Decisión Nº 505 de Comunidad Andina

• Jurisdicción: Comunidad Andina
• Número de decisión: 505
• Fecha de publicación: 22 Junio 2001
• Emisor: Comunidad Andina
• Año: 2001

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DECISION 505

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

THE ANDEAN COUNCIL OF FOREIGN MINISTERS,

HAVING SEEN: Article 16 of the Cartagena Agreement and Decision 458 "Common Foreign Policy Guidelines";

BEARING IN MIND: The agreement approved by the Presidents of the Andean Countries at the meeting held on April 17, 2001 in Cartagena, Colombia;

WHEREAS: Illegal drug production, traffic, and consumption, asset laundering, diversion and smuggling of chemical precursors, and arms trafficking seriously threaten the development and security of the Andean countries;

The efforts being made today by the Andean countries under their respective national programs for the control of illegal drugs and related offenses can be significantly boosted and supplemented through an Andean Cooperation Plan to intensify national, bilateral, and Community measures in this area;

The international community can wage an integrated campaign against the worldwide illegal drug problem that could cover all of the aspects involved in illegal drug production, traffic, and consumption and related offenses, based on the principle of shared responsibility;

The Andean strategy for the control of illegal drugs and related offenses, as well as international efforts in this area, should be carried out with full respect for national law and sovereignty.

DECIDES:

Sole article.- To approve the Andean Cooperation Plan for the Control of Illegal Drugs and Related Offenses set out in the document attached to this Decision.

Signed in the city of Valencia, Venezuela, on the twenty-second of June of two thousand and one.

ANDEAN COOPERATION PLAN FOR THE CONTROL OF

ILLEGAL DRUGS AND RELATED OFFENSES

Principles and Objectives

The Andean Cooperation Plan for the Control of Illegal Drugs and Related
Offenses:

1. Is grounded in the conviction that illegal drug production, trafficking, and consumption is a worldwide problem that seriously threatens the development and security of the Andean countries and of the international community. Recognizes that this is one of the most harmful and dangerous forms of organized transnational crime, that makes use of the globalizing logic of the markets, disrupts the social dynamic, distorts the economy, undermines the state of law, and subverts the public order.

2. Is comprehensive and encompasses all of the aspects of the worldwide drug problem and related offenses: prevention, interdiction, reduction of illicit crops, and alternative development, as well as the control of the diversion of chemical precursors, asset laundering, and the traffic in arms, ammunition, and explosives.

3. In this connection, it is based on the shared responsibility of each and every one of the actors involved in creating the problem and, as a result, in the search for solutions to it at both the Andean Subregional level and the South American, hemispheric, and world levels.

4. Is respectful of national legislation and territorial sovereignty and integrity, as well as of the strict observance of International Law and is implemented through cooperation and solidarity. That cooperation is inherent to the shared nature of the problem and, consequently, should be mutual, voluntary and not subject to limitations or requirements that set conditions on the unhampered involvement of the wills of the parties. The solidarity, for its part, is an expression of the recognition that national and Subregional drug control efforts should be accompanied by international cooperation in order to reinforce democracy and the exercise of human rights and at the same time promote the sustainable economic and social development of the Andean Countries.

5. Seeks to strengthen and step up national programs in each of the Andean Countries through coordination, cooperation, and the exchange of experiences among the Member Countries and by taking joint action in dealing with third countries and in international forums.

6. Is a key issue of Andean political cooperation that links up the common foreign policy, Community border integration and development policy, sustainable development policy, the Andean Social Agenda, and security and confidence-building efforts in the Subregion, as applicable.

7. It is proposed that the Andean Community be consolidated as the moving force for a South American and hemispheric strategy for the control of illegal drugs and related offenses.

Mechanisms

1. The Andean Council of Foreign Ministers is the body responsible for defining, coordinating, and following up the Andean Cooperation Plan for the Control of Illegal Drugs and Related Offenses.

2. An Executive Committee will be set up, formed of high-level officials of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the national officers responsible for controlling illegal drugs and related offenses, including representatives of the security bodies.

3. The Executive Committee may establish subcommittees and working groups specializing in the different aspects of the Andean Plan. The Subcommittees and working groups may be made up of two or more Member Countries and will be open to the participation of the others.

4. The Andean Community General Secretariat will act as the Executive Committee’s Technical Secretariat.

Program of Action

1. The Program of Action will be approved by decision of the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers and will cover a two-year period.

2. The Executive Committee will draw up the Operating Plans for carrying out the Program of Action and every two years will propose the updating of that program to the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers.

3. It will be the Executive Committee’s responsibility to coordinate, oversee, and evaluate the Program of Action, with the assistance of the General Secretariat.

PROGRAM OF ACTION

I. REINFORCEMENT OF NATIONAL STRATEGIES

A. Control of the production, smuggling, and diversion of chemical precursors

1. Implement the mechanism for reporting the export of controlled chemical substances prior to their shipment and the timely answers from the intended country of destination, pursuant to article 12 of the 1988 Vienna Convention.

2. Reinforce the monitoring of enterprises that produce, use, and/or sell controlled chemical substances in order to avoid their diversion for the production of illegal drugs.

3. Strengthen the mechanisms for detecting controlled chemical substances and train the pertinent officials to identify those substances.

4. Make the measures for controlling the illegal production and smuggling of controlled chemical substances stronger.

5. Set up and/or reinforce the mechanisms for controlling the transport and diversion of chemical substances in the national territory through the following, among other things:

a) The use of customs documents containing the generic name and corresponding tariff code for trade in the controlled chemical substances.

b) The establishment of a system of labeling and safety sealing that would make it difficult to divert packaged or bottled products by replacing them.

6. Create and/or update the national register of firms that import and export controlled chemical substances. That information will be made available to whoever asks for it.

7. Identify the needs of the legitimate industries dealing with potassium permanganate, acetic anhydride, and the substances included in the Andean Community’s control operations.

8. Develop inter-sector coordination for the purpose of identifying new substances used in drug production for possible inclusion on the list of controlled substances following a study of their level of use.

B. Technical eradication of illegal crops

1. Build up national capacities to implement programs for the technical eradication of illegal crops by hand or by air, in the countries that need it, keeping in mind the environmental standards established by the competent authorities.

2. Identify illegal crop growing areas, their size, evolution, features, zones of influence, and any other relevant information.

3. Contribute to the coordination between the authorities responsible for execution of the eradication programs and those in charge of the alternative development programs.

4. Promote the establishment of agreements between local communities and public authorities as a means of reducing crops grown for illegal purposes and introducing alternative products.

C. Alternative Development

1. Create the necessary economic, social, and cultural conditions to make it feasible to replace the illegal crop production-based economy and to bring farmers into...