15 NGOs+ send letter to Secretary Blinken to throw pro-Russian anticult organization out from United Nations

On June 2, 15 NGOs plus 33 scholars and well-known activists have written to the US Secretary of State, to ask him to start a procedure to have the UN ECOSOC’s consultative status of the organization FECRIS withdrawn. It’s a very rare request based on the fact that affiliate associations of the FECRIS, a French “anti-sectarian” umbrella organization, has engaged in the Russian anti-western propaganda for years, and continued to support the Kremlin in ominous ways at the beginning of the war against Ukraine. We reproduce here the content of the letter followed by the list of signatories, which includes 15 prominent Ukrainian scholars.

Dear Secretary Blinken,
We write as an informal group of organizations and individuals who are religious and secular leaders, human rights advocates, practitioners, and scholars to respectfully urge you, as a member of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) at the United Nations (UN), to request the withdrawal of consultative status that is currently held by FECRIS (the European Federation of Centres for Research and Information on Sects and Cults) with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

This letter is a multi-faith initiative of the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Roundtable, a multi-faith, inclusive (of all faiths and beliefs), equal citizenship forum that has proven it is possible to engage cooperatively and constructively across deep differences and increase mutual understanding, respect, trust, and reliance through joint advocacy actions.

While we hold an extremely broad diversity of theological views and political positions, we all agree on the importance of international religious freedom. It strengthens cultures and provides the foundation for stable democracies and their components, including civil society, economic growth, and social harmony. As such, it is also an effective counter-terrorism weapon as it pre-emptively undermines religious extremism. History and modern scholarship make it clear that where people are allowed to practice their faith freely, they are less likely to be alienated from the government, and more likely to be good citizens.
In signing this letter, we have opted into a multi-faith coalition to urge you to strip FECRIS of its consultative status with ECOSOC.

Indeed, per ECOSOC Resolution 1996/31, the consultative status of NGOs with ECOSOC shall be suspended up to three years or withdrawn in the following case:

If an organization, either directly or through its affiliates or representatives acting on its behalf, clearly abuses its status by engaging in a pattern of acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations including unsubstantiated or politically motivated acts against Member States of the United Nations incompatible with those purposes and principles.

FECRIS is a French-based umbrella organization that coordinates with member associations in more than 40 EU countries, and beyond. It was created in 1994 by a French anti-cult association named UNADFI and receives all of its funding from the French government (while its member associations may receive funding from their own governments). In 2009, FECRIS was granted “ECOSOC Special Consultative Status” by the UN.

During its history, FECRIS and its members have accumulated a great number of civil and criminal convictions for their actions that defame minority religions and spread hate-speech against them.

From 2009 to 2021, Alexander Dvorkin, head of the Saint Irenaeus of Lyons Center for Religious Studies in Russia, served as Vice-President of FECRIS. Since 2021, he has continued to serve as a member of its board of directors. Dvorkin, on behalf of FECRIS, has been a key architect of the crackdown on religious minorities in Russia and beyond, as he spread his anti-religious propaganda and misinformation to other countries, including as far as China.

Moreover, Alexander Dvorkin has been a driver of the Anti-West propaganda of the Kremlin for years, and directly and publicly attacked the democratic institutions of Ukraine after the Euromaidan protests, accusing them of being members of cults (Baptists, Evangelicals, Greek Catholics, pagans and Scientologists) being used by Western secret services to harm Russia.

Further, Dvorkin and other members and correspondents of the Russian FECRIS have been involved in the constant propaganda, which prepared the ground and justified the current war in Ukraine, as a war against Western decadence and a war to protect Russian spiritual values.

During the first four weeks of the war in Ukraine, Russian FECRIS associations have been actively supporting the war and openly working with Russian law enforcement agencies to gather information on anyone who would oppose it or even just share information on the casualties in Ukraine.

At the same time, Russia has enacted a law that established a jail sentence of up to 15 years for any person “discrediting the armed forces,” which includes speaking of “war” instead of the official Russian term, “special military operation.”

Until now, no discipline has ever been taken against Dvorkin and/or Russian FECRIS associations for their actions that spread propaganda and catalyze discrimination and persecution of religious communities.

It is known and understood that FECRIS has known about the ideology and actions of its Russian members for years, and has continued to support them, nonetheless.
FECRIS as an entity must be held accountable for the activities of its Russian member associations for the following reasons:

While FECRIS has been alerted about the outrageous ideology and actions of Alexander Dvorkin and Russian member associations for years, it has kept Dvorkin on its board of directors, which elected him twice as Vice President, and has supported the associations all along, having never taken any disciplinary actions against any of them.

In fact, FECRIS has been actively coordinating as an entity with Russian authorities to trigger the crackdown on religious minorities since as far back as 2009—the same year it was granted “ECOSOC Special Consultative Status” by the UN.

The mere ideology and methodology of FECRIS, as a constant, is to use authoritative governments to trigger crackdowns on religious communities it stigmatizes as sects or cults, with no regard to their human dignity, liberty of conscience, and other fundamentals human rights.

In conclusion, FECRIS should be stripped of its ECOSOC consultative status at the UN. Its aims and activities are in complete opposition to the aims and purposes of the UN. Further, Russian FECRIS associates are actively supporting the war in Ukraine.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Respectfully

