AG/RES. 1950 (XXXIII-O/03)

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MULTILATERAL EVALUATION MECHANISM OF THE INTER-AMERICAN DRUG ABUSE CONTROL COMMISSION 

(Resolution adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 10, 2003) 

            THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 

            HAVING SEEN the observations and recommendations of the Permanent Council on the annual reports of the organs, agencies, and entities of the Organization (AG/doc.4228/03), in particular as they pertain to the annual report of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) (CP/doc.3711/03); 

            RECALLING that, during the Second Summit of the Americas, with the intention of strengthening mutual confidence, dialogue, and hemispheric cooperation, the Heads of State and Government undertook to establish a singular and objective process of multilateral governmental evaluation based on the principles of respect for the sovereignty and territorial jurisdiction of the states, reciprocity, shared responsibility, and an integrated, balanced approach, in order to monitor the progress of their individual and collective efforts in dealing with the diverse manifestations of the drug problem and related crimes; 

RECOGNIZING that the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism (MEM) is a central pillar of hemispheric cooperation and a necessary instrument for the design of effective policy in combating all manifestations of the drug problem; 

NOTING that the hemispheric report and the 34 national reports resulting from the implementation of the second round of the MEM were approved by CICAD at its thirty-second regular session, held in Mexico City in December 2002, and were published, with their recommendations, in January 2003; and 

WELCOMING the Declaration of CICAD in Mexico City, adopted by the Commission at its thirty-second regular session, in which member states renewed their commitment to the MEM, 

RESOLVES: 

1.         To note with satisfaction the hemispheric report and the 34 national reports resulting from the implementation of the second round of the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism (MEM), approved by the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) at its thirty-second regular session. 

2.         To endorse the recommendations contained in those reports, and to request CICAD to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-fourth regular session on the implementation of those recommendations. 

3.         To urge the member states to continue to carry out activities designed to meet fully the national and hemispheric recommendations issued during the first and second rounds of implementation of the MEM, to renew the commitment demonstrated during the first and second evaluation rounds, and to continue to participate actively and fully, and in a timely fashion, in the third round of the MEM. 

4.         To express its appreciation and recognition of the work of the Governmental Experts Group (GEG) responsible for preparing the evaluation reports. 

5.         To urge member states, permanent observers, and international financial institutions to increase their financial contributions to CICAD to enable it to step up its assistance to member states as they seek to comply with the recommendations of the MEM. 

6.         To instruct CICAD: 

a.         To continue fulfilling the mandates given by the Third Summit of the Americas, held in Quebec City, specifically those that refer to refining and promoting the MEM process and its results, and those that refer to the provision of assistance to member states for effective implementation of the recommendations; 

b.         To focus resources on those areas identified by the MEM as priorities, such as the development of national information systems and the strengthening of information exchange mechanisms and national and international cooperation on all aspects of the problem; and  

c.         To continue to assist member states in complying with the recommendations contained in the national and hemispheric MEM reports, “Evaluation of Progress in Drug Control 2001-2002,” and in participating fully in the next round of evaluations of the MEM process.