Middle East Intelligence Bulletin
Jointly published by the United States Committee for a Free Lebanon and the Middle East Forum
  Vol. 2   No. 3

March 2000 


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International Narcotics Control Board Criticizes Lebanese Government
MEIB Staff

In its 75-page annual report, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) praised efforts to control narcotics trafficking by Iran and other countries in the region, but strongly criticized the Lebanese government.1

    The primary focus of the report's coverage of Lebanon dealt with its bank secrecy laws, which greatly hinder investigations into drug trafficking cases by judicial authorities. Lebanon is one of the few remaining countries in the world that has declined to implement a 1988 UN Convention designed to prevent illegal money laundering. Specifically, the report said, Lebanon has refused to implement Articles 5 and 7 of this convention which "are aimed at preventing bank secrecy from enabling drug traffickers and criminal organizations to enjoy impunity and prosperity."

    The report dismissed claims by Lebanese officials that the provisions of the 1988 Convention conflict with its bank secrecy laws, noting these provision have been "adopted by most states, among them states with efficient bank secrecy laws." Beirut's continuing refusal to implement the 1988 Convention makes Lebanon "attractive to international drug traffickers and other criminal groups interested in hiding their illicitly derived profits, which could lead to the undermining of the financial, economic and political system in the country and jeopardize the development of the national economy."

    Although the report acknowledged a reduction in narcotics production in recent years, it contained little praise for the Lebanese government in other areas of narcotics control. Although the report noted a decline in opium production in Pakistan and several other states in the region, it merely acknowledged that the Lebanese regime "has prevented an upsurge of illicit opium poppy cultivation." It also noted that a 1998 Lebanese law governing the import of "narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors" has not yet been implemented.

  1 International Narcotics Control Board Annual Report, February 1999.

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