ORGANIZATIONS
Bitter Winter, a daily magazine on religious liberty and human rights
Boat People SOS (BPSOS)
Campaign to Abolish Modern-day Slavery in Asia (CAMSA)
CESNUR, Center for Studies on New Religions
Committee for Religious Freedom in Vietnam
European Federation for Freedom of Belief (FOB)
European Interreligious Forum for Religious Freedom (EIFRF)
Gerard Noodt Foundation
Human Rights Without Frontiers
Jubilee Campaign USA
The All Faiths Network UK
The Center for Studies on Freedom of Religion Belief and Conscience (LIREC)
The Orthodox Public Affairs Committee (OPAC)
Ukrainian Association of Religious Studies (UARR)
Union of Councils for Jews in the former Soviet Union (UCSJ)
INDIVIDUALS
Greg Mitchell , Chair, IRF Roundtable, Chair, IRF Secretariat
Prof. Alla Aristova, Ukrainian Encyclopedia
Eileen Barker OBE FBA, Professor Emeritus, London School of Economics
Prof. Alla Boyko , Institute of Journalism, Shevchenko University of Kyiv – Ukraine
Keegan Burke, DC branch director Alliance of Religions
Prof. Yurii Chornomorets, Drahomanov University – Ukraine
Anuttama Dasa, Global Director of Communications, International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)
Soraya M Deen, Founder, Muslim Women Speakers
Nguyen Dinh Thang, PhD, Laureate of the 2011 Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award
Prof. Vitalii Dokash, Vice-President, Ukrainian Association of Religious Studies (UARR)
Prof. Liudmyla Fylypovych, Vice-President Ukrainian Association of Religious Studies (UARR)
George Gigicos, Co-Founder and Chairman, The Orthodox Public Affairs Committee (OPAC)
Nathan Haddad, Coordinator, OIAC (Organization of Iranian American Communities)
Lauren Homer, President, Law and Liberty Trust
PhD Oksana Horkusha, Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Massimo Introvigne, Editor in Chief, Bitter Winter, a daily magazine on religious liberty and human rights
Ruslan Khalikov, PhD, Member of the Board, Ukrainian Association of Researchers of Religion
Prof. Anatolii Kolodnyi, President, Ukrainian Association of Religious Studies (UARR)
PhD. Hanna Kulagina-Stadnichenko, Secretary, Ukrainian Association of Religious Studies (UARR)
Larry Lerner, President of Union of Councils for Jews in the former Soviet Union (UCSJ)
PhD Svitlana Loznytsia, Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Prof. Raffaella Di Marzio, Managing Director, Center for Freedom of Religion Belief and Conscience (LIREC)
Hans Noot, President, Gerard Noodt Foundation
Prof. Oleksandr Sagan, Vice-President, Ukrainian Association of Religious Studies (UARR)
Bachittar Singh Ughrha, Founder and President, Center for defence of human rights
Prof. Roman Sitarchuk, Vice-President, Ukrainian Association of Religious Studies (UARR)
Rev. Dr. Scott Stearman, UN Representative, Baptist World Alliance
Prof. Vita Tytarenko, Grinchenko University – Ukraine
Andrew Veniopoulos, Co-Founder and Vice-Chairman, The Orthodox Public Affairs Committee (OPAC)
PhD Volodymyr Volkovsky, Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Martin Weightman, Director, The All Faith Network
Prof. Leonid Vyhovsky, Khmelnytsky University of Law – Ukraine
Prof. Victor Yelenski, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Former member of the Ukrainian Parliament
Honorary Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

Luis F Salazar and Digital Art: "I love giving the freedom for the observer to interpret my art"

Digital Art – Luis Fernando Salazar is a Colombian contemporary artist who captures in his work the colours and sensations, he says: “I like to represent the warmth of bright colours, the beauty of the world around us“.

Writer of verses, he found his inspiration at the age of 8, drawing. At the age of 16, he began to write short verses in classical poetry. A lover of the mountains and nature, he wanted to capture his perceptions of the world around him in painting and drawing.

Image credit: Luis Fernando Salazar (from his Facebook account)

Very skilled since childhood, he began to create decorative objects for Christmas while he also learned pyrography on wood.

Then, in this ever-growing digital era, Digital abstract art has been the focus of his work, without losing his affinity for brushes and canvases. With not too many resources, Salazar decided to continue with his inspiration and creation in Digital Art composing with diverse methods, editing, assemblies, and diverse digital techniques to create a variety and artistic works that express his love, especially, for the colourful forms, many abstract and insinuating, “I love giving the freedom for the observer to interpret my art” he told to The European Times.

For the first time, a newsroom portrays these works and presents them to the public to share for inspiration.

See his gallery here

South Africa: Archbishop Tutu became a ‘political leader’ by default, says Archbishop Buti. - Vatican News

Paul Samasumo – Vatican City.

“I was once a student of Desmond Tutu at the university in Lesotho. I then worked briefly with him at the South African Council of Churches … I was always present when, for over a decade, he spoke each year at the Regina Mundi (Catholic parish in Soweto) on June 16 … So, I have observed him closely,” reminisces the Catholic Archbishop of Johannesburg, Buti Joseph Tlhagale, O.M.I.

Archbishop Buti was speaking in an interview with Vatican News collaborator Sheila Pires, on Monday -the day South Africans began a week of mourning Tutu, the anti-Apartheid icon and first Black Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town.

Took on the leadership mantle

According to Buti, Archbishop Desmond Tutu emerged as a leader when he was General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches between the years 1978 to 1985.

“Desmond Tutu describes himself as a leader by default when most political organisations had been banned, (Black) leaders thrown in prison. There was a huge political vacuum in the country and that’s when Archbishop Tutu emerged … From then onwards, he put on the mantle of being a ‘political leader,’ as it were: Very visible in the country, opposing the Apartheid regime,” said Archbishop Buti.

Calling for sanctions

Archbishop Tutu was not only confrontational with the regime. He constantly engaged government officials directly to talk to them about the suffering of the ordinary people, especially those in the Bantustans.

The Bantustans, also known as Bantu homelands for Africans, were “native reserves” organised, by the Apartheid government, based on ethnic and linguistic groupings. In effect, they were impoverished and overpopulated rural areas put together for purposes of segregation.

“He (Archbishop Tutu) was different. I have actually not been able to figure this out. He confronted Apartheid government officials directly even when they, no doubt, looked down on him,” said Archbishop Buti. Buti explained that Apartheid leaders condescendingly looked down on almost all non white persons. 

Archbishop Tutu was not deterred. He continued to speak out about the plight of the majority and “increasingly became a spokesperson of the Black people, oppressed people, overseas -especially in North America,” said the prelate of Johannesburg.

Tutu’s call and support for sanctions against South Africa was heavily criticised in the country. It was seen by the Apartheid government as a betrayal and treason.

