Why in News?

• The Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance is hosting a Meeting of Expert Working Group on Paris Pact Initiative on Illicit Financial Flows deriving from the trafficking of Opiates originating in Afghanistan. The Meeting is being organised with the support of United Nations Office on Drugs & Crimes (UNODC).

Paris Pact Initiative:

• A partnership of more than 80 countries and international organizations, the Paris Pact Initiative is one of the most important frameworks in the fight against opiates originating in Afghanistan.
• The Initiative dates back to a meeting titled the Ministerial Conference on Drug Routes from Central Asia to Europe that was held in Paris on 22 May 2003. The participants of the meeting adopted the so-called “Paris Statement”, later followed by the Moscow Declaration and the Vienna Declaration.
• Under the ambit of UNODC, Paris Pact Initiative has addressed the issue of drug problem related to opiates originating in Afghanistan, both at policy and implementation level.
• It has provided the platform for the Member Countries and International Organizations to coordinate and combat the trafficking and consumption of opiates on the principle of common and shared responsibility.
• Illicit traffic in opiates, including heroin, is a growing problem, generating illicit financial flows, fuelling corruption, and organized crime and in some cases funding terrorist activities and insurgency.

Rainbow Strategy:

• Under the guidance of the UNODC over the years the of the Paris Pact Initiavite adopted seven action outlines that in 2007 were collectively termed “the Rainbow Strategy”. The strategy consists of:
• The Blue Paper: Afghanistan’s Opium Poppy Free Road Map and Provincial Profiles
• The Green Paper: Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan: Border Management Cooperation and Drug Control
• The Yellow Paper: Securing Central Asia’s borders with Afghanistan
• The Violet Paper: The Caspian Sea and Turkmen border initiatives
• The Red Paper: Targeting precursors used in heroin manufacture: operation TARCET
• The Orange Paper: Financial flows linked to Afghan opiates production and trafficking
• The Indigo Paper: Preventing and Treating Opiates Addiction and HIV/AIDS epidemics in Afghanistan and neighbouring countries