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Colombo Declaration - Features, Concerns, & Other Important Facts for UPSC!

Last Updated on Nov 09, 2023
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The Colombo Declaration is an agreement to make the Indian Ocean Region a Drug-Free Zone. It was established in a meeting held by the Government of Sri Lanka and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) dated November 4th, 2016. In this meeting, 18 states participated and decided to take all necessary steps to make the Indian Ocean Region a Drug-Free Zone. This resolution was known as the Colombo Declaration.

Colombo Declaration

The Colombo Declaration is one of the most important topics for the UPSC IAS exam. It covers a significant part of the International Relations subject in the General Studies Paper-2 syllabus. 

In this article, we shall study in detail the highlights, significance, needs, and relevance of the UPSC exam.

What is the Colombo Declaration?

The Colombo Declaration is the resolution to rule out drug trafficking because narcotic drug trafficking poses a great threat to internal security and peace in the country. The declaration also stresses the need for coastal states to cooperate on enforcing maritime law and providing mutual legal assistance in implementing Colombo declaration features.

Attendees of the Colombo Declaration

The meeting of the Colombo Declaration was attended by:

  • Delegates from 18 littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), which includes seven ministers and Deputy Ministers from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
  • Seven international organizations and UN agencies are involved in counternarcotics operations in the region.

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Need for Colombo Declaration

It was determined that a plan and cooperation were required to combat the region’s escalating drug problems and the growing drug problem in the area.

At this meeting, a report evaluating the threat posed by drug trafficking to the states of the Indian Ocean was delivered. The threat of ongoing drug-related criminal activity in the Indian Ocean region received particular attention.

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Why was the Colombo Declaration Adopted?

The Columbo resolution was adopted to address drug-related threats more.

  • The waterways of the Indian Ocean are used by two of the largest illegal drug trade routes mentioned below:
  • The Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia is where the borders of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet. The name Golden Triangle was coined by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Since 1950, it has been regarded as a major opium-producing area worldwide.
  • The Golden Crescent in South-West Asia: It covers the region of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
  • Approximately 25% of the world’s opium is produced in Myanmar, part of the Golden Triangle and the second-largest opium producer after Afghanistan.
  • A sizable amount of the opium and heroin from Afghanistan traded along the East African coast is transported via these marine channels.
  • The relevance of the Indian Ocean’s islands is highlighted by the rise in illicit drug trafficking throughout Eastern Africa’s coastlines.
  • The Combined Maritime Forces have found around 9300 kg of heroin in trading dhows during the past three years, supporting the claim that the Indian Ocean is a hub for the transportation of the world’s illicit drug trade.

Colombo Declaration

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Features of the Colombo Declaration

The features of the Colombo Declaration are listed below:

  • Trafficking in narcotic drugs in the IOR threatens regional peace and security due to its potential links to organized crime and terrorism funding.
  • The declaration emphasizes the necessity of closer collaboration between coastal regions to share information about drug trafficking, offer mutual legal help, and enforce maritime law.
  • Additionally, it demands the improvement and growth of communication. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's (UNODC's) Indian Ocean Prosecutors Network could be used to carry it out.
  • The declaration requests that annual meetings be held by the littoral governments of the Indian Ocean Region under the auspices of the Southern Route Partnership (SRP) of the Indian Ocean Forum on Maritime Crime (IOFMC). 
    • These states must evaluate information on the threat posed by drug trafficking in the IOR and exchange them, which will aid in developing a concerted strategy to address such risks.

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Issues and Concerned Related to the Colombo Declaration

Issues and concerns related to the Colombo Declaration are listed below:

  • The disruption of trafficking routes, the connection to other types of crime, and the destabilizing effect not only on individual states but the larger region of the Indian Ocean, where an estimated 9,300 kg of high-purity drugs have been seized over the past three years and the rising level of drug trafficking on the Southern Route that is increasing in the Indian Ocean.
  • The health dangers of local drug usage are brought on by a surge in drug trafficking, particularly the link between widespread opiate consumption and HIV/Hepatitis C transmissions.
  • Absence of Legal Power for Enforcement Operations: It is the main feature of the Southern Route for drug trafficking on the high seas and/or the difficulty of enforcing an effective deterrence mechanism through a legal conclusion or punitive punishment.
  • The requirement for closer cooperation between coastal governments in information exchange, mutual legal support, and maritime law enforcement, including the growth and development of the UNODC’s Indian Ocean Prosecutors Network.
  • Several international partners have initiated dismantling trafficking networks in the area.
  • The demand for improved maritime law enforcement effectiveness and cooperation through the Southern Route Partnership (SRP) of the Indian Ocean Forum on Maritime Crime (IOFMC), organized by the Global Maritime Crime Programme of the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime.
  • Unstable Peace and Security: Drug trafficking in the Indian Ocean threatens regional peace and security due to its potential connections to organized crime and terrorism funding.

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Call for Action
  • The declaration requests the following from the ministers of the Indian Ocean's littoral states:
  • It should try to establish a "Drug-Free Zone" throughout the Indian Ocean.
  • To determine priority regions and work towards improved regional collaboration to create effective countermeasures against illegal drug trafficking in the Indian Ocean.
  • To gather yearly as part of the Southern Route Partnership (SRP) of the Indian Ocean Forum on Maritime Crime (IOFMC) to examine and report on the threat posed by drug trafficking in the Indian Ocean and to create a coordinated strategy to combat it.

Colombo Declaration: Way Forward

The declaration requests the following from the ministers of the Indian Ocean’s littoral states:

  • Efforts should be made to establish a “Drug-Free Zone” throughout the Indian Ocean.
  • To determine priority regions and work toward improved regional collaboration to create effective countermeasures to illegal drug trafficking in the Indian Ocean.
  • To gather yearly as part of the Southern Route Partnership (SRP) of the Indian Ocean Forum on Maritime Crime (IOFMC) to examine and report on the threat posed by drug trafficking in the Indian Ocean and to create a coordinated strategy to combat it.

Colombo Declaration – Features, Concerns, & Other Important Facts for UPSC: Download PDF Here!

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Colombo Declaration - FAQs

It is a smart vaccination certificate form or Sri Lanka for visitors arriving from abroad during COVID 19.

Drug Trafficking is a major concern due to the possibility that it has ties to the funding of organized crime and terrorism, and it poses a threat to regional peace and security.

The Significance of the Colombo Declaration is that it highlights the requirement for coastal governments to cooperate in upholding maritime law and offering one another legal support when putting the Colombo declaration's provisions into practice.

Colombo Declaration meeting was organized to counter drug trafficking and to make Indian Ocean Region a Drug-Free Zone.
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