An inconvenient peacemaker

Apart from his forthright voice against Apartheid, Archbishop Tutu was never afraid to take on unpopular positions such as against necklacing, a gruesome form of mob justice used by Black communities during Apartheid, to punish suspected spies and perceived collaborators of the government.

“Archbishop Tutu intervened and calmed local Black communities when they wanted to necklace those who were considered collaborators. Some in the communities did not like that peacemaking role of Archbishop Tutu,” remarked Archbishop Buti.

Forgiveness as the way forward

As chairperson of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Archbishop Tutu was tasked with reviewing crimes committed during Apartheid.

The Commission is an emotive and controversial topic to this day in South Africa. Some in South Africa think that the Commission fell short of expectations. By the end of the Commission’s mandate, many in the former Apartheid regime received amnesty. Yet some Apartheid generals and commanders are said to have avoided the Commission and have never been made accountable. Some blame Archbishop Tutu for this.

“Many criticise the Commission saying perpetrators got off scot-free. But that was the nature of the deal. That if you came forward, you would be forgiven but if you didn’t, you would be pursued and imprisoned … so there is a lot of unhappiness about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission,” stated Archbishop Buti.

A deeply contented person

In a nutshell, Archbishop Buti describes Archbishop Tutu “as someone who followed his thought. A convincing leader. A deeply contented person even in the midst of so much pain. He was jolly. An emotional person who was not afraid to cry in public. A very noble person … someone who lived for the purpose of giving hope to others,” concluded Archbishop Buti.

26/12/2021

28/12/2021

Archbishop Tutu ‘a beacon of truth and freedom’ for the world

New Year’s Day funeral

Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s funeral is set for 10am on Saturday, New Year’s Day, in Cape Town’s Anglican Cathedral Church of St George the Martyr.

Due to covid-19 restrictions, the Funeral Mass will be limited to 100 persons only. The Archbishop’s remains will be cremated, and his ashes interred at the Cathedral.

The beautiful love story of Tsar Boris III and the lovely Joanna of Savoy

She is 20 years old, beautiful, smart, with a delicate narrow face and spirited green-brown eyes. He is 33 – very wise for his age, a man in every sense of the word. She captivates him not only with her charm, but with her sense of humor and the great audacity she has for a princess. He makes her fall in love with him with his masculine radiance and balanced look.

She is Joanna of Savoy – the daughter of the Italian King Victor Emmanuel III (of the Savoy dynasty) and the Montenegrin Princess Elena Petrovich Nagos, born in Rome between gilded pots and satin ribbons. He is Tsar Boris III – the respected son of Tsar Ferdinand I. Their love – pure and true, not dictated by political or personal interests.

And this is what shocks the society and provokes the drama, but also the beauty in their relationship.

On September 25, 1927, the fateful meeting between Tsar Boris III and the Italian beauty took place. Boris was invited to lunch at the royal mansion of San Rossore near Pisa by her parents. There is also “Joe”, as she is called at home – light brown, fragile, with a white face, fine features and a keen eye. She has a solid education – literature, history, Latin, art. He also speaks French and English, paints, sings, plays piano, cello and harmony.

However, this is not what impressed the then 33-year-old Boris. He falls in love with Joe because of the sunny Italian woman’s sense of humor and because of her free discussion of secular topics, which in modern translation means that the princess has not been ashamed to talk peppery and without detours about what is in her heart.

Everyone notices the sparks that pass between the two, but fate does not meet them again soon. They see each other again after a 3-year break, which is enough time to forget, but not … In January 1930, at their second meeting, where Boris and Joanna were at the home of her beloved sister Mafalda , he personally uttered the marriage proposal. The answer is yes, but not everything is arranged by notes.

During this two-year period, there have been many talks and debates over whether marriage between a Catholic and an Eastern Orthodox is possible, with discussions involving both the Vatican and the Italian and Bulgarian governments, as well as foreign diplomats.

Archbishop Angelo Roncali, the apostolic visitor to Bulgaria, comes to the rescue. According to the provisions of Roman canon law, Tsar Boris must give written consent for the children of this marriage to be baptized and brought up as Catholics.

The initial opinion of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church is that the male heirs should be baptized Orthodox and the girls – Catholics. Later, the Holy Synod agreed that only the heir to the throne would be Orthodox.

Desperate from all this, the king ordered the Bulgarian Minister Plenipotentiary in Italy Gen. Ivan Valkov to stop the preparations for the marriage. Even in an emotional outburst, he declares that he is ready to remain single if he does not marry Princess Giovanna. For his part, he also declared his readiness to retire to a monastery if he did not have a permit. She sent two letters to the pope.

In early September 1930, Boris finally arrived in San Rosore again. He brings the good news that he has managed to receive the blessing of the head of St. Synod, Metropolitan Neophyte, and Metropolitan Stephen of Sofia. And the Vatican is finally blessing the wedding.

Boris returns to Sofia to clarify the latest details. The saga “royal wedding” is coming to an end. The official response of the Italian royal family to the announcement of the engagement was received on October 4, 1930.

And then follows the spectacular wedding, a display of true, strong and great love. On October 25, 1930, the day of the wedding, government men and the color of European monarchical dynasties arrived in Assisi, and the streets were literally congested with thousands of people wanting to see the newlyweds. 10,000 cars came to the small town.

This forced the municipality to expand the station with several tracks so that it could meet all train compositions. Due to the royal wedding, the schools in Assisi were closed for ten days. The mayor had to set up an additional telephone line so that all foreign journalists who came to cover the event could perform their duties.

Joanna impresses guests by violating conservative etiquette and adding veils to her wedding attire. At her explicit request, the ladies wear dresses without a neckline, with long sleeves and a white veil, and their hairstyles are without jewelry. The men are in tailcoats or uniforms of the military rank to which they belong. All this is written in the wedding invitation that the guests received.

Joanna herself is in a dress of fine white velvet with a train, 15 m long, with a veil of antique lace and a small bouquet of orange flowers from Sicily. Tsar Boris is in the uniform of a general of the Bulgarian Army, on his chest shines the order “St. St. Cyril and Methodius ”. His sword has a golden hilt.

