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WELCOME LETTERS
Bill Clinton
Pino Arlacchi
Barry R. McCaffrey
Richard W. Riley
Rodney E. Slater
Nelba Chavez
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
May 26, 2000
Warm greetings to everyone gathered in Phoenix to participate in the third U.S.-Mexico Bi-National Drug Demand Reduction Conference. This conference culminates another year of effective partnership between our two nations in the struggle to combat illegal drugs.
Since President Zedillo and I signed the Declaration of Alliance Against Drugs in 1997, the United States and Mexico have closely cooperated to achieve a comprehensive, balanced approach to reducing the demand for and supply of illegal drugs. In the area of law enforcement, we have seen the arrest of some major traffickers and cooperated with mutual respect on important cases. We have improved interdiction and cracked down on money laundering. We have also worked together to reduce demand for illegal drugs in both countries.
I am confident that this third Bi-National Drug Demand Reduction Conference will build on the achievements of your earlier gatherings. I applaud each participant for your commitment to protecting a new generation of youth on both sides of the border from destructive drug use. As we stand at the dawn of a new century, we must reaffirm our obligation to ensure a safer, healthier future for all our citizens.
Best wishes for a successful conference.
Vienna International Center
P.O. Box 500, A-1400, Vienna, Austria
Telephone: +43-1-26060-0 Telefax +43-1-26060-5866
E-Mail: undcp_hq@undcp.un.or.at
THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Message to the Third U.S./Mexico Bi-National
Drug Demand Reduction Conference
Phoenix, Arizona, 31 May - 2 June 2000
As you know, the work of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme is guided by agreements reached by the international community in inter-governmental bodies. In March this year, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs continued to devote special attention to drug demand reduction, particularly regarding follow-up to the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Declaration on the Guiding Principles of Drug Demand Reduction.
During the debate the Commission identified four substantive priority areas for UNDCP's activities:
Firstly, drug abuse among children and youth and the globalization of youth culture and associated patterns of drug abuse, with special attention to young people's involvement and participation in the design and implementation of drug prevention programmes.
Secondly, the growing problem of ATS abuse, and the need to develop effective responses in this area. The abuse of ATS increased dramatically throughout the 1990s and diffused to regions where it was previously unknown. There is a need to identify and develop culturally appropriate approaches to prevention and treatment.
Thirdly, the health consequences of drug abuse and particularly drug injection, such as HIV infection, hepatitis C and other communicable diseases, as well as overdoses. In many countries, and in developing countries in particular, the increase in heroin abuse has been accompanied by the introduction of drug injecting. Furthermore, the number of countries reporting HIV infection among drug injectors is increasing.
Fourthly, cutting across all the three above-mentioned areas, the need for improved data collection to provide a sound knowledge base for the development of effective responses, and in particular the important role UNDCP should play in supporting the development of capacity for data collection and analysis in countries where this is absent or deficient.
Concentrating on these four priority areas in drug demand reduction constitutes plenty of work for us all in the coming year. I wish you fruitful deliberations and a successful conference.
Pino Arlacchi
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY
Washington, D.C. 20503
May 31, 2000
Dear colleague:
The Office of National Drug Control Policy welcomes participants in the Third
U.S.-Mexico Bi-National Drug Demand Reduction Conference. This conference marks an
important milestone in the evolving cooperation between our two countries in reducing
the demand for illegal drugs.
The United States and Mexico are two dynamic societies whose present and
futures are intertwined. We share a 1,800-mile border, the world’s busiest. We are major
trading partners. We share a common culture, with the U.S. now possessing the world’s
fifth largest Hispanic population. Although we share much that is positive, we also face a
common threat to the health and safety of our citizens: the use of illegal drugs. That is
why our presidents signed, in May 1997, the Declaration of the U.S.-Mexico Alliance
Against Drugs, outlining 16 principles under which cooperation would be carried out.
Reducing drug demand was the first of these principles, and this conference – the third
such conference – is a fundamental vehicle for advancing collaborative efforts.
Like those that preceded it, this is a working conference. It brings together experts,
scholars, program administrators and practitioners from the U.S. and Mexico to exchange
information, highlight effective approaches, and work together on issues that require a
cross-border solution. Our cooperation is already showing tangible results. Community
anti-drug coalitions on both sides of the border are working together as never before.
