In the area of Drug Supply Reduction, we continue to enhance information and intelligence exchange, as well as best practices and learned lessons, between the different actors involved in the CELAC and the EU. The purpose of this exchange is the enhancement of policies that can generate more specific and effective responses in facing the threats posed by transnational criminal organisations and the illegal trade of drugs.
Alternative Development (AD)
Both EU and UN underline the importance of the Alternative Development (AD) Therefore, COPOLAD supports the exchange of experiences and best practices, providing tools to elaborate stronger, more effective and sustainable AD policies.
Workshops series on Alternative Development and value chains
The primary goal of this three-workshop series is to develop a sequential supportive work with seven interested countries: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, México, Paraguay and Peru. These workshops are organised with the cooperation of the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH from Germany, as a COPOLAD collaborating agency in the field of Alternative Development. After the celebration of the first workshop of the series in Quito (Ecuador, on 9- 10 May 2017), the 2nd “peer-to-peer” Workshop on Alternative Development and Value Chains has been held in Asuncion (Paraguay on 5 - 7 September 2017), with the attendance of the countries involved in this series of workshops plus CICAD-OAS. The Minister of the National Anti-drugs Agency (Secretaría Nacional Antidrogas, SENAD) Hugo Vera and Robert Steinlechner, together with the Head of Cooperation at the Delegation to the European Union in Paraguay, were participating at the opening of the meeting, emphasizing with their participation the importance of supporting farmers to build up value chains to enhance their efforts and developments in AD.
For three days, representatives from institutions, as well as from producers and farmers had the opportunity to exchange experiences and applied knowledge useful to introduce an integral approach in the field. In a highly practical workshop, delegates performed different dynamics, exploring options from a practical perspective in exercises that stressed the possibility of creating tools and dialogue platforms as support and reference. With an ultimate goal to enhance the collective building of knowledge and the exchange of experiences, progress has been made in:
- A better understanding of the promotion of a value chains approach to sustainable development in the framework of alternative development.
- The exchange of outcomes and work performed by each participant country between the workshop held in Quito and this new edition through the virtual platform provided by COPOLAD.
- The analysis of actors, services and regulatory environment in relation with the prioritised chains in which countries do business.
- Identifying of threats and opportunities and the definition of lines of action.
In Asunción, next steps and agreements regarding the third and last workshop of the series (Mexico DF, Mexico, 24 and 25 October) were stablished, in order to respond to participants' petitions, who had expressed interest in a permanent capacity building and the update of methodologies to define public policies and the creation of meeting places.
Reinforcement of the cooperation for the control of chemical precursors (CP) diversion to the production of illicit drugs
Brazil will host the 2nd COPOLAD Week on Precursors
As part of the initiatives of COPOLAD on regards precursor’s control, and counting with the support of the Spanish Intelligence Centre Against Terrorism and Organised Crime (Centro de Inteligencia contra el Terrorismo y el Crimen Organizado, CITCO), the preparatory tasks for the annual meeting in this field are now in development, responding urgently to this problem, through an effective cooperation between countries, and achieve an effective control on the growing challenges posed by the illicit production of drugs.
The 1st Annual Week on Precursors (Barcelona, Spain, from 7 to 11 November, 2016), was focused on "Voluntary collaboration agreements between the chemical and pharmaceutical industry and national authorities responsible for controlling trade in precursors and chemicals". For its second edition (Brasilia, Brazil, 27 November- 1 December), coordination has been established with the National Drugs Secretariat of Brazil (SENAD) and other important actors in Brazil, such as the Federal Police and the National Sanitary Surveillance Agency (ANVISA). This 2nd COPOLAD annual week will focus on sharing the experiences of countries in relation to the new threats related to synthetic drugs, their new precursors and the identification of new psychoactive substances.
Follow-up for law enforcement
The second phase of COPOLAD has among its priority objectives to carry out bi-regional exchanges of best practices that enrich the institutional relations between the participating countries and contribute to a greater dialogue and harmonization of drugs policies between the countries of the European Union (EU), Latin America and the Caribbean (CELAC).
The 1st Bi-regional Meeting for the exchange of best practices. “Drugs Policy and Criminal Justice Reforms: Alternatives to prison for drug-related offences” (San Jose, Costa Rica, 27-29 June) was an activity in which, aspects of common interest for Components 2 and 3 of COPOLAD were included. Therefore, it was carried out taking both sides into consideration and with the muti-sectoral participation of all stakeholders.