In the municipality of the town Boris and Joanna sign a civil marriage certificate. Witnesses were the then Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, in his capacity as state notary, and Andrey Lyapchev, Prime Minister of Bulgaria.

After the wedding, American publicist Markham will write: “One of the best things Tsar Boris has done for his people is to bring Italian Princess Joanna as queen to Sofia, one of the most charming princesses in Europe.”

Boris and Giovanna board a special royal train to Sofia. The young royal family enters the capital in front of a crowd of many thousands through a specially built triumphal arch on the Lion Bridge. An Orthodox wedding ceremony follows in the Sofia Cathedral “St. Alexander Nevsky”. At this sacred moment, Giovanna, Princess of Savoy, becomes Joanna, Queen of Bulgaria.

And although much later, after the appearance of the daughter Maria-Louise and the son Simeon and after a happy and peaceful life, the tragic circumstances around the death of Tsar Boris III at the age of 49, the Bulgarians truly love their queen Joanna and in their hearts she remains as the Queen of Mercy.

In 1946, during the communist regime, Joanna and her children were extradited from Bulgaria, but her enormous charitable work, her courageous behavior during the bombing of Sofia, and her absolute courage in many ways made Prime Minister Konstantin Muraviev sigh. :

“A woman, a mother had to show Bulgarian politicians what manhood means – the queen.”

On the other hand, the American publicist Markham writes: “One of the best things Tsar Boris has done for his people is to bring the Italian Princess Joanna as queen in Sofia, one of the most charming princesses in Europe.”

Joanna Bulgarska died at the respectable age of 92. She was buried where she made a vow as a young woman – in the church “St. Francis ”in Assisi, where she was married. They say that until her last day she did not regret for a moment that she was devoted as an Italian and that she loved as a Bulgarian. More masculine. To the very end.

Europe's largest cocaine distribution network broken up

Operation “Musala” has been carried out by the Spanish National Police together with the police authorities of Germany, Colombia, Croatia, Slovenia, and Serbia.

A total of 61 people have been arrested after a year of police investigations, and 4,010 kilograms of cocaine and more than 600,000 euros have been seized.

The operation has been a major challenge for EUROPOL due to the high mobility of the members of the Balkan cartel, requiring exhaustive and permanent coordination of all the police forces involved in the investigation.

In Spain, simultaneous operations have been carried out in the provinces of Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, Tarragona, Gerona, and Valencia.

Agents of the National Police, in a joint operation with the police forces of Germany, Colombia, Croatia, Slovenia, and Serbia, have dismantled the largest cocaine distribution network in Europe, seizing 4,010 kilograms of this narcotic substance and arresting 61 people.

The operation was carried out under the coordination of EUROPOL and is the result of international cooperation between the different European police forces involved, as well as the Colombian and US authorities, with whom the investigation was launched jointly.

The dismantled organization intended to carry out a drug trafficking operation from South America to Europe. In this context, EUROPOL activated an exclusive operation to dismantle this criminal group, which led to the detection of the presence of several members of the Balkan cartel in different countries.

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This criminal organization was mainly composed of nationals of Eastern European countries, mainly from Serbia, Croatia, and Montenegro. The main characteristic of the group under investigation was its significant economic muscle and lack of roots, which allowed all its members to settle in different countries of the world, to travel for meetings and gatherings, and to enjoy a standard of living available to few people.

These meetings were held in short periods of time, and it can be seen how they stayed in and frequented luxury hotels and restaurants. In Spain, the organization had houses and vehicles that the members of the group made available to the top leaders in order to make police work more difficult.

The aim of the police investigation was to try to attack the top of the criminal organization by covering all the meetings held in each country. Thanks to the work carried out in Colombia by DIPOL, it was even possible to see how they were linked to the world of football. Through the purchase and sale of certain players, the laundering of profits from drug trafficking was tracked.

GEO’s boarding of a sailing boat starts investigation

Police investigations began in 2018 when a sailing boat carrying two Croatian nationals and one American national was arrested. That vessel was boarded by the GEO, the Special Operations Group of the National Police, whose agents seized 1.4 tonnes of cocaine that was being transported inside it at the time.

Since then, investigations have indicated that the dismantled group was responsible for the shipment of the drugs and that they had the resources and means to continue attempting the operation, as was finally demonstrated. However, despite the numerous data collected, it was not possible at that time to prove the involvement of this group in the operation.

Nevertheless, the investigation continued and, at the end of 2019, one of the most important members of the organization was detected again in Spain to carry out the preparation of a new criminal enterprise.

In this way, the efforts were focused on a Montenegrin who represented a powerful criminal organization associated or the main organizations operating from the Eastern countries, specifically the Balkan cartel. This cartel constituted a real threat to the security of Eastern European countries and was considered by the European authorities to be one of the most important criminal organizations operating in Europe, characterized by paramilitary members and engaged in a multitude of illegal activities, mainly drug trafficking, house and car theft, money laundering, extortion, and kidnapping.

From that moment on, the work of all the countries focused on trying to confirm the people involved in the operation and, at the same time, to be able to track them. The Montenegrin group established its base of operations temporarily in Malaga, although it frequently traveled to the provinces of Madrid and Barcelona, without forgetting that it also traveled to Serbia, Hungary, and Slovenia, among other countries.

Through the movements of this group, it was possible to determine how they intended to introduce a large consignment of drugs into Europe via Spain from South America. This required infrastructure and logistics only suitable for large criminal organizations with high economic power.

The leaders were not involved in compromising activities.

The top of this organization was led by criminals who only participated in the negotiations without engaging in any compromising activities, often remaining outside the police investigations. As a result of the course of the investigation and the contacts and movements of the organization, it was deduced that they were preparing a major cocaine import.

The trips of the main targets took place in the previous months, visiting Madrid, Barcelona, and Malaga before traveling to South America in order to finalize the details of the operation.

Thus, in the middle of last year, they intended to transfer drugs from the Colombian coast to a boat, having everything ready and prepared to carry out the drug transaction. The action of the American authorities led to the seizure of 1,350 kilograms of cocaine. This police action was a serious blow to the organization, which was unaware of where the operation had gone wrong. During these months, it became known that the organization had links or connections in Italy, one of the countries where part of the drugs were presumably destined for.

