|
 |
|
|
|
March 2000
| POLICY | DOCUMENTS | LINKS |
|
"Certification is an important component of our international battle against illegal
narcotics... Even as their counternarcotics efforts continue to improve, many countries believe that the unilateral assessment and public disclosure of
their performance make it more difficult to cooperate with the U.S., given the sensitivities of domestic constituencies." |
The certification process is required by law--Section 490 of the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) of 1961, as amended, requires the President every year to submit to Congress a list of those countries he has determined to be major illicit drug producing and/or drug transit countries. The FAA requires that half of most U.S. Government foreign assistance to any country on this "Majors" list be withheld until the President determines whether the country should be "certified" under the certification process, first enacted in 1986.
A major illicit drug producing country is defined as one in which:On November 10, the President approved and sent to Congress the "Majors" list for 1999. The 26 countries and dependent territories included were: Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Taiwan, Thailand, Venezuela, and Vietnam.
The President is required under the FAA to review anti-narcotics efforts undertaken by those countries on the "Majors" list in order to determine and transmit certification decisions to Congress by March 1, 2000. The President may select from the following certification options for each of the countries on the "Majors" list: full certification, denial of certification, or a "vital national interests" certification (see definitions below).
In making determinations regarding full certification, the President considers the extent to which each major illicit drug producing or drug-transit country has:Denial of certification requires the U.S. to deny sales or financing under the Arms Export Control Act; deny non-food assistance under Public Law 480; deny financing by the Export-Import Bank, and withhold most assistance under the FAA with the exception of specified humanitarian and counternarcotics assistance. The U.S. must also vote against proposed loans from six multilateral development banks.
If a country has not met the standards for full certification, the President may nevertheless certify the country by determining that the U.S. vital national interests require that assistance be provided/not withheld and that the U.S. not vote against multilateral development bank assistance for the country. When a country receives a "vital national interests" certification, assistance is provided in the same manner as if it had been given full certification.
|
Secretary Albright: "Let me say on the certification process it obviously has its own timetable. I think that it is very evident that the cooperation on narcotraffickers is something that is at a very good level. We talked generally about how we are cooperating on all these issues... What the issue is, is that there are governments that believe in a system of cooperation and who believe in a functioning international system and good bilateral relations and we work on those everyday." |
Testimony of General Barry R. McCaffrey, ONDCP Director, Before the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee,
Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources. The Drug Legalization Movement in America.
June 16, 1999.
Text: English / Spanish
|
"Improving our counter-drug efforts along this border [with Mexico] first requires us to better organize our existing efforts. We need to improve our chain of command and accountability for programs in this region. Our Southwest Border programs must also become more flexible and intelligence-driven. We need to better understand the emerging threats and deploy our resources to counter these threats." |
Remarks by General Barry R. McCaffrey, ONDCP Director, to the Dante B. Fascell North-South Center. University of Miami, Florida.
February 11, 1999.
Text: English
"The era in which the region´s anti-drug efforts were largely driven by a series of distinct, bilateral initiatives between the United States and selected Latin American and Caribbean countries is giving way to one that increasingly includes multilateral approaches. The institutions and many of the mechanisms to have successful cooperation are in place or under development. It is in our interest -- and the interests of the other countries in the region -- to enhance these institutions and accelerate multilateral cooperation." |
James P. Rubin. U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing.
February 10, 1999.
Text: English
"We expect Secretary Albright to make her recommendations... They will be based on the statutory standard, an assessment of the extent to which countries that are major drug sources or supply routes have cooperated with the United States, or otherwise taken steps to counter the drug problem. There´s a difference between cooperation and success. We all need to bear in mind that there is the sheer magnitude of the drug trafficking problem that both Mexico and the United States are confronting together." |
It explains in detail the different sections of the U.S. legislation that deal with the INCSR (the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, and the Narcotics Control Trade Act of 1994, as amended, and others), as well as the 1988 UN Drug Convention. |
International Narcotics Control Act of 1992.
November 2, 1992.
Text: English
Full text of the P.L. 102-583. This Act amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 with respect to international narcotics control programs and activities. |
Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986.
October 27, 1986.
Text: English
Full text of Title VIII of P.L. 99-570 [H.R. 5484] "Tariff Treatment of Products of Uncooperative Major Drug Producing or Drug-transit Countries", also known as the "Narcotics Control Trade Act." |
International Narcotics Control Strategy Reports. Bureau of International Narcotics and Law
Enforcement Affairs, U.S. Department of State.
Text: English
It provides the full-text of the INCSR for 1996-1999.
Presidential Determination on Counter-Drug Assistance.
October 1, 1999.
Text: English
Directs federal agencies to assist 4 Latin American countries.
International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, 1999. Mexico chapter. Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs,
U.S.Department of State.
March 2000.
Text: English
Contains country actions against drugs, corruption, U.S. policy initiatives and programs, as well as statistics.
Declaración explicativa certificación drogas a México. La Casa Blanca.
February 26, 1999.
Text: Spanish
México logró progresos significativos contra los narcóticos en 1998. Basándose en los compromisos presidenciales de mayo de 1997, Estados Unidos y México organizaron una Estrategia Binacional contra las Drogas que identificó 16 áreas de cooperación para reducir el consumo, producción y tráfico de drogas ilícitas. |
Raphael Perl, a specialist in international narcotics policy for the Congressional Research Service, spoke at an international symposium on the world drug problem. The meeting focused on issues to be discussed at the June 8-10 special session of the U.N. General Assembly on international drug control policy. |
This report summarizes U.S. congressional action relating to Mexican drug control and drug certification issues in more than a decade, with emphasis on resolutions of disapproval, and restrictions on foreign assistance. |
The report focuses on (1) trends in Mexico´s share of illicit drug traffic to the United States, (2) measures of Mexico´s efforts to control drug trafficking, and (3) Mexico´s cooperation with the United States in counter-narcotics efforts. |
This issue provides a general overview of the anti-narcotics efforts from different perspectives. Includes a bibliography on demand reduction, prevention, and treatment, as well as recent books, documents, and articles on narcotics and substance abuse. |