunate that we still don’t have a State administration that is dedicated to fight addictive and illegal drugs. Until 2005, we had an anti-drug project running, funded by the UN; but since then anti-drug activities are all but forgotten.
-Many counties around the world seem to fight drugs with very strong and aggressive laws and strategies. The closest example we have is China – they execute anyone carrying 50 grams or more cocaine. Looking at the dangers posed by drugs, it would also seem that we need laws as aggressive as China. But the President refused capital punishment, what do you think about?
-It is important to understand that drug prevention is more important than catching a drug user in an illegal activity. We Mongolians meddle with drug users and underground drug transportation systems. So our priority should be to take these Mongolians out of this business and to prevent others from joining in this kind of criminal activities. After that we may talk about punishments for drug crimes. Recently the Criminal Police Department organized a round table discussion with us. Representatives from the police, prosecutors, courts and the General Intelligence Agency (GIA) were present; the result of the discussion pointed out that drug crimes cannot be solved by strong jurisdiction and punishment.
For example, Russia has aggressive punishment for crimes regarding narcotics. But in the past 20 years, drug users have increased in explosive rates. Instead of simply killing drug traffickers, users and business owners, it is more important to create punishments that can imprison them for life, impose a huge fines, confiscate all of their belongings, wealth and properties, or otherwise make their businesses unprofitable. Mongolia is not the only country that refused capital punishment. I think Mongolian citizens acknowledge that the world’s trend is to respect and value human lives. The Mongolian constitution guarantees the right to live.
-A long time has passed since Mongolians began transporting drugs to Malaysia. I just came back from a court case from Malaysia on Mongolian drug traffickers. The Judges there talked about two women living and working in Malaysia, and they use Mongolian citizens on their drug trades. Are there any jurisdictions that can arrest or apprehend these individuals?
-Cocaine or drug problems do not only apply to one country. Drug trafficking is all over the world, nation to nation, culture to culture. On the fight against drugs, international cooperation is very important. Thus we are expanding our partnership opportunities beyond our neighbors. This will allow us to count and identify Mongolian drug traffickers easily.
Additionally, we need to improve and increase the number of experts and professionals on drugs. Currently, this is being done by the police and the intelligence agency. We need to register and create a database for drug users and addicts.
I know how the FBI in the United States works. They are able to stop and prevent a criminal activity before they are done. International convention has laws regarding the arrest and investigation procedure of this kind of crimes. For example, a testing “buying and selling” procedure is conducted by the officials to see if they are really selling or buying drugs and also investigate further if there are any other people, more influential people behind the dealers. Transporters are followed carefully for a long time, and the whole system is taken down afterwards. They should not be happy if they are not caught after several drug deals. The Mongolians who are becoming drug traffickers should know that they are being watched and investigated with evidence piling up against them and will be apprehended when the time comes. Chinese authorities also work the same way.
But when Mongolians think that drug trafficking brings a lot of money in such a short time, they tend to do it again, pulling themselves closer to certain death.
Policies followed by the world will be reflected in our law proposal.
-Which organization should be responsible for narcotics – the GIA, Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs or the Police Department?
-The working group is proposing a number of different variants for this. Investigation and crimes concerning narcotics will be preserved by the police. Health, police and education organizations will do their designated tasks. So there should be one specific administration that controls all of this.
-Sources report that drug traffickers who bring drugs to Mongolia in small amounts are prostitutes in Beijing and Erenhot. Is there a way to stop this route?
-Cocaine or drug trafficking is interesting in that it is almost always accompanied by human trafficking. Once the strategy is set and policies are passed, there will be more chances of blocking out these kinds of operations. Cocaine is not a case of just one person injecting, snorting and smoking alone. It carries a great risk and damage to society. Especially to a country like Mongolia with less people, it could pose a danger to national security.
Drug trafficking is followed by human trafficking, prostitution and sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS; and all of them pose great health hazards. Once a drug addict cannot buy anymore drugs, that person will begin selling his or her belongings and once that is depleted they will turn to crimes for money, and they join larger and organized crimes. In other words, drugs turn people into something else – they are not normal people anymore. I think Mongolians would understand and acknowledge the dangers of drugs. Currently, Russia has 1.8 million people using the injecting method of drugs, and 1.6 million people that use different methods. Another statistic indicates that 70% of drug addicts are HIV carriers and that one fourth of all drug addicts have liver illnesses.
-It seems that Mongolian customs agents’ knowledge and their tools are unsatisfactory when it comes to drugs. What do you say on this?
-Although the police and other concerned authorities do their tasks against drugs as ordered, it is true that general human resources against drugs; tools on identifying and discovering drugs are unsatisfactory or not available at all. So the situation will get better if the Government creates an administrative body that takes
care of narcotics, and also resolve financial difficulties.
It is time for the Government to pay more attention to the safety of its people. Although we are constantly talking about the great development and growth following the mineral riches of Oyu Tolgoi and Tavantolgoi, we should never forget about safety. There is no doubt that Mongolian people will develop, live and work in a safe environment. It makes no sense to talk about living in harmony when we leave the question of safety behind.
Don’t think anyone would argue the idea that the foundation of country’s development is safety and security. The funding set from the State for national security is not enough. Government strategy is implemented after bypassing through the budget strategy. Looking at the budget, it is obvious that funding dedicated to human safety activities and projects are so low. The air pollution work has begun only just recently. We are saying that there are only 10,000 drug users in Mongolia, but in a few years it could reach up to hundreds of thousands. We should aggressively accelerate our work against drugs and the State should support in terms of strategy.
-Is it known if the law on narcotics will be passed through this State Great Khural? When will it be passed?
-Of course, if the law races with elections, it will not be as effective or of high quality. So we plan to develop it further and propose it once the new parliament is created.
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