SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, good afternoon, everybody.  Thank you a lot for being right here this afternoon.  And particularly, I’ve to say it’s nice to be joined by colleagues from dozens of nationwide governments, civil society teams, and the personal sector.  This group, in all its variety, demonstrates a basic reality in regards to the artificial drug disaster:  No a part of the world is immune.  To successfully shield our individuals, we have to work collectively throughout governments, throughout areas, throughout sectors.  I simply had a short glimpse on the video a second in the past, and I believe it’s very highly effective – even these few quick minutes – the profound menace that artificial medication pose as an pressing public well being menace to our individuals.

Here within the United States, artificial medication are the number-one killer of Americans aged 18 to 49.  We had almost 110,000 overdose deaths final yr within the United States; greater than two thirds of these had an artificial opioid like fentanyl concerned within the dying.  This disaster has an immeasurable price.  It has devastated households.  It’s devastated communities.  It’s additionally been overwhelming to our public well being and legal justice programs.

But right here is the truth.  The United States could have been to some extent a canary within the coal mine in terms of fentanyl, however alas, we aren’t alone.  Criminal organizations trafficking medication are exploiting gaps in our interconnected system to deliver new medication to new locations in new methods.  And each area throughout the globe is experiencing an alarming rise in artificial medication, from tramadol in Africa, to pretend Captagon drugs within the Middle East, to ketamine and amphetamines in Asia.

In Australia final yr, legislation enforcement seized 5 million doses of fentanyl, each probably deadly and reflecting the biggest cargo authorities had ever seen.  In the European Union, 41 never-seen-before artificial substances had been reported simply final yr.  As the UN Office on Drugs and Crime has discovered, the artificial drug commerce in Asia has now reached, and I quote, “extreme levels.”

We launched the Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats in recognition of the dimensions of this problem and of the necessity for sturdy, coordinated, worldwide motion.  In July, we convened the primary ministerial, joined by officers from greater than 80 different international locations and leaders from over a dozen regional and worldwide organizations.  This month, the three working teams that we launched centered on stopping the illicit manufacture and trafficking of artificial medication and their chemical precursors, detecting rising drug threats, and selling public well being options.  These working teams held their first conferences.

Now, we’ve introduced collectively representatives from over 100 international locations from each area on the planet, in addition to civil society and the personal sector, to channel the expertise and experience of the broader world group into concrete and efficient options:  public well being options, as we’re seeing in Kazakhstan, which simply launched a brand new three-year plan that gives report investments to assist minors who’re affected by substance use problems; legislation enforcement interventions, just like the nationwide coalition arrange by Honduras bringing collectively the army, the police, prosecutors, the personal sector to enhance the regulation of authorized precursors coming into the nation; novel options that have interaction specialists, together with scientists, just like the UN’s efforts to assist construct the capability of greater than 300 nationwide forensic laboratories in 96 international locations, coaching scientists, offering technological instruments to assist them higher detect artificial medication.

These are exactly the type of interventions that we’ll share, we’ll replicate, we are going to deliver to scale via this world coalition whereas supporting different greatest practices, like expanded data sharing between governments and the personal sector, stronger cargo labeling requirements, and know-your-customer practices to assist stop the diversion of precursors into illicit use.  At identical time, we are going to proceed to make use of each device in our diplomatic toolkit to deal with this disaster.  That’s why this yr we’re offering greater than $100 million to assist our companions higher detect, establish, and interdict medication, and to supply very important remedy and prevention providers.

Already, we’ve supported tasks to create a brand new surveillance system to observe new narcotic substances via the World Health Organization, to attach individuals within the legal justice system in companion international locations with efficient well being remedies like rehabilitation, and to create a web-based platform for legislation enforcement world wide to share details about rising drug threats.

And to construct on our diplomatic efforts, we’re taking three further steps, every with the purpose of translating motion – initiative, excuse me, into motion.

First, the United States will identify an envoy to raise our diplomacy on this challenge, working with international locations world wide to confront this world menace.

Second, later this yr in December, the United States will introduce a decision on the United Nations General Assembly highlighting the worldwide well being and safety menace of artificial medication and urging worldwide motion to deal with them.  We’re already working with our companions to assist construct consensus for the textual content.  We welcome all international locations becoming a member of as co-sponsors.

And third, the United States, alongside of UNODC, can be partnering with tech corporations within the combat towards illicit medication.  Among different issues, we’ll be centered on discovering methods to disclaim criminals entry to on-line platforms to market harmful medication, in addition to growing instruments to assist these in search of remedy choices for substance use problems.

Now, a number of of you on this viewers are already partnering with us, and we stay up for extra becoming a member of the hassle.

