January 30, 2002
Some Progress in U.S. Drug Fight
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 12:07 p.m. ET WASHINGTON
(AP) -- The U.S. drug certification program that has been an irritant
in relations with Mexico could become unnecessary as Western Hemisphere
nations develop their own system for evaluating progress in the drug fight,
the State Department's top anti-drug official said Wednesday.
The Organization of American States drug evaluation system "represents
the functional equivalent of a military alliance to try to deal with one
of the true scourges of our existence in the Western Hemisphere,'' said
Rand Beers, assistant secretary of state for International Narcotics and
Law Enforcement.
Beers spoke to reporters as the OAS presented 33 country reports examining
how member states have followed up on recommendations made last year when
the first report was issued.
The country reports and a regional overview do not explore whether trafficking
or drug use have increased or decreased in the Americas. Rather, they
examine the steps taken by countries to fight drugs.
The United States report found that the nation made progress last year
in fighting illegal drug use and production, but hasn't done enough to
stop trafficking in firearms.
In the overview, the OAS found signs of progress throughout the region.
It said almost all countries now have drug-fighting plans and alternative
development programs have advanced.
But problems remain, largely because of technical and financial concerns.
Most countries have difficulties collecting statistics on drugs and don't
have systems for evaluating demand reduction programs.
The OAS drug evaluation system grew out of Latin America's disdain for
the United States' annual exercise of certifying which countries were
satisfactorily fighting drug production and trafficking. Countries seen
as not doing enough could face U.S. sanctions.
Mexico and other nations consider it arrogant and hypocritical for the
United States, the world's leading consumer of illegal drugs, to judge
other nations. Largely in deference to Mexico, Congress has agreed to
substitute the OAS program for the certification for a year.
Regional leaders and some U.S. officials have expressed hope that the
evaluation system will make U.S. certification unnecessary.
OAS Secretary-General Cesar Gaviria said the region will make more progress
in fighting drugs by working together.
"I don't think these punitive measures are the best way to address
the problem,'' he said.
But some lawmakers, such as Rep. Benjamin Gilman, are skeptical.
"There is no substitute for U.S. drug certification policy, which
has tied the right annually to U.S. taxpayer aid to full cooperation and
performance,'' Gilman, R-N.Y., said Tuesday. Gilman is a member of the
House International Relations Committee.
Under the OAS system, experts representing each of the 34 active OAS
members examine each country's efforts to stop production, transportation
and use of illegal drugs, using a wide range of criteria. One OAS member,
Guyana, did not provide information for a follow-up evaluation.
The U.S. report praises American advances in estimating cannabis cultivation
in the United States, destroying drug laboratories and cooperating with
other nations.
But it also said the United States has not done enough to stop trafficking
in ammunition and expressed concern that it hasn't ratified an OAS firearms
treaty pending in the Senate. U.S. firearms are seen as contributing to
drug violence in the hemisphere.
The report on Colombia, the world's leading producer of cocaine and the
main source of heroin for the United States, notes efforts to eradicate
drug crops and control precursor chemicals. It recommended Colombia do
more to monitor its own drug use.
Mexico, the main transit point for U.S.-bound drugs, received high marks
for efforts to fight drug production and address its own drug use problems.
On the Net:
OAS: http://www.oas.org
for some history on US-Mexico Recertification and Anti-Drug Efforts,
see The Bottomless Mexican Drug War Pit
