Türkiye’s Role in the International Drug Control System

Anatolia being both a fertile region for poppy cultivation and strategically important for drug trafficking routes, Türkiye has played an important role in the development of the International Drug Control System since the latter years of the Ottoman Empire. By the end of the 1990s, Türkiye was frequently the subject of international criticism, but it has since taken crucial steps, especially with the structural reforms it has implemented since the early 2000s. Its approach has been to “regard all the world’s children as its own”. Within this framework, drug trafficking is perceived as a crime against humanity and efforts to address it are not limited by the national borders. Today, Türkiye is making significant contributions to the functioning and development of the system through its focus on the implementation of the United Nations Drug Control Conventions, considered to be the pillars of the International Drug Control System, and through its best practices in every aspect of the fight against drugs. This article aims to overview Türkiye’s national counter drugs experiences in a historical perspective and to recommend future activities to be conducted in Northern Cyprus.