According to the Report of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) of the UN for 2010, the southern Caucasus is increasingly being used as a transit area for consignments of opiates from Afghanistan, and as a result, drug abuse is on the rise in the subregion.

“Given the long borders that countries of that subregion share with Iran (Islamic Republic of), the Russian Federation and Turkey and their access to the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, the Board remains concerned that the situation with regard to drug trafficking and abuse in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia may continue to deteriorate unless increased attention is given to information-sharing, more efficient border control, drug demand reduction and regional and national coordination of drug control activities,” the report reads.

As for Armenia, the report says: “A mission of the Board visited Armenia in October 2010. The Board’s previous mission to that country was in 1997. The Board notes the commitment of the competent national authorities of Armenia to comply with the provisions of the three international drug control conventions, to which Armenia is a party. The Board has identified shortcomings in mutual cooperation and information exchange among the drug control authorities in the country and encourages the Government to address that issue.

Armenia has recently been targeted by criminal groups engaged in trafficking in precursors used in the illicit manufacture of heroin and amphetamine-type stimulants, as evidenced by the clandestine amphetamine laboratories uncovered and dismantled in the country in 2010. The Board has requested the Government to further strengthen the control of precursors. The Board recommends the Government to assess the requirements for narcotic drugs used for pain treatment in the country and to identify and address any impediments to making them available in sufficient quantities for medical use.”