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OAS ANTI-NARCOTICS COMMISSION HAILED AS MODEL FOR JOINT ACTION

Members state delegates on Tuesday opened the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission’s (CICAD) thirty sixth regular session, with the outgoing Chairman hailing the Organization of American States (OAS) commission as an effective model for international cooperation and joint action.

CICAD Chairman Paul Kennedy—who is Canada’s Senior Assistant Deputy Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness—reviewed his one-year tenure at the helm, remarking that he leaves “knowing that we have in fact accomplished a great deal.”

Mr. Kennedy, who had served as Canada’s representative on CICAD for several years, cited differences of language, culture, legal systems, history and economic circumstances among the member states, but asserted that, nonetheless, “CICAD has proven itself to be a leader in security issues for the region and for the world.” Among successes he touched on the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism (MEM) as a systematic, collaborative approach to the hemisphere’s drug problem. Kennedy says the MEM has enabled the member states to “make decisions based on facts rather than on politics and assumptions.”

He identified other noteworthy achievements of the MEM, including encouraging countries to implement drug control legislation and regulations; ratify international conventions; develop national drug strategies; and enhance cooperation and collaboration among member states.” Kennedy also urged continued CICAD collaboration with other hemispheric and international organizations in order to boost cost-efficiency and effectiveness.

In his opening remarks to the delegates, OAS Acting Secretary General Luigi Einaudi described CICAD as “one of the absolutely best known parts of the OAS” that has taken unique steps regionally and internationally. Singling out the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism as “a landmark process in international affairs,” he said it had succeeded in bringing to the fore the capacity of multilateral effort to identify problems and commit the participants to a common framework and structure to facilitate implementation and action.

The new CICAD executive director, James Mack, was introduced to the delegates, after which he presented an overview of priorities.

During their four-day meeting, the CICAD delegates will discuss and take decisions on a wide range of issues, and will hear experts deliver presentations on such topics as new directions in criminal justice and prison policy; a systematic approach for intervening and treating drug-involved offenders; money laundering control; maritime drug trafficking; and substance-abuse prevention programs. Presentations will also be made on various school-based substance-abuse prevention programs from around the hemisphere.

Reference: E-227/04