After some time analyzing where they had failed, the organization decided at the end of 2020 to undertake a new maritime operation. This time they would transport an approximate quantity of 1,250 kilograms of cocaine, which would travel from the coasts of Brazil to Spain, specifically Catalonia, where they intended to introduce this significant quantity of drugs.

This is the reason why the organized group was once again reactivated and held new meetings in Europe – in Madrid in the case of Spain – all with the aim of being able to finalize the details of the operation. Following these meetings, in January of this year, the two main suspects traveled to the Dominican Republic.

The agents’ attention was drawn to the fact that, after this meeting in the Dominican Republic, the two people in charge of the operation began their tour around Europe again, once they had reached an agreement on the percentages and commissions. At that time, it was confirmed that one of them would travel to Dubai, where he met with the maximum investor and head of the organization.

After the worst of the pandemic, the organization takes up the operation again
As the months progressed, the pandemic temporarily delayed the organization’s plans, to the point that it was not until the end of December that the operation was established. At that point, they decided to try the maritime operation again, but this time the drugs would be taken to the Brazilian coast, from where they intended to travel to the rendezvous point and transfer the drugs. This meeting at sea took place at the end of January 2021, and the 1,250 kilograms that the group had ready and prepared were delivered.

Once the drugs were received in international waters, they were transported by sea to Europe, where the criminal group had all the necessary means to receive and, if necessary, distribute them. It was also detected how one of the main responsible parties traveled to Tarragona accompanied by third members of the organization to await the arrival of the shipment.

There, he met with an investor, who not only provided him with his local contacts to be able to provide the financing for the operation but also helped him to obtain the documentation to appear as a resident in Spain and make it easier for him to move around the interior of the peninsula.

In Spain, he began to sell the drugs on the European market even before he had access to them. It was for this reason that he contacted an organization that wanted to collect part of the drugs, at which point the members of the organization were arrested.

The ramifications of the organization not only extended to Catalonia, Malaga and Madrid, but they also had several organizations with which they collaborated on a regular basis. To do so, they made use of one of the members of this group, located in Valencia and mainly in charge of providing secure communications.

At the time of his arrest, and following a search of his home, more than 20 telephone terminals were seized with the aim of guaranteeing secure communications. This person had a second function within the dismantled group, as he was dedicated to receiving and sending money, and probably acted as treasurer. This was accredited by the surveillance and by what was found in the search of his home, where up to 15 banknotes of around five euros were found with annotations of dates associated with certain amounts, and whose function was to accredit that the holder had delivered or received the fixed or agreed amount.

Caught when the drugs were being delivered and received

When the group was caught, they were found to be in possession of various firearms and even a badge emblematic of a Montenegrin police force. The investigation was carried out when the heads of the organization were in Spain to manage the preparations for the final reception of the narcotic substance. By taking extreme security measures and avoiding attending meetings in person, the main organizers supervised all operations. However, they used other members of the organization to carry out the most compromising activities.

In this way, they were caught when the 1,250 kilograms of cocaine were being delivered and received on the outskirts of Tarragona, and several house searches were successively carried out in Tarragona, Barcelona, Girona, and Valencia, and all those involved and investigated were arrested. Likewise, the organization’s financing system was dismantled, which was the cultivation and international distribution of marijuana and the purchase and sale of high-end vehicles.

Through them, 12 members were arrested. Two of those arrested were considered priority targets by EUROPOL due to their criminal record, being investigated by many countries.

Connections with other criminal organisations active in Europe

The organization under investigation had strong connections with other criminal groups in Europe, among them the KAVAC Clan, which, among other tasks, was mainly responsible for financing the operations of this group through marijuana trafficking.

The Slovenian authorities (OPERATION CUBE) and in cooperation with Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Croatia, and Serbia have simultaneously attacked this clan that operated in Eastern Europe and that was dedicated to any criminal act considered serious (drug trafficking of any kind, money laundering, arms trafficking, murders, etc…).

As a result of this close collaboration, 836 kilos of cocaine, 2,503 kilos of hashish, 12.5 kilos of heroin and 30 liters of amphetamine have also been seized in recent months, not to mention the arrest of 46 people as part of this organization.

The operation has culminated in the dismantling of one of the most active branches of the Balkan Cartel, attacking its logistical and financial apparatus, dismantling its leaders, and undermining its future operational capabilities.

Seized assets

In addition to the 61 arrests and the 4,010 kilograms of cocaine seized, the police operation has resulted in the seizure of 2,569 kilograms of marijuana, 173 kilograms of hashish, 12. 5 kilograms of heroin, 30 liters of amphetamine, and more than 6 million euros in cash, nine high-end vehicles, five motorbikes, a firearm, and 300 cartridges, a simulated weapon, a Montenegro police service identification badge, various bladed weapons, computer, and telecommunications equipment, camera detectors, frequency inhibitors and a multitude of documentation related to the organization’s companies.

Learn more from these e-courses for drug prevention. Let’s stop the demand.

Original article in Spanish HERE

With a ceremony, the United States will return to Iraq a 3500-year-old cuneiform from Gilgamesh

The clay tablet contains fragments of the Epic of Gilgamesh, considered one of the oldest literary works of mankind and tells of the adventures of a powerful king of Mesopotamia in search of immortality. It is believed to have been stolen from a museum in Iraq in 1991 during the Gulf War.

An American art dealer bought the cuneiform in 2003 from a family in Jordan who settled in London, although it was “illegible because of elements inlaid on the surface,” according to court documents.

The trader then sent the packaged shipment to the United States without specifying its nature to customs and sold it to antique dealers in 2007 for $ 50,000 with a fake certificate of origin.

The clay tile was eventually sold in 2014 for $ 1.67 million to the owners of the Hobby Lobby chain, the Green family, known for their Christian activity, who want to exhibit it at their Bible Museum in Washington.

In 2017, a curator at the museum expressed concern about the origin of the cuneiform, considering the documents provided at the time of purchase to be incomplete. Police seized him in September 2019.

