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CICAD WILL SUMBIT EVALUATION OF PROGRESS IN
DRUG CONTROL DURING GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) will submit the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism's “Hemispheric Report: Evaluation of Progress in Drug Control, 2005 – 2006,” to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the 34 Organization of American States (OAS) Member States, during the 38th OAS General Assembly, which will take place in Medellin, Colombia, June 1-3, 2008.

The MEM Hemispheric Report has been established as a unique and fundamental tool in the hemisphere to facilitate the search for solutions to the multidimensional drug problem. This Fourth Evaluation Round report addresses the collective progress of the CICAD member states in confronting the drug problem from a hemispheric perspective in 2008.

The Hemispheric Report provides a comprehensive review of the Fourth Evaluation Round reports, covering the period 2005-2006. The primary sources of information are the 34 MEM National Reports, approved by the CICAD Commissioners at the forty-second regular session of CICAD in Colombia in late 2007.

This report is divided into four chapters: Institutional Strengthening, Demand Reduction, Supply Reduction, and Control Measures, mirroring the structure of the Anti-Drug Strategy in the Hemisphere, which provides guidelines for integrated, coordinated and cooperative Hemispheric action to confront the drug problem. Each chapter is based on the Fourth Evaluation Round national reports, as well as contributions from the Group of Government Experts. The content of the Hemispheric Report, drafted by the GEG, was approved at the forty-third regular session of CICAD, in May 2008.

During the Fourth Evaluation Round, a total of 453 recommendations were assigned to the 34 member states. The greatest number of recommendations was in the area of pharmaceutical products control, followed by international conventions and money laundering. These recommendations were assigned to member states with the goal of helping to strengthen drug control policies and related activities, and enhance multilateral cooperation in the hemisphere.

CICAD, which implemented this Mechanism in 1998, following a mandate from the Second Summit of the Americas, has worked for eleven years, with the cooperation and participation of the 34 member states, to ensure that the MEM meets the objectives for which it was designed:
• identify strengths and weaknesses, progress and setbacks in the anti-drug policies and programs in each member state and in the hemisphere, always maintaining a balanced treatment of the drug problem; and
• assist countries in generating internal support for the fight against drugs, facilitating the change and development of drug control systems.

The Hemispheric Report and the National Reports of this Fourth Evaluation Round, 2005-2006 reflect the strengthening, evolution and maturity that the mechanism has experienced since its creation throughout the four evaluation rounds.

All of the MEM publications are available on the following webpage:
www.cicad.oas.org/MEM/ENG/Reports%20Index.asp

Reference: E-197/08