No. 2, Year 4
Second Quarter 2006

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OAS Chief Calls for Commitment of Financial and Political Resources in Fight against Drugs

OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza reiterated a proposal for member states to underwrite CICAD activities through allocating a small percentage of assets seized for trafficking and money laundering crimes.  The funds would go toward CICAD's supply and demand reduction training programs, as well as toward preparing law enforcement and financial authorities to better investigate and prosecute money laundering crimes.

OAS Secretary General José Miguel
Insulza speaking at CICAD meeting

“I am convinced that if that if a small, even a minute part, one percent of these seized assets are spent on supporting activities sponsored by CICAD in training and technical assistance, perhaps, the results of our work and the amounts seized would be very notable.”

 Insulza has given this idea a prominent place in his speaking engagements. He launched the idea at the thirty-ninth regular session of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission in May in Washington, D.C., broadened its concepts at the Expert Group Money Laundering Control in late May, and finally highlighted the initiative at the thirty sixth OAS General Assembly that occurred in June in the Dominican Republic.

 Insulza stressed that cooperation among all nations is vital to confront the dangers of illicit drugs in the hemisphere. "It is necessary to encourage the participation of all government entities and organizations, and to promote cooperation among the countries of the Americas," he said. The drug trade is a regional and global enterprise supported by multiple sources, he added, and it is imperative to join resources and tackle it with a multifaceted, regional strategy as a single response.

 The Secretary General said, "If this type of contribution is not contemplated in the legal systems of your countries, I urge you to work on the legislative modifications that may be necessary." He noted that this is not an original initiative, given that the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime contemplates this type of measure.

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