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SPAIN ASSISTS ANDEAN COUNTRIES' ANTI-NARCOTICS PROJECT

  May 23, 2002

Information and statistical systems of national drug commissions in Andean countries will be upgraded, thanks to a $150,000 contribution the Spanish government recently made to the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD).

Spain's Permanent Observer to the Organization of American States, Ambassador Eduardo Gutiérrez, presented the gift to CICAD's Executive Secretary, David Beall, on behalf of the Spanish National Drug Plan. This follows an earlier donation of $350,000 from Spain to support the institutional strengthening project.

Ambassador Gutiérrez noted that "Spain places top priority on fighting illicit drugs and therefore feels it is extremely important to support this CICAD initiative to assist the Andean countries."

Under the project, the anti-drug commissions of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru will receive equipment and technical training to modernize their drug data collection and analysis systems. Through its Inter-American Observatory on Drugs, CICAD is engaged in standardizing drug information throughout the Hemisphere.

"We have an important tool to measure our progress in combating drugs-the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism. But this mechanism can only be effective if we have statistics that are complete and reliable," said Beall. "We see the Spanish government's ongoing technical and economic assistance as crucial to meeting CICAD's stated objectives."

A permanent observer to the OAS, Spain supports such other CICAD projects as the newly-established Ibero-American Online Master's Degree Program in Drug Addiction.

Reference: E-105/02