The purpose of the conference, organised jointly with UNODC, was to further explore the proposals made at the 2007 OSCE Conference on Illicit Drugs, to identify a potential role for the OSCE in assisting participating States to combating illicit trafficking in drugs and chemical precursors and to study the possibilities of fostering international and regional counter narcotics co-operation
The event was organised in response to a task received by the Permanent Council Decision No. 813, which inter alia tasked the Secretary General “with convening in 2008 in Vienna, in co-operation with the UNODC and other relevant international institutions, an OSCE expert conference on international co-operation to combat trafficking in illicit drugs and chemical precursors, for representatives of participating States, Partners for Co-operation and relevant international and regional organisations”, designed to facilitate the exchange of information on the production of and trafficking in illicit drugs, to co-ordinate anti-drug activities and further to identify key drug and chemical precursors issues, where OSCE could play an effective role in supporting global efforts to combat illicit drug trafficking, and to study the possibilities of fostering international and regional counter narcotics cooperation.
The Conference was divided in three sessions covering the issues of countering illicit trafficking in Afghan opiates and combating synthetic drugs and chemical precursors in the OSCE area, as well as of international and regional co-operation in fighting illicit drugs trafficking and supply.