The thematic exhibition "Society without Drugs is Our Choice", dedicated to the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is open from June 14 to August 6 in the Official Documents department (room 207).
This Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly on December 7, 1987 (resolution 42/112) and is celebrated annually on June 26.
Today addiction is one of the main problems of the world community. Drug abuse is causing immense harm to public health and public safety, jeopardizing peaceful development and the stable existence of society. Illicit drug trafficking is cultivating the activities of networks of transnational organized crime, systemic corruption and widespread violence.
According to the World Drug Report (2016), the number of drug users in the world ranges from 3.3 to 6.5% of the world's total population. These figures refer to people aged 15 to 64 who used drugs at least once a year. Drug consumption is on the sixth place in the list of the most common causes of death of persons aged 15-49. More than 211 thousand people die from drugs every year.
The consequences of addiction for demographic indicators are becoming more threatening every day. The proportion of minors and adolescents among those who use drugs is increasing, and the number of women who are partial to this terrible problem is growing.
Recognizing that, despite the ongoing intensification of the efforts of the international community, the world drug problem is still posing a serious threat, the UN is working actively to strengthen international drug control. The Commission on Narcotic Drugs has been established for this purpose, which serves as the main intergovernmental policy-making body and coordinating body for international drug control.
In 1997, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the leading institution in the fight against illicit drug trafficking and organized crime, was established.
From 19 to 26 April 2016, the UN General Assembly held a special session on the drug problem in the world. At this session, the international community took steps for a multifaceted collective response on the full range of issues related to drug abuse and illicit trafficking. Following the session, the policy document "Political Declaration and Action Plan on Establishing International Cooperation for the Development of an Integrated and Balanced Strategy to Combat the World Drug Problem" was adopted. This declaration determined the measures to be taken by Member States and the goals to be achieved by 2019.
The spread of drug abuse in Belarus, as in other countries, poses a global threat to public health, the country's economy, the rule of law and the security of the state. Over the past decade, the number of drug dependent individuals in our republic has increased in 1.3 times: from 6,145 in 2005 to 8,025 at the beginning of 2018.
Combat against illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances has become an important direction of the country's policy. Belarus is a country Party of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances, the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. Based on these international legal documents, we have developed a national legislative framework in this field. In 2012, the Law of the Republic of Belarus "On Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances, Their Precursors and Analogues" was adopted, the Comprehensive Plan of Measures aimed at taking effective measures to counter drug trafficking, preventing their consumption, including among children and youth, social rehabilitation of people with drug addiction, for 2017-2018.
The exhibition consists of the following sections:
- drugs and society: historical essay
- legal measures to counter illicit drug trafficking and international control over the spread
- drug addiction prevention measures, treatment and rehabilitation of drug addiction
- combating drug use and illicit drug trafficking in the Republic of Belarus
There are presented more than 100 documents in Russian, German, French and English at the exhibition. Generally, there are documents of international organizations: books, periodicals, mimeographed UN materials, brochures.
The exhibition is addressed to social and medical workers, law enforcement officers, teachers and students, teachers and parents, as well as all those who are interested in the problems of drug addiction.
Useful Links:
- International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (26 June)
- UNODC – United Nations on Drugs and Crime
- World Drug Campaign
Documents:
The opening hours of the exhibition corresponds to the library’s opening hours.
Entrance to the exhibition is available by the library ticket or ticket of the library's social and cultural center.
For more info: (+375 17) 293 27 34.