So as you may see, we’re laser-focused on taking concrete steps in order that we will help save lives, the lives not simply of Americans however of individuals world wide.  There isn’t any challenge that’s extra clearly one which requires, that calls for, that urgently wants, worldwide cooperation than this one.  But I’m satisfied that if we work collectively and if we act collectively, we are able to make a profound distinction, a profound distinction in actually saving lives.

So to everybody right here as we speak, thanks, thanks, thanks.  Thank you to your work on this disaster.  Thank you to your dedication to partnership.  Thank you for all that you just’re doing to avoid wasting lives.

And with that, I’d like to ask my fellow panelists to return up and be a part of us on the stage.

[Panel]

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thank you.  The most necessary factor we are able to do is be very virtually minded and virtually centered.  And so we’ve these massive conferences, together with this week in New York.  We deliver lots of people collectively.  But as I prefer to say, what’s actually necessary is just not the sooner or later you meet, it’s the 364 days that comply with by way of what you do.  And so for this coalition, we’ve been very centered on bringing this right down to very concrete, centered working teams.

And so out of the preliminary coalition assembly, we developed three working teams, three broad working teams: first, to have a look at what we are able to do to extra successfully cease the unlawful manufacture or unlawful trafficking of artificial opioids or their precursors; second, a gaggle to give attention to rising makes use of and use patterns to be sure that to the perfect of our skill, we see in actual time one thing that’s popping up earlier than it’s too late; and third, to actually give attention to prevention, on remedy, on remediation as a result of basically, for therefore many people, that is actually a public well being problem and we wish to be sure that throughout the board, our public well being programs are functioning successfully.

And the concept of those working teams is to deliver super experience collectively throughout international locations, throughout sectors, as a result of it’s essential that we have interaction the personal sector.  If we’re dealing, for instance, with the unlawful diversion of chemical precursors, effectively, we wish to be sure that we’re getting with the chemical producers, the transport corporations.  If we’re wanting on the on-line commerce of those medication, we wish to be working with the platforms.  So all of that’s coming collectively.

We now have, on account of this preliminary coalition assembly and a gathering we had simply this previous week of the working teams, we now have 107 international locations, organizations, and 900 individuals come collectively to start out the work of those teams.  There are going to be subgroups that focus in on very particular points, greatest practices, what every of us has discovered.  I’m satisfied –I believe most of you might be as effectively who’ve been engaged in these points for years – that someplace on the planet on any given downside, somebody has discovered the answer; the problem is sharing that data.  So a giant a part of the facility of this coalition is to be sure that we’re sharing good concepts, greatest practices.

And then we’ll in all probability put them to work.  And Ghada, one thing you stated is actually necessary.  This effort is supportive of and complementary to the unbelievable work that the UN is doing and ODC has been doing and numerous different initiatives.  And we wish to feed our efforts, our outcomes, into this work.  We hope to have a decision that brings collectively as many international locations as attainable to boost consciousness of this challenge, after which the essential conferences which are occurring subsequent yr can be feeding all of this in.  This is a – this coalition is, in a way, a time-limited enterprise.  By the top of 2024, we wish to obtain very concrete outcomes, concrete insurance policies, practices, concepts that hopefully could be shared.

And the very last thing I’ll say is that this.  There’s a distinction between plant-based medication and these artificial medication.  And it goes to this:  The plant-based medication typically take a fairly large-scale enterprise with a view to domesticate the crops, deliver them to market, et cetera.  We know that in terms of an artificial opioid, a room the dimensions of the platform we’re on is large enough to supply tens of 1000’s, a whole lot of 1000’s of drugs this dimension that may simply be shipped over borders, into communities, into properties.

I’ve to inform you that because the mum or dad of younger youngsters, I’m terrified – terrified on the prospect that they are going to encounter what appears to be an harmless little tablet and that in its small dimension, has dying written throughout it.

I learn the papers as we speak right here in New York.  There was simply an incident that appears to be involving artificial opioids at a daycare facility for babies, aged two and three years previous, that by some means got here into contact with an artificial opioid.  One of them died; the others are in critical situation.  This is the day-in, day-out story within the United States, and we’ve to have the ability to do each issues on the identical time.  We have to have the ability to cope with the continuing issues of issues like cocaine.  But I simply wish to inform you, as a result of we’ve lived it, we’re experiencing it right here on this nation, that is coming.  This is coming.  And the extra we are able to work collectively to assist cope with the issue that every one of us have however the issue that’s coming to many others, the higher off we’ll be.  And my hope is that the very virtually centered work of this coalition will assist us get some outcomes.