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Secretary General Says that Drug Problem in the Americas is Part of a “Broader Phenomenon”

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, today participated in the G-8 Summit in Paris, where he was invited to speak on the security situation and the impact of organized crime on the region. In his remarks, Insulza asserted that the problem of drugs in the Americas is part of “a broader phenomenon of crime and violence in which it is no longer possible to distinguish specific agents,” and stressed the need for coordinated action and the exchange of experiences to face the phenomenon through common criteria. At the same time, he identified the achievements of the OAS in this field that make the Organization a “strategic partner” in the fight against these threats.

During his speech at the Interministerial Conference on Transatlantic Cocaine Trafficking, held May 9 and 10, 2011, in Paris, France, with the participation of the ministers of the interior, the Secretary General declared that “in our region, the same criminal gangs that are the protagonists in the trafficking of drugs are also responsible for weapons trafficking and human trafficking, as well as money laundering, kidnapping and homicides.” He said that in addressing this situation, it is essential to follow up on the commitments adopted by the States in the inter-American system, promote cooperation among governments in the region, and push for collaboration with other international agencies and organizations.

“As the principal regional organization of the Western Hemisphere, the OAS is host, technical secretariat or coordinator of the most important political and technical forums of the hemisphere in matters of security,” the head of the hemispheric Organization said. Among them he mentioned the Mechanism for Follow-up of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption; the Mechanism to Follow Up on Implementation of the Inter-American Convention for the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women; the Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials; the Hemispheric Plan against Transnational Organized Crime; the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission; the Working Group to Prepare a Regional Strategy to Promote Inter-American Cooperation in Dealing with Criminal Gangs; the Technical Group on Transnational Organized Crime; the Meeting of National Authorities on Trafficking in Persons; the Meeting of Officials Responsible for Penitentiary and Prison Policies of the OAS Member States; the Meeting of Forensic Specialists of the Americas; and the Groups of Experts on Demand Reduction, Money Laundering Control, Maritime Drug Trafficking, and Precursor Chemicals.

He emphasized that the problem of drugs, crime and violence directly affects people’s physical wellbeing, health, peace and heritage, as well as important sectors of a country’s economy. “Crime and violence kill more people in Latin America and the Caribbean than AIDS or any other known epidemic, and destroy more homes than any economic crisis we have ever faced,” he said.

For these reasons, he continued, it is necessary to continue the joint work between States of the region and collaboration with other sub-regional agencies and organizations. Among the efforts that have bore fruit until now he highlighted the Justice Studies Center of the Americas (JSCA), created by the Meeting of Ministers of Justice or Other Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas (REMJA) to improve legal defense standards; the Working Group on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters and Extradition, which has developed guidelines on best practices in criminal matters; the Criminal Matters Network, which seeks to facilitate efficient cooperation among authorities; the Working Group on Cyber-crime, which conducts regional training workshops to prevent and detect this crime; the Meeting of Officials Responsible for Penitentiary and Prison Policies, which has made important recommendations on the rights of persons deprived of liberty; and the launching of a pilot project for the creation of an Inter-American Network for Legal Cooperation in the Area of Family and Child Law.

“Crime and violence, of which the drug problem is a part, constitute a threat to stability, the strengthening of democracies, the rule of law, and the economic development of the Americas and in particular Latin America and the Caribbean,” Insulza concluded. “Our efforts in facing the drug problem and other phenomena make the OAS a strategic partner in the fight against crime, violence and insecurity.”

A gallery of photos of the event will be available soon here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-660/11