On Tuesday, November 19th, at the opening of the 76th Regular Session of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission, (CICAD) Antigua and Barbuda was elected Chair of the organization. CICAD is the consultative and advisory body of the OAS on the drug issue. The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda addressed the session alongside the Secretary General of the OAS Mr. Luis Almagro and Mr. Ivan C Marques, Secretary, Secretariat for Multidimensional Security, OAS.

Lt. Col Edward Croft will serve as chair of CICAD during this year. In his remarks Lt. Col. Croft highlighted the need for increased sharing and collaboration among member states, stressed the importance of mental health care for persons working in drug management and noted the need to address transshipment of drugs and its impact on member states. In addition to supporting the work programme outlined by the Executive Secretariat, Antigua and Barbuda will lead the Working Group for the review of the Hemispheric Strategy as well as the update of its accompanying Plan of Action. It will also have oversight of the process for identifying the form that would be used for implementation of the 9th Round of the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism, which is used to monitor the progress of countries in the area of drug management.

Lt. Col Edward Croft of Antigua and Barbuda, being congratulated and presented with the flags of the OAS CICAD membership, by Amb Adam Namm, Executive Secretary at CICAD. Also present is the OAS Secretary General. 

Lt. Col Edward Croft, of Antigua and Barbuda, being congratulated by the
OAS Secretary General, Luis Almagro

In attendance at the CICAD 76th Regular Session, there were approximately 225 participants, comprising of member states of CICAD, observers and international organizations.