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FACT SHEET: CERTIFICATION FOR DRUG-



Subject: FACT SHEET: CERTIFICATION FOR DRUG-PRODUCING STATES :Burma still

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07 January 1999 
Source:US Dept. Of State
FACT SHEET: CERTIFICATION FOR DRUG-PRODUCING STATES 

(Outlines process leading to March 1 announcement)  (960)

WASHINGTON -- The Clinton Administration will notify Congress by March
1 which "major" drug-producing and/or drug-transit countries should be
certified as cooperating fully with U.S. and international anti-drug
efforts.

President Clinton submitted to Congress on December 4 the following
list of countries under consideration: Afghanistan, Aruba, The
Bahamas, Belize, 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.

Non-certification requires the U.S. to deny the country most forms of
non-emergency aid, and to vote against proposed loans by multilateral
development banks.

The following is a State Department fact sheet on the certification
process:

(begin text)

THE CERTIFICATION PROCESS

The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (FAA), 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:

(A) 1,000 hectares or more of illicit opium poppy are cultivated or
harvested during a year;

(B) 1,000 hectares or more of illicit coca are cultivated or harvested
during a year; or

(C) 5,000 hectares or more of illicit cannabis are cultivated or
harvested during a year, unless the President determines that such
illicit cannabis production does not significantly affect the United
States.

A major drug-transit country is defined as:

(A) a significant direct source of illicit narcotic or psychotropic
drugs or other controlled substances significantly affecting the
United States; or

(B) a country through which such drugs or substances are transported.

On December 4, the President approved and sent to Congress the
"Majors" list for 1998. The 28 countries and dependent territories
included were:

Afghanistan, Aruba, The Bahamas, Belize, 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,
1999. 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.

In order to "fully" certify a country, the President must determine
that it has cooperated fully with the United States, or has taken
adequate steps on its own, to achieve the counternarcotics goals and
objectives of the 1988 U.N. Drug Convention. If a country receives
full certification, all aid that was withheld is released.

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.

The Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
(INL) at the Department of State initiates the certification process
each spring. Based upon the International Narcotics Control Strategy
Report (INCSR) produced by INL each year, and also upon input from
other U.S. Government sources, a proposed "Majors" list is compiled
and presented to the Secretary of State for consideration.

The Secretary sends her recommendations to the President, who makes
the final determinations regarding inclusion on the "Majors" list. The
White House transmits the list to the Chairmen of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, House International Relations Committee, and the
respective Appropriation Committees. The "Majors" list is due in the
Congress by November 1.

INL works with U.S. embassies and governments