Mr. President, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Young Friends
Allow me first of all to say, that I wish to address these words very specifically to the young people in this hall. You are our focus and our hope and your mere presence here today comforts me.
Let me also add, that I have come here today not only as the Queen of my country, but, and more importantly, as a mother of three and as someone who cares very much about the problems facing young people today. One of the gravest problems we have to face together, among many, is that of drug abuse. For me, part of this is to take a public stance to support a society free of drug abuse.
Young people use drugs for many different reasons. Some just want to copy their peers, to be "cool". Is this a valid reason? It can never be "cool" to be out of control.
Others have much more compelling reasons: to alleviate hunger, to forget their miseries, to block out fear, to tackle the crisis of a changing body during adolescence, to get away from sexual and physical abuse. In some instances you may find yourself in situations where you see no other way out. I believe there are many other, and more positive and beneficial ways to respond to such problems. That is why I have come here today.
Drugs have been around since the earliest ages, but the abuse as we know it today is a fairly recent phenomenon. In fact, it took on its current epidemic proportions as late as in the sixties.
What can be started can also be stopped.
Today, and looking at illicit drugs alone, conservative estimates tell us that some 140 million people use cannabis, 30 million use amphetamines and other related stimulants, and 8 million people use heroin. In some countries, up to 40% of young persons admit having used cannabis, to mention but one example. To this you have to add the abuse of prescription drugs, inhalants and, yes, alcohol and tobacco.
As parents, friends, older brothers and sisters, or simply responsible adults, we have to stretch out a helping hand and work together. There is nothing that we parents, politicians, or experts can do alone.
But together with you, we can jointly develop the necessary bond to tackle this menace. Together we can build a society based on promoting the health and well-being of people and where the abuse of drugs can be substantially reduced. We can show, that there are other, more effective - and I promise you, more productive! - ways to face and tackle the problems of our everyday lives. But I repeat, this must be a joint effort, in partnership and on an equal basis. If you trust us, we will trust you!!
Illicit drugs have never been more easily available than today, despite the massive efforts by governments to limit their supply. This is why I believe, that if we are to reach a stage where drug abuse no longer constitutes a problem, we must make sure that the demand is drastically reduced. And this you can only do by offering positive alternatives to drug abuse and by helping people deal with and refuse the offer of drugs and by helping to fill the void, that so many of our young people today feel that they can only satisfy with drugs.
In a recent letter the Secretary-General of Interpol, the most senior policeman in the world, supports the notion of giving young people, you, the trust and tools to develop the necessary courage to stand up against the influences that could lead you to take your first steps towards drug abuse. He sees the need is to focus on prevention, in partnership with young people. I could not agree with him more.
Those who have tried, discover that despite any short-term rush of satisfaction, drugs do not offer a long-term solution to needs or problems. They may hide some symptoms, but the underlying causes will still be there. Some people claim that drug use is a question of freedom of choice. Intoxication offers a chance to escape. But, it also means that the struggle for the good things in life, for one's own well-being and for the positive development of the children and the family, becomes a secondary issue. Instead of confronting the problems of everyday life, one chooses to run away - and drugs offer an escape route. For me this is not freedom. No! Quite the contrary. Therefore we must, all together, resist the efforts to make drugs an everyday product. But we must remember that we are fighting a phenomenon, we are not fighting individuals. Promoting a negative attitude towards drugs is not about stigmatizing a young person, who is trying to find his or her own way to cope with life. But it is about revealing the abuse of drugs for what it is, a damaging short-term relief.
I think that the fact that an increasing number of children and young people use drugs is a message to us as adults and as parents. Young people from different countries of the world tell us that using drugs is an expression of the fact that they do not feel part of the society in which they live.
- Sometimes this is just a function of age. Young people are in search of an identity, that defines and differentiates them from the identity of the previous generations. They are also more curious and open to experiment.
- Sometimes they need to forget their everyday problems and need to feel at ease with themselves and other people.
- Sometimes young people suffer because there is nobody to take care of them, physically or emotionally. Often they have family problems, sometimes they are abused.
- Sometimes they feel there is no hope or future for them in society. They think there would be no job, no opportunity would open.
- Sometimes life is physically too hard. There is hunger and cold and drugs help to feel better.
We can choose to see these as phenomena we cannot influence. And it is indeed easy to feel powerless. But I believe that this feeling comes from the fact that nobody can solve these problems on his or her own. The fact that so many young people across the world turn to drugs, be it for pleasure or despair, concerns us all: Governments, the civil society, experts, parents, and the young people themselves.
We have to help and support you to find other ways of meeting needs and facing problems. We need to work with you so that you can feel and be protected and resilient.
But, if in this process you still do end up abusing drugs, for whatever reason, it is never too late, or shameful, to ask for help. Do not be afraid to admit to your peers, your parents, or any other person whom you trust or love, that you are facing problems.
We, as parents, adults, and friends, will stand by you to help you. For me, that promise is the reason why I am here today.
Because the final decisions are for you to make, we can just try to guide you, based on our experience as adults. You will make mistakes, you will take the wrong turns, but we are still there to give you our support, and share our experience with you.
Drug problems are not national and drugs do not recognize national boundaries; it is an international issue. That is why it is so appropriate that we speak about these things here at the UN.
And I now again turn directly to the young persons in this room. You have a right to make yourselves heard, and to be listened to. you also have the undeniable right to fulfill your rich potentials, wherever you come from, whatever your background. We adults often tend to forget that. When we err, do remind us!
Drug abuse is not inescapable. We cannot, and must not, shrug our shoulders and surrender, just because the problem looms so large. With that attitude, we would still be living in the stone ages. We would most definitely not have landed on the moon, eradicated diseases or created any of our modern technologies. Why should we be less brave here? Drug abuse can, and must, be resolved.
Therefore, and to conclude, I salute the young people who are here today and who have had the courage to take a stance, and I challenge all in this room, politicians, diplomats, parents, the business community, NGO:s and, last but not least, the young people themselves, to create the necessary partnership - and take on the necessary responsibility - to tackle, and resolve this problem.
I trust that our new generation is prepared to take on this challenge, I hope that my generation is too and I for one stand prepared. If not, we will be judged as the parents who did not care. But I have hope, because I know that we do care, and that we are prepared to prove it. To prove it to our youngsters, to our governments, and to ourselves.
Thank you.