14. CRIME: 0
"We commit ourselves to resist the enormous threat posed by narcotics traffickers, by implementing the UN conventions against drugs, and intensifying efforts to put traffickers behind bars and prevent them from laundering their money."
Facts & Analysis:
The Certification Process
- A Weapon Against Corruption that seeks to expose it regularly to public scrutiny. The USG every year shines the equivalent of an international spotlight on corruption through the drug certification process.
- Section 490 of the Foreign Assistance Act requires the President to certify annually that each major drug producing or transit country has cooperated fully or has taken adequate steps on its own to meet the goals and objectives of the 1988 UN Conventi
- Governments that do not pass the test lose eligibility for most forms of US military and development assistance; they also face a mandatory "no" vote by the USG on loans in six multilateral development banks.
- Mexico was certified as a partner in the war against drugs under questionable circumstances
UNDCP has increased the number of projects as well as expanded the scope of its effort to include emerging drug source areas such as Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Central Asian states. US contributions to UNDCP have had significant impact on the operations a
- development of a program to support the eradication campaign in key opium cultivation areas in the second largest opium producer, Afghanistan;
- provision of UNDCP chemical control investigative training and administrative advice in Southwest Asia and Latin America;
- continuation of a maritime cooperation program;
- establishment of a regional training project in the Caribbean to train prosecutors and judges in order to improve conviction rates on narcoticsrelated cases;
- the continuation of a demand reduction training center for Central European nations;
- provision of legislative advice which led to significant changes in anti-drug laws in Central Europe and the Newly Independent States (NIS) in order to implement the 1988 UN Convention;
- coordination of bilateral and multilateral assistance to Eastern Europe and the NIS, and provision of training and advice to bolster law enforcement and customs institutions.