08/11/2016
COPOLAD brings together over 30 countries in Barcelona to pursue its goal of reaching consensuses for fighting against the diversion of chemical precursors and trafficking in narcotics.
Spain leads this novel annual initiative which, on this occasion, is addressing public-private collaboration through the Centre for Counter-Terrorism and Organized Crime Intelligence (CITCO).
The European Commission and the Spanish government, through the COPOLAD Programme, opened a meeting this morning of senior representatives of the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
The Cooperation Programme Between Latin America and the European Union on Drug Policies (COPOLAD), a European programme managed by the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP), is promoting this activity which will take place in Barcelona from 8th to 11th November.
The diversion of chemical precursors for the illicit manufacture of drugs represents a serious social and health threat which is characterised by a great capacity for adaptation by criminal organisations that employ diverse modus operandi and alternative, unclassified substances to avoid mechanisms for prosecution and control.
Given the need to respond urgently to the growing threat represented by illegal actions surrounding their manufacture, effective cooperation between countries is becoming necessary to successfully control them and prevent their diversion. This requires that all actors who participate in preventing and fighting against this illegal activity adopt a strategic and comprehensive approach, and maximise information exchange at the national, regional and bi-regional level.
The COPOLAD Programme aims to enhance the capacity of Latin American and Caribbean countries to collect, manage and follow up information on precursors in order to formulate and apply effective policies and programmes to confront the growing challenges posed by illicit production of drugs.
This objective of this meeting is to promote and drive the establishment of voluntary collaboration agreements between the chemical and pharmaceutical industries and the national authorities responsible for controlling trade in precursors and chemical products. These agreements constitute highly effective instruments for controlling uncatalogued substances and working in a complementary way to prevent and fight against the diversion of chemical precursors.
Spain, which is organising and hosting this meeting, has extensive experience in this area through the Centre for Counter-Terrorism and Organized Crime Intelligence (CITCO), which is leading the activity.
The second phase of the COPOLAD Programme is 100% funded by the European Commission with a budget of €10 million, which will be administered by Spain during the next four years.
