CICAD
releases 2005-2006 evaluations of 34 countries
Following a 18-month process,
CICAD has made the country reports of the Fourth
Evaluation Round of the Multilateral Evaluation
Mechanism (MEM) available to the public, after
the Commission unanimously approved 34 country
reports covering the period of 2005-2006 at its
42nd regular session in Santa Marta in November
last year and presented to the OAS Permanent
Council in mid-February.
The reports
are published in their national language and
posted on the
MEM website. Translations into other
languages (English and Spanish) will become
available by the end of the March.
The cover of the MEM evaluation on the United States, one of 34 reports for the 2005-2006
period.The Fourth Evaluation Round resulted in 453
recommendations, the largest number in the areas
of control of pharmaceutical products,
international conventions and money laundering
control. Each county report consists of a brief
introduction, a narrative body of
recommendations that deal with four aspects:
institutional strengthening, demand reduction,
supply reduction, and control measures, followed
by conclusions in which the main aspects are
summarized. Reports are prepared by the
Governmental Expert Group, which consists of
specialists from each of the 34 member states,
assisted by the Executive Secretariat’s MEM
Section.
CICAD implemented this mechanism in response to
a mandate of the Second Summit of the Americas
in 1998. With the political commitment and
participation of CICAD’s member states, the MEM
continues to fulfill its two original
objectives: to identify progress and setbacks in
anti-drug policies and programs in each country,
emphasizing a balanced approach; and to help
countries generate internal support in their
fight against illegal drugs, stimulating reforms
and the development of systems to enhance drug
control and deal with the social impact of drug
use.
In 2009, follow-up country reports on the fourth
round of recommendations will be drafted to
determine how responsive governments have been
to the proposals. A hemisphere-wide report that
examines regional trends in drug trafficking,
abuse and prevention and other issues will be
published in mid-2008.
The MEM's international stature
The MEM Section coordinator
participated in two consultation meetings last
year organized by the
United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on how to use
information from the MEM national and
hemispheric evaluation reports and other
regional organizations for the ten-year review
of the implementation of the declarations and
measures adopted by the UN General Assembly at
its 20th Special Session on the World
Drug Problem (UNGASS 1998).
The outcome of
discussions was that data from the MEM and other
regional sources, describing trends on similar
issues for a comparable period, should be used
to complement the UN’s own biannual
questionnaire data and relevant analyses, as
well as to verify its results in terms of trends
and new developments, and assisting in providing
explanations of possible data and reporting
inconsistencies.
UNODC will be using MEM
evaluation reports in the thematic areas of
illicit crop cultivation, amphetamine-type
stimulants and their precursors, and demand
reduction, among others, to complement UNODC’s own information
system.
Significantly, this is the
first time that information from MEM evaluation
reports is being considered to support UN data
and analyses, and it is a significant
acknowledgement by the international
community of the Mechanism’s track record and
effectiveness.
More information about CICAD activities are available at the
news archive.
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