By Christine June
Public Affairs Office
George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany (April 13, 2015) – Angela Me, chief of the Statistics and Surveys Section of the Trends Monitoring and Analysis Program of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, provided an annual overview by the UN of the major developments in drug markets for the various drug categories in her presentation A Review of the World Drug Report April 13 during the Countering Narcotics and Illicit Trafficking resident program at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies here.

In her presentation, she outlined the key findings of the World Drug Report 2014, with a particular focus on three areas: the trends and statistics regarding cultivation and production of opiates; the trends and statistics regarding cultivation and production of cocaine; and, the trends and statistics regarding the production of amphetamine-type stimulants and synthetic drugs.

The various drug categories she talked about ranged from production to trafficking, including development of new routes and modalities, as well as consumption. She also identified key elements in declines of coca production and described the methods of control supporting such declines.

Me Tuesday, April 14 to the 71 participants from 51 countries.will also give a presentation on Human Trafficking and Smuggling

Before joining UNODC, Me worked for the UN Statistics Division and Economic Commission for Europe. She has written a number of papers, contributed to publications and made presentations in several meetings where she provided inputs on a wide range of issues related to social andhttps://www.marshallcenter.org/mcpublicweb/administrator/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&layout=edit#publishing demographic statistics.

Me holds a Ph.D in Statistics and a Master's Degree in Statistics and Demography from the University of Padua, Italy.

Marshall Center's CNIT is a two-and-a-half week resident program that focuses on 21st century national security threats as a result of illicit trafficking and other criminal activities. It ends April 24.

Course design includes guest lecturers from national and international law enforcement and security organizations, course seminar activities discussing the range of government countermeasures to combat criminal activity, and strategy development exercises that focus on best practices and international approaches to combating these growing threats against national security.

This year's CNIT participants hail from: Afghanistan; Albania; Algeria; Argentina; Armenia; Australia; Azerbaijan; Bahamas; Belize; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Colombia; Czech Republic; Dominican Republic; Egypt; El Salvador; Fiji Islands; Georgia; Greece; Guatemala; Hungary; India; Indonesia; Japan; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Kosovo; Malaysia; Maldives; Mauritania; Mexico; Moldova; Mongolia; Montenegro; Morocco; New Zealand; Nigeria; Oman; Peru; Philippines; Romania; Serbia; Slovenia; South Africa: Tanzania; Thailand; Turkey; Ukraine, United States; and, Uzbekistan.

This year's CNIT course has a good mixture of participants who work at defense, interior and justice ministries, and law enforcement and other government agencies.

The course is designed for government officials and practitioners who are engaged in policy development, law enforcement, intelligence, and interdiction activities aimed at countering illicit narcotics trafficking, terrorist involvement in criminal activity, and the associated elements of transnational crime and corruption. It examines the major methods by which transnational criminal and terrorist organizations engage in illegal narcotics trafficking and other criminal activities for profit.

The mission of the Marshall Center, as a vital instrument of German-American cooperation, is to create a more stable security environment by advancing democratic institutions and relationships; promoting active, peaceful, whole-of-government approaches to address transnational and regional security challenges; and creating and enhancing enduring partnerships worldwide.

The Marshall Center offers eight resident programs that examine complex transnational, regional and international security issues: Program on Terrorism and Security Studies; Program on Applied Security Studies; Program on Security Sector Capacity Building; Seminar on Regional Security; Seminar on Transnational Civil Security; CNIT; Program on Cyber Security Studies; and, Senior Executive Seminar.