Researchers are developing a common framework for future studies. Regional
conferences have been held on drug and violence prevention approaches. A special
Web site has been developed to facilitate binational information exchange. And our
countries are mounting unprecedented drug prevention media campaigns in cooperation,
not in isolation.
Our partnership must continue and be strengthened in the years ahead if we are to
succeed in reducing the devastating impact of drug abuse on our societies. We look
forward to working with each of you on this long-term approach to ensuring a healthier,
safer future for our children and our families.
Best wishes,
THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20202
THIRD U.S./MEXICO BI-NATIONAL
DEMAND REDUCTION CONFERENCE
Phoenix, Arizona
May31 – June 2, 2000
I wish to extend my warmest greetings to all of you who are participating in the Third U.S./Mexico Bi-National Demand Reduction Conference.
This conference provides an important opportunity for our countries to share information
about promising and effective strategies to prevent drug use and violence. The Department of
Education is engaged in a number of new initiatives to ensure that our children have access to
safe, disciplined, and drug-free schools.
One approach the Department of Education is taking is to collaborate with other Federal
agencies on initiatives that support comprehensive, multidisciplinary drug and violence
prevention strategies involving the whole community. An example is the Safe Schools/Healthy
Students Initiative, a joint effort of the U.S. Departments of Education, Health and Human
Services, and Justice that awards grants to school districts to implement comprehensive,
community-wide strategies for safe, drug-free learning environments and healthy childhood
development. The initiative draws on the best practices of the education, justice, social service, and mental health systems to help children avoid drug use and violent behavior.
We look forward to sharing information about our current initiatives and learning about
similar prevention initiatives in Mexico. We are committed to our continuing partnership in
this bi-national effort. Best wishes for a successful and productive conference.
Our mission is to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence throughout the Nation.
THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20590
May 16, 2000
Dear Colleague,
I am pleased once again to have the opportunity to extend my greetings to the participants in the
third Bi-National Drug Demand Reduction Conference, this year in Phoenix, Arizona.
Safety is President Clinton and Vice President Gore’s highest transportation priority and the
North Star by which the Department of Transportation is guided and willing to be judged. Safety
is a partnership in commitment. Each of us—government, industry, and private citizens alike—must take personal responsibility for reducing crashes on our highways and ensuring that those who are entrusted with the safety of our public are drug and alcohol free.
The bi-national meetings focus on developing and expanding the partnership between our two
countries in the vital interest of reducing the demand for drugs. This vision continues within each of you this year. Nowhere is it more important to send a signal to the public that we are
committed to reducing drug and alcohol usage than in our workplaces. Together we should
expect nothing less than workplaces that are completely drug and alcohol-free, making for even
safer workplaces for our employees, their families, and the traveling public.
Transportation is more than concrete, asphalt, and steel, it is about people and providing them the security of being able to enjoy safe travel. Together we can make this happen and this conference will go a long way to ensuring that the people of our countries working collaboratively can reduce the demand for drugs. I applaud all of your efforts in achieving our mutual goals.
Sincerely,
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES | Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration |
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Center for Substance Abuse
Prevention
Center for Substance Abuse
Treatment
Rockville MD 20857
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May 26 2000
Dear Colleagues:
Welcome to the third annual High Level Contact Group U.S.-Mexico Demand Reduction
Conference—the first in this new millennium. This key meeting—“Strengthening the Bi-National Partnership in the New Century”—will give still further concrete structure and form to the blueprints for action that we have crafted together in past meetings.
There is no better time for us to get down to the work of training and education, sharing what
“works” in prevention, in treatment, and in linking public health and public safety. The issues on which we will work transcend nationality, transcend politics and ideology. They are at the very heart of our purpose: reducing substance abuse for our people today, and eliminating it for those who will come tomorrow.
This meeting most assuredly will set the tone and direction for the new century of collaborations and individual demand reduction efforts within and across our borders. The commitment, dedication and, above all, collaboration of the leaders in substance abuse prevention and treatment at this key meeting can and, I am certain, will serve as the springboard to meaningful and targeted substance abuse-related programs for both the Mexican and American people.
It has been said that “progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.” Let us work together to live up to those words. We have already
seized the opportunity; let us now demonstrate once again, that capacity to change things for the
better not just for our nations, but for all the Americas.
Sincerely yours,
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