Backgrounder: The Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism
On April 10-14, 2000, government experts who will evaluate the effectiveness of 34 nations’ anti-drug efforts will meet for the first time in Washington. The experts have been appointed to implement the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism.
What is the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism (MEM)?
This is a new tool to measure the progress that the nations of the hemisphere are making in combating the problem of illegal drugs. It is a cooperative effort by 34 countries to identify their progress in working toward common goals. Experts from each country will participate in the evaluation and all countries will be evaluated in five main areas: national anti-drug plans and strategies; prevention and treatment programs; reduction in drug production; improved law enforcement; and overall commitment.
Who created the MEM?
The evaluation tool was created by the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (known by its Spanish acronym, CICAD), which is part of the Organization of American States (OAS). Participants are the 34 active member countries of the OAS – the nations of North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. (See list below)
Who does the evaluating?
At the heart of the process is a Government Experts Group. Each country appoints a technical expert specialized in some aspect of the drug issue, such as law enforcement, prevention or health care. They analyze the data on each country and make observations and recommendations. All countries will evaluate and all will be evaluated.
How does the evaluation process work?
Each government first completes a detailed questionnaire, providing data on a series of indicators, or benchmarks. Each area for questioning is concrete and specific: Are there drug-prevention programs in schools, prisons and workplaces? Do drug-abuse treatment centers have minimum standards of care? How extensive are training programs for professionals? Specific questions will cover all aspects of the problem, from area under cultivation for illicit crops to the number of arrests for drug trafficking. Governments also will provide information about what international conventions they have ratified and what national laws they have in place – not only on illegal drugs, but on related issues such as money laundering and trafficking in firearms and chemical substances used in drug production. During the first year, the evaluation will be based on 61 indicators; more are available for subsequent years.
Once a country has responded, experts will study the data and analyze the progress it is making toward the goals of its National Master Plan. The experts may request further information or conduct on-site visits to help them draft a report. An Executive Summary of the final report will be made public.
Will the process impose sanctions?
No. This evaluation process is based on cooperation. It recognizes that all countries in the hemisphere share responsibility for the drug problem and that all governments are committed to combating it forcefully. By sharing information and strategies, the countries can develop a clearer picture of needs and weaknesses and identify areas that may warrant closer cooperation, better legislation, more research or additional resources.
How did the MEM come about?
The creation of this evaluation tool stems from a mandate issued by the presidents and prime ministers of the hemisphere at the Second Summit of the Americas, held in April 1998 in Santiago, Chile. The OAS/CICAD created a special working group – headed by Canadian Deputy Solicitor General Jean Fournier and Pablo Lagos Puccio of Chile – to design the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism, which was completed in August 1999 in Ottawa, Canada. CICAD approved the evaluation tool in October 1999 at a meeting in Montevideo, Uruguay.
How is the MEM being funded?
Each country pays the salary and expenses of its appointed expert. In addition, a number of countries – to date, Canada, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico and the United States – have made donations to cover the cost of administrating the evaluation process.
What is the timetable for the MEM process?
The mechanism went into effect on January 1, 2000. During the first two months of the year, governments completed the MEM questionnaires and sent them to OAS/CICAD headquarters for compilation and translation. Additional data collection will take place throughout the year and the government experts will meet a total of four times. The initial evaluation process will be completed within the year. This first year is considered a standard-setting period, during which the experts will determine how the process can be improved. The idea is to present a fine-tuned evaluation mechanism and its results at the next Summit of the Americas, which will take place in Quebec City, Canada, April 20-22, 2001.
What else does CICAD do?
Created in 1986, the OAS Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission provides an anti-drug policy forum for the hemisphere. Among other tasks, the countries work together to offer training in prevention, improve communication among law enforcement agencies and promote alternative development in areas where local economies have depended on illegal crops. One key CICAD achievement has been the creation of model anti-drug regulations that have become the basis for laws in many OAS member countries. The regulations are designed to combat money laundering, illegal firearms trafficking and illegal transactions involving precursor chemicals – substances used in the processing of cocaine and heroin. CICAD’s activities seek to strengthen and build on the 1996 "Anti-Drug Strategy in the Hemisphere," a comprehensive approach that is considered the most advanced regional agreement on drugs in the world. It grew out of the First Summit of the Americas, held in 1994 in Miami, Florida.
The members of the OAS Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission are:
Antigua and Barbuda; Argentina; The Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; Bolivia; Brazil; Canada; Chile; Colombia; Costa Rica; Dominica; the Dominican Republic; Ecuador; El Salvador; Grenada; Guatemala; Guyana; Haiti; Honduras; Jamaica; Mexico; Nicaragua; Panama; Paraguay; Peru; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Suriname; Trinidad and Tobago; the United States; Uruguay; and Venezuela
For more information, contact David Beall, Executive Secretary, CICAD: (202) 458-3178.