DUSHANBE, June 23, 2012, Asia-Plus -- The anti-drug themed festival dedicated to International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is taking place in Dushanbe today.

Organized by the Drug Control Agency (DCA), Dushanbe Mayor’s Office and OSCE Office in Tajikistan, the festival is held under the motto of “Zindagiro Orzu Shirin Namud” (Dream Makes Life Beautiful), the DCA press center reports.

The goal of the festival is in drawing attention of youth to the problem of drug addiction, raising awareness about the dangers of drugs and developing healthy activities for youth.

Public figures, representatives of intelligentsia and international organizations active in the country as well as known Tajik singers such as Zikrilloh Hakimov, Jonibek Murodov, Mehrinigor and a group of Dushanbe’s rappers are participating in the festival.

The International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is a United Nations International Day against drug abuse and the illegal drug trade.  It has been held annually since 1988 on June 26, a date chosen to commemorate Lin Zexu''s dismantling of the opium trade in Humen, Guangdong, just before the First Opium War in China.  The observance was instituted by General Assembly resolution 42/112 of 7 December 1987.