The return of the precious cuneiform is “a great victory over those who are crippling the legacy” and allows “the Iraqi people to renew a page in their history,” according to a press release issued by Audrey Azoule, UNESCO‘s director-general, who will attend the ceremony. Washington on his surrender to Iraqi authorities.

In July, 17,000 archeological finds, most of them about 4,000 years old, were returned to Iraq from the United States. Most of them date from the Sumerian period – one of the oldest civilizations in Mesopotamia.

Iraqi antiquities have been looted for decades.

“Theft and illicit trafficking of ancient artifacts continues to be a major source of funding for terrorist groups and other organized crime organizations,” said a statement from the Paris-based United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Meanwhile, they unraveled the secret of an ancient Babylonian clay tablet

Plimpton 322 is an amazing mathematical work, a testament to undeniable genius, “said researcher Daniel Mansfield.

Australian scientists claim to have solved the mystery of a 3,700-year-old Babylonian clay tablet, defining it as the world’s oldest and most accurate trigonometric table, DPA reported.

Specialists from the University of New South Wales have deciphered the signs on the plaque, which puzzled experts since its discovery in the early 20th century in southern Iraq.

Scientists have concluded that the tile was used by ancient copyists of mathematical manuscripts to calculate how to construct palaces, temples and canals, according to a statement from the university team.

Known as Plimpton 322, the four-column, 15-row cuneiform tablet was discovered by archaeologist, scientist, diplomat and antiques dealer Edgar Banks, who inspired the Indiana Jones character.

“Plimpton 322 has puzzled mathematicians for more than 70 years after it became clear that the tile contained a special model of numbers known as the Pythagorean triplets. the numbers on the tile.

The present study shows that Plimpton 322 describes the shapes of right triangles based on innovative trigonometry.

The tile is an amazing mathematical work, testifying to an undeniable genius, “said Daniel Mansfield of the research team.

Illustration: The clay tablet contains fragments from the Epic of Gilgamesh, considered one of the oldest literary works of mankind (Photo: United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York)

Masks in the sea became more than jellyfish

Global Marine Conservation

Divers on the Greek island of Corfu found more used protective masks than jellyfish at sea.

It turns out that the pandemic has exacerbated the problem of garbage in the seas and oceans.

Disposable masks, which are supposed to protect against the virus, often end up in the water. According to environmental groups, almost 2 billion masks were found last year alone.There are many other organizations working on marine conservation and other environmental issues such as biodiversity and global warming. We list them here both as a public service and to spread the word.

A group of divers from the Organization for the Protection of the Ocean regularly clean the sea near Corfu. They find a lot of plastic, but also more and more waste from the COVID crisis.

Currently, about 130 billion disposable masks are used worldwide – per month. The big problem with these preservatives is that once released into the environment, they do not decompose for up to 450 years.

“We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. Remote from universal nature, and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein we err, and greatly err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth.”– Henry Beston (authjor of The Outermost House: A Year of Life On The Great Beach of Cape Cod).

There are many other organizations working on marine conservation and other environmental issues such as biodiversity and global warming, they are deeply committed to marine conservation and founded on the concept that, by sharing the wonders of the ocean and marine life, people will be inspired to protect it. We list part of them here both as a public service and to spread the word.

Blue Frontier Campaign: founded in 2003 by David Helvarg, author of Blue Frontier – Saving America’s Living Seas and 50 Ways to Save the Ocean. Blue Frontier works to support seaweed (marine grassroots) efforts at the local, regional and national level, with an emphasis on bottom up organizing to bring the voice of citizen-activists into national decision-making that will impact our public seas.

Conservation International: a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC and operating in more than 30 countries worldwide to apply innovations in science, economics, policy and community participation to protect the Earth’s plant and animal biodiversity in major tropical wilderness areas and key marine ecosystems.

Deep Sea Conservation Coalition: “The NGOs listed in this document jointly call on the UN General Assembly to adopt a resolution declaring an immediate moratorium on high seas bottom trawling, and to simultaneously initiate a process under the auspices of the UN General Assembly to 1) assess deep sea biodiversity and ecosystems, including populations of fish species, and their vulnerability to deep sea fishing on the high seas; and 2) adopt and implement legally binding regimes to protect deep sea biodiversity from high seas bottom trawling and to conserve and manage bottom fisheries of the high seas consistent with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982), UN Fish Stocks Agreement (FSA 1995), UN FAO Compliance Agreement (1993), Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD 1992), and the UN FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (Code 1995).”

Environmental Defense: a non-profit organization based in New York bringing together experts in science, law and economics to tackle complex environmental issues that affect our oceans, our air, our natural resources, the livability of our man-made environment, and the species with whom we share our world.

European Network on Invasive Alien Species (NOBANIS): a network of common databases on alien and invasive species of the region. By establishing a common portal access to IAS-related data, information and knowledge in the region is facilitated.

Fauna and Flora International (FFI): aims to change the policy and behavior that contribute to biodiversity loss by engaging a wide range of governments and non-governmental organizations, and by raising the profile of biodiversity within the wider global development debate.

Global Coral Reef Alliance (GCRA): a coalition of volunteer scientists, divers, environmentalists and other individuals and organizations, committed to coral reef preservation. Focuses on coral reef restoration, marine diseases and other issues caused by global climate change, environmental stress, and pollution.

Greenpeace International: Greenpeace’s oceans campaign focusing on three major threats to the world’s oceans: overfishing, pirate fishing, whaling, and intensive shrimp aquaculture.

Institute for Ocean Conservation Science: to advance ocean conservation through science. They conduct world-class scientific research that increases knowledge about critical threats to oceans and their inhabitants, provides the foundation for smarter ocean policy, and establishes new frameworks for improved ocean conservation. The Institute’s research focuses on advancing ecosystem-based fisheries management, a strategy which recognizes that the oceans’ problems are interconnected and that species and habitats cannot be successfully managed in isolation; as well as on advancing knowledge about vulnerable and ecologically important marine animals that are understudied. They are dedicated to developing scientific approaches to sustainably manage forage fish, small schooling fish that are food for marine mammals and seabirds but are being depleted from our oceans.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): The IPCC has been established by World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to assess scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant for the understanding of climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation.

