Unlike The Philippines, Myanmar To Take The Saner Policy Route To Tackle Drug Abuse

As part of its ongoing efforts to reduce drug abuse and bring down crime in the country, Myanmar has announced that it is working on a new drug control policy. Vice-President Myint Swe emphasised the need to have health and development, as well as economic, factors to be included in the drafting of the new policy.

Thanks to new technology, criminals now operate with different modus operandi to commit terror and violence, Swe added, while calling for the Police Force to upgrade their ability to keep up with international standards.

Workshops are being conducted with cooperation from various international bodies, including the United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Children’s Fund, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

This approach of Myanmar is in sharp contrast to that being adopted by the Philippines under the leadership of President Rodrigo Duterte. The president recently vowed to kill three million drug addicts and likened himself to Hitler.

(With inputs from IANS)