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The Summits of the Americas and the MEM
The Summits of the Americas and the MEM
The Second Summit of the Americas held in Santiago, Chile in April 1998, acting through the OAS, asked for the creation of a mechanism to evaluate progress in the field of drugs on a common, shared basis as the beginning means of pooling and coordinating better the work of individual nations.
The Second Summit of the Americas: Santiago, Chile
Summit participants proposed the creation of a multilateral evaluation mechanism which would make periodic recommendations to member states on improving their capacity to control drug trafficking and abuse and enhance multilateral cooperation.
The Heads of State and Government of the Americas turned the concept of multilateral evaluation into a mandate, declaring in the Plan of Action that their countries would undertake the following specific action:
"Continue to develop their national and multilateral efforts in order to achieve full application of the Anti-Drug Strategy in the Hemisphere, and will strengthen this alliance based on the principles of respect for the sovereignty and territorial jurisdiction of the States, reciprocity, shared responsibility and an integrated, balanced approach in conformity with their domestic laws;
With the intention of strengthening mutual confidence, dialogue and hemispheric
cooperation and on the basis of the aforementioned principles, develop, within
the framework of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD-OAS), a
singular and objective process of multilateral governmental evaluation in order
to monitor the progress of their individual and collective efforts in the
Hemisphere and of all the countries participating in the Summit, in dealing with
the diverse manifestations of the problem."
The Third Summit of the Americas: Quebec City, Canada
The first reference-fixing evaluation round of the MEM for all CICAD member states, based on sixty-one indicators, presented its results and recommendations at the Third Summit of the Americas in Québec City, Canada in April 2001. In its support for the MEM, the Summit declared in its Plan of Action that the Governments would:
"Note with satisfaction the creation and implementation of the MEM, and reiterate their commitment to make this instrument, unique in the world, a central pillar of assistance toward effective hemispheric cooperation in the struggle against all the component elements of the global drug problem;
Implement the proposals and recommendations found in the national and hemispheric reports, approved by CICAD, in accordance with the specific situation of each country;
Continue strengthening and reviewing the MEM to monitor national and hemispheric efforts against drugs, and recommend concrete actions to encourage inter-American cooperation and national strategies to combat this scourge;"
During the Fifth Summit of the Americas, in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, in April 2009, the member states reiterated their support to the MEM, in the Declaration of Commitment of Port of Spain:
"72. We will increase our efforts to prevent and combat all aspects of the
global drug problem and
related crimes, with strengthened international cooperation and an integral and
balanced
approach based on the principle of common and shared responsibility, in
accordance with the
principles enshrined in the United Nations and OAS Charters, international law
and our
applicable legal frameworks. To this end, we will strengthen our national
capacities and will
continue to implement, as appropriate, the recommendations of the Multilateral
Evaluation
Mechanism (MEM). We welcome the completion of its latest Evaluation Round, and
we will
continue strengthening the Mechanism so as to enable it to face the new
challenges and needs
of the countries of the Hemisphere. We also recognise the importance of
sustainable alternative
development programmes and, where appropriate, of preventive alternative
development in
tackling the global drug problem".
updated on 10/5/2017 9:01:24 AM
