Andean Cooperation Plan for Control of Illegal Drugs and Related Offenses Approved

Valencia, June 23, 2001. The Andean Council of Foreign Ministers gave its approval to the "Andean Cooperation Plan for the Control of Illegal Drugs and Related Offenses," which provides for preventive and interdiction measures, reduction of illicit crops, and alternative development, as well as the control of the diversion of chemical precursor substances, asset laundering, and traffic in arms, ammunition, and explosives.

The announcement was made by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Luis Alfonso Dávila, in reporting the results of the meeting that closed last night in preparation for the Thirteenth Andean Presidential Council being held in Valencia on June 23 and 24.

The Plan explains the principles and objectives, establishes the mechanisms for carrying them out, and contains a biennial Program of Action.

As to its principles and objectives, the plan is explained to be comprehensive and based on the "shared responsibility of each and every one of the actors involved in the origin of the problem and in the search for solutions, at both the Andean Subregional and South American, hemispheric, and world levels."

The Plan is defined as "a key issue of Andean political cooperation" and the proposal is made to "consolidate the CAN as the moving force in a South American and hemispheric strategy to control drugs and related offenses."

It is grounded in the conviction that the Illegal production, trafficking, and consumption of drugs is "a worldwide problem that seriously jeopardizes the development and safety of the Andean countries and of the international community as a whole."

The Andean Council of Foreign Ministers is the body responsible for coordinating and overseeing the Plan. An Executive Committee will be formed, made up of senior officials of the Foreign Ministries and the national officials responsible for the control of illicit drugs and related offenses, including representatives of the security agencies, which will be responsible for drawing up the Operational Plans for execution of the Action Program.

The Andean Community General Secretariat (CAN) will act as the Executive Committee’s Technical Secretariat.

Foreign Minister Dávila pointed out that the Plan "is designed to strengthen and step up the national programs of each of the Andean countries through coordination, cooperation, and the exchange of experiences among the five nations and their joint efforts in dealing with third countries and in international forums.

The Program of Action is aimed at reinforcing national, binational, and Community strategies.

In the area of national strategies, it provides for a series of measures to control the production, smuggling and diversion of chemical precursor substances, the technical eradication of illicit crops, the promotion of alternative development to replace the drug production-based economy, and the dismantling of drug trafficking production and transportation infrastructure and organizations.

The Program establishes a series of measures to cope with asset laundering and proposes a succession of steps to cut down the demand, ranging from prevention campaigns to programs for the rehabilitation and social reinsertion of drug-dependent individuals.

Insofar as the reinforcement of binational strategies is concerned, the bilateral agreements on drug control will be evaluated with a view to their updating and perfecting, at the same time as bilateral mechanisms designed specifically for application to border areas will be promoted.

In the Community area, the exchange of intelligence among the competent authorities of the Andean countries will be reinforced and the coordination of national authorities responsible for drug control will be strengthened and their training promoted. Criminal legal assistance agreements will be advanced and the harmonizing of national legislation on criminal and procedural law boosted.

Foreign Minister Dávila reported that the exchange of experiences would be promoted and that joint actions would be undertaken to support the alternative development programs and for the prevention and control of asset laundering at the Andean level.

The Action Program provides for the design and execution of joint strategies for mobilizing international technical and financial cooperation to support the Andean Plan for the Control of Drugs and Related Offenses, as well as debt swap schemes to underpin the alternative development programs.

The intention is also to coordinate joint stands on drug control in dealing with third countries and in international forums and organizations and to update the Rodrigo Lara Bonilla Convention on cooperation for preventing the misuse of and repressing the illegal traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.