Minister of Home Affairs and Information, Wilfred Abrahams, recently represented Barbados at the 74th Regular Session of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), in Washington, D.C.
CICAD, of the Organization of American States (OAS), is the Western Hemisphere’s primary policy forum which promotes dialogue between member states, as well as multilateral cooperation, and executes action programmes to strengthen countries’ ability to prevent and treat drug abuse.
The four-day session, held from December 11 to 14, addressed several issues impacting the region, including the link between illicit arms trafficking and drug trafficking by organised crime, quality standards in gender-sensitive treatment and synthetic drugs and the chemical precursors used in their illicit manufacture.
There were also discussions on alternatives to incarceration with a gender perspective to address drug-related crimes; drug prevention initiatives for youth in the Caribbean; the link between illicit crops and environmental damage from an alternative development perspective; and substitution plans and strategies and alternative uses.
The role of civil society in supporting the social integration of persons with substance use disorders in the justice system; tools for developing drug policies; emerging synthetic drugs in the hemisphere, and school dropout as a risk factor in addressing drug use were also examined.
During this session, Minister Abrahams proposed Barbados’ candidacy as Vice-Chair of the Expert Group on Demand Reduction. The country was successful in gaining the candidacy and assumed that position on CICAD for the 2023-2024 period.
The Minister participated in a panel addressing “The Development of Drug Policies with a Gender Perspective”.
On Wednesday, December 13, the Minister paid a courtesy call on CICAD’s Executive Secretary, Adam Namm.
Also attending the event were Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Yvette Goddard; Manager of the National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA), who is the current Barbados Commissioner to CICAD, Betty Hunte; and Deputy Manager NCSA, Troy Wickham. The session ended on Thursday, December 14.