REMARKS BY THE SECRETARY OF EXTERNAL RELATIONS, AMBASSADOR ROSARIO GREEN, IN THE DIALOGUE OF FOREIGN MINISTERS AT THE TWENTY-NINTH REGULAR SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

(Item: Dialogue on Drugs)

We welcome the initiative by the Government of Canada to submit this important matter to the Twenty-ninth General Assembly of the OAS for consideration.

It is a fact that the fight against the production, trafficking, and use of illicit drugs and associated offenses divert resources needed for our countries’ economic and social development, while this fin-de-si�cle cancer adversely affects the health and safety of our citizens.

Despite the great efforts made by each of our nations, the likelihood of success would appear to be minimal at times.

Although the outlook is less than encouraging, in recent years we have definitely made great strides to strengthen the only truly effective tool for addressing this problem: cooperation.

On the hemispheric level, we are relying on an Anti-drug Strategy that offers specific courses of action against each link in the illicit drug chain from an integrated and balanced perspective and from the standpoint of shared responsibility.

Also, we find ourselves immersed in historic negotiations for a Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism, which will enable us to examine jointly and on an equal footing our successes and setbacks in the fight against illicit drugs, as well as to ensure that our cooperation is genuinely effective and responds properly to the needs of our countries.

In the area of law, we have two groundbreaking instruments to face criminal activities closely related to drug trafficking: the Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials and the Inter-American Convention against Corruption. Both of these instruments have already been ratified by Mexico.

I firmly believe that the leadership exercised by the OAS member States in the fight against drugs has not gone unnoticed by the international community.

Our region played a leading role in the negotiations of the agreements adopted in June 1998 by the Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

We have made unquestionable progress, of course. However, the problems are becoming increasingly complex and difficult to deal with effectively.

Accordingly, I propose that in this dialogue we assume a firm commitment that will enable us to undertake specific actions to strengthen our individual and joint capabilities at the same time as we firmly establish the Hemisphere’s leadership in the worldwide fight against illicit drugs.

To this end, I call on you to redouble our efforts to assure a successful conclusion to the negotiations to establish a Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism within the established deadlines.

Also, we need to commit ourselves to obtaining the ten ratifications needed to activate the Consultative Committee provided for in the Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials. It seems to me that the Committee is essential for promoting the ratification of this legal instrument, as well as for ensuring that it is fully implemented by the States parties.

The arms trade is undoubtedly one of the most pernicious phenomena linked to the drug trade, because of the violence it generates and the threat is poses to the security and well-being of our citizens. Unless we demonstrate our willingness to address the problem, we will hardly be able to speak of a successful antidrug strategy.

Let us also commit ourselves to working together to ensure that the Inter-American Convention against Corruption will come into force throughout the Hemisphere. Mexico calls upon the nineteen member States that have not yet done so to ratify this important instrument.

Let us undertake a concerted effort to enforce the commitments assumed at the Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly, so that our Hemisphere can remain on the vanguard of multilateral cooperation in this area.

Mexico welcomes Canada’s initiative to establish a dialogue at the ministerial level to help promote efforts in the fight against drugs. My country considers the work of such a group supplements the efforts being carried out in bodies such as Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission and in negotiations on the establishment of a Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism.

A necessary counterpart of international cooperation is the efforts undertaken within our nations. This is clearly a task that involves not only governments, but also society as a whole. Nongovernmental organizations, the media, schools, the family, and the private sector are indispensable players in our struggle.

The Mexican strategy is rooted in recognition of this shared effort, without this meaning an abdication of the fundamental responsibility of government authorities to safeguard national security and the safety of their citizens.

Accordingly, in recent months Mexico put in place a national strategy to fight drug trafficking and organized crime. Through this strategy it seeks to reinforce the fight against drugs and close the way to the illicit trade in narcotics, using highly qualified personnel supported by new technologies and equipment.

Mexico reiterates its conviction that dialogue between our nations will lead to developing the deep cooperation we need to address the problem of drug trafficking and related criminal offenses. Fortunately, we have this body, which brings together the countries of the Hemisphere and provides an institutional forum for proposing shared solutions to our common problems. Let us join together in our efforts to strengthen the capabilities of our Organization.