International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) is an informal partnership between Nations and organizations which strives to preserve coral reefs and related ecosystems around the world. Although the Initiative is an informal group whose decisions are not binding on its members, its actions have been pivotal in continuing to highlight globally the importance of coral reefs and related ecosystems to environmental sustainability, food security and social and cultural wellbeing. The work of ICRI is regularly acknowledged in United Nations documents, highlighting the Initiative’s important cooperation, collaboration and advocacy role within the international arena.

International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW): engages communities, government leaders, and like-minded organizations around the world to achieve lasting solutions to pressing animal welfare and conservation challenges-solutions that benefit both animals and people.

International Maritime Organization (IMO) – IMO’s Intervention Convention affirms the right of a coastal State to take measures on the high seas to prevent, mitigate or eliminate danger to its coastline from a maritime casualty. The International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC), 1990 provides a global framework for international co-operation in combating major incidents or threats of marine pollution. A protocol to this convention (HNS Protocol) covers marine pollution by hazardous and noxious substances.

IUCN Global Marine Programme provides vital linkages for the Union and its members to all the IUCN activities that deal with marine issues, including projects and initiatives of the Regional offices and the 6 IUCN Commissions. Its co-ordination role is above and beyond the policy development and thematic guidance that it undertakes to provide to assist governments, communities and NGOs alike.

IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group: a global group of 146 scientific and policy experts on invasive species from 41 countries. ISSG provides advice on threats from invasives and control or eradication methods to IUCN members, conservation practitioners, and policy-makers. The group’s activities focus primarily on invasive species that cause biodiversity loss, with particular attention to those that threaten oceanic islands.

Nature Conservancy: Climate change isn’t a distant threat it is happening now. The past three years were hotter than any other time in recorded history. The Nature Conservancy is focused on innovative solutions that match the urgency of this crisis. We are protecting & restoring forests, improving working lands, helping communities build resilience & working to ensure a clean energy future. Together with supporters like you, we can halt the catastrophic march of climate change so that our communities can thrive & natural places that renew our spirits can endure.

Ocean Conservancy: serves to protect ocean ecosystems and conserve the global abundance and diversity of marine wildlife through science-based advocacy, research, and public education.

Oceana: a non-profit international advocacy organization dedicated to restoring and protecting the world’s oceans through policy advocacy, science, law, and public education.

Ocean Project: an initiative to raise awareness of the importance, value, and sensitivity of the oceans through a network of aquariums, zoos, and conservation organizations.

OceanCare: committed to marine wildlife protection since 1989. Through research and conservation projects, campaigns, environmental education, and involvement in a range of important international committees, OceanCare undertakes concrete steps to improve the situation for wildlife in the world’s oceans. In 2011, OceanCare was granted Special Consultative Status on marine issues with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

Project Aware Foundation: PADI’s foundation established to help conserve underwater environments through a wide variety of activities including education, advocacy, and action.

Project Seahorse: an international and interdisciplinary marine conservation organization comprised of biologists, development specialists, and other professionals committed to conserving and managing seahorses, their relatives and habitats, through research, education, empowering communities, establishing marine-protected areas, managing subsistence fisheries, restructuring international trade, redressing habitat loss.

Polar Bears International: a nonprofit organization dedicated to the worldwide conservation of the polar bear and its habitat through research, stewardship, and education. We provide scientific resources and information on polar bears and their habitat to institutions and the general public worldwide.

Reef Check: a volunteer, community-based monitoring mechanism operating in more than 60 countries designed to measure and maintain the health of coral reefs.

Reef Relief: dedicated to preserve and protect living coral reef ecosystems through local, regional, and global efforts focusing on science to educate the public and advocate policymakers to achieve conservation, protection, and restoration of coral reefs.

ReefBase: created to facilitate sustainable management of coral reefs and related coastal/marine environments, in order to benefit poor people in developing countries whose livelihoods depend on these natural resources.

The Safina Center: Led by ecologist and author Carl Safina, the Safina Center is comprised of Staff, Fellows and Creative Affiliates who together create a body of scientific and creative works that advance the conservation of wildlife and the environment, and give a voice to nature.

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society: an international non-profit, marine wildlife conservation organization whos mission is to end the destruction of habitat and the slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species. Sea Shepherd uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document, and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas.

Turtle Island Restoration Network: fights to protect endangered sea turtles in ways that make cultural and economic sense to the communities that share the beaches and waters with these gentle creatures. With offices in California and Costa Rica, STRP has been leading the international fight to protect sea turtle populations worldwide.

Seal Conservation Society: a non-profit organization protecting and conserving pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, and walrus) worldwide by monitoring and minimizing threats to pinnipeds, providing comprehensive information on pinniped-related issues to individuals, groups and the media, and by working with other conservation groups, rescue and rehabilitation centers, research establishments, and governments.

Shifting Baselines: a “media project” — a partnership between ocean conservation and Hollywood to help bring attention to the severity of ocean decline.

Sierra Club: the most enduring and influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. We amplify the power of our 3.5+ million members and supporters to defend everyone’s right to a healthy world.

Society for Conservation Biology (SCB): an international professional organization dedicated to promoting the scientific study of the phenomena that affect the maintenance, loss, and restoration of biological diversity. The Society’s membership comprises a wide range of people interested in the conservation and study of biological diversity: resource managers, educators, government and private conservation workers, and students.

The Species Survival Commission (SSC): “the world’s greatest source of information about species and their conservation needs”. The SSC is a network of some 8,000 volunteer members from almost every country of the world, all working to stop the loss of plants, animals, and their habitats. Members include researchers, government officials, wildlife veterinarians, zoo and botanical institute employees, marine biologists, protected area managers, and experts on plants, birds, mammals, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates. SSC produces the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, provides technical and scientific advice to governments, international environmental treaties, and conservation organizations, publishes species Action Plans, and policy guidelines, and implements on-ground conservation projects.

Surfrider Foundation: a non-profit organization that works to protect our oceans, waves, and beaches through its chapters located along the East, West, Gulf, Puerto Rican, and Hawaiian coasts, and with its members in the USA and International Surfrider Foundation chapters and affiliates in Japan, Brazil, Australia, France and Spain.

TRAFFIC: wildlife trade monitoring network that works to ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature. TRAFFIC is a joint programme of WWF and IUCN – The World Conservation Union.

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – an international treaty to begin to consider what can be done to reduce global warming and to cope with whatever temperature increases are inevitable. Recently, a number of nations have approved an addition to the treaty: the Kyoto Protocol, which has more powerful (and legally binding) measures. The UNFCCC secretariat supports all institutions involved in the climate change process.

Whale & Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS): an international non-profit working toward the conservation and welfare of all cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) by reducing threats to cetaceans and their habitats and by raising awareness about the need to address the continuing threats to their welfare and survival.

WildAid: The illegal wildlife trade is a multi-billion dollar global industry largely driven by consumer demand in expanding economies. While most wildlife conservation groups focus on scientific studies and anti-poaching efforts, WildAid works to reduce global consumption of wildlife products and to increase local support for conservation efforts. We also work with governments and partners to protect fragile marine reserves from illegal fishing and shark finning, to enhance public and political will for anti-poaching efforts, and to reduce climate change impacts.

World Resources Institute: environmental think tank working to move human society to live in ways that protect Earth’s environment and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations. WRI provides objective information and practical proposals for policy and institutional change that will foster environmentally sound, socially equitable development for.

World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA): WSPA works with more than 449 member organisations to raise the standards of animal welfare throughout the world. Our vision is a world in which the welfare of animals is understood and respected by everyone, and protected by effective legislation.

World Wildlife Fund: WWF’s Endangered Seas Program works in more than 40 countries to campaign, lobby, develop and advocate solutions, commission and publish impartial data, advise, and champion the conservation of the marine environment and sustainable livelihoods.

In Europe, 24 million of 15-34 young people are using psychoactive drugs

Popularized in the 1960’s by artists and mass media such as : “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” (LSD) by the Beatles, “Cocaine” by J.J. Cale, “Purple Haze” (cannabis) by Jimmy Hendrix, etc., drugs use have extensively developed to become part of our culture since the middle of the last century with the psychedelic musics, the Beat Generation (Kerouac, Ginsberg, Cassady, etc.), the psychologist Timothy Leary “pope of the LSD” and the counter-cultural hippie movement. Drugs invaded all the aspects of society, becoming a symbol of rebellion among the youth, a political, cultural and social dissent and a new style of life. On the last 2020 European Drug Report of EMCDDA mentioned that in Europe, 24 million young people are using psychoactive drugs, of which 18 million use cannabis.

The problem

The main drug used in Europe is the cannabis with marijuana and hashish as joint, bong (smoked), the bhang (a drink) and used in Space cakes. For the youth, cannabis is the entrance door to the world of drugs. If initially it was used as a “soft drug” or “recreative drug” with a 0,2% of THC (the liposoluble psychoactive substance), rapidly with genetic engineering technics it reached a 20-30 % THC range with a toxicity level interfering with many vital functions of the body and worse for children.

Despite the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of the UNODC classifying cannabis on Schedule IV, decades of lobbying and challenges by vested interests, with WHO Recommendations, acting to declassify cannabis and related cannabinoids, it was agreed on December 2, 2020, thanks to some wise government representatives, UNODC, INCB and experts to only re-reclassify cannabis in Schedule I, so, still under control and only accessible for scientific and medical purpose.

The last 2020 European Drug Report of EMCDDA mentioned that in Europe, 24 million of 15-34 young people are using psychoactive drugs (with 18 million of cannabis users) and it is estimated that at least 9,000 overdose deaths occurred, the mean age being 42 but starting at 15 years old.

This report also put the stress on the overall high social costs of drugs supported by the society, going far beyond the use of the drugs themselves:

• for the public health with healthcare and treatment: 135 000 people entered treatment related to cannabis use,
• for the public safety: traffic accidents, gangs, crimes, terrorism,
• for the lost in labor productivity, money laundering,
• for undermining states governance by corruption of officials,
• for the degradation of environment due to waste toxic chemicals, deforestation, soil degradation and water issues .

Moreover, the drug market in Europe is increasing. It represents a minimum of 30 billion Euros per year shared as: some 12 billion for cannabis (39% of the EU drug market ) coming from Morocco and EU; 9 billion for cocaine (31%) from Central and South America; 7,5 billion for heroin/opioids (25%) from Afghanistan; 1 billion for amphetamine and methamphetamine and 0,5 billion for MDMA (5%) from the EU, Middle East (captagon) and Africa.

In addition currently, some 730 new psychoactive substances (NPS) are found on the European retail market, gathering the synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic opioids and benzodiazepines.

And more, the drug market is linked with criminal activities such as human trafficking (sexual exploitation, forced labor, organ harvesting), child exploitation and migrant smuggling.

The solution

A lot has been discussed about the drug problem, Conventions were written and signed by governments, including on the drug protection of the most vulnerable: the children (CRC article 33, 1989).

What is missing is a basic Education on the drug subject: what they are and what they do. This should be set up as an early primary prevention education, before the youth are contacted by the dealers boasting of the illusory quality of their products in order to better trap the ignorant and by omitting to talk about the following disastrous use consequences. This education is first under the responsibility of the parents, then the surrounding civil society and above all implemented by the government, when not serving special interests.

Leonardo da Vinci said already in the 15th century: It is ignorance that blinds us and misleads us and Will Durant in the 20th century added: Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.

To educate the youth and empower them against the harmful effects of drug use are the main priorities of the Foundation for a Drug Free Europe and its hundred associations and groups across twenty European countries, through the Drug Education Prevention Program The Truth About Drugs which are cooperating with more and more countries in the world to put an end to the production by putting and end to the demand. More information about the organization at: www.fdfe.eu

• UNODC: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
• WHO: World Health Organization
• INCB: International Narcotics Control Board
• EMCDDA: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction
• CRC: Convention on the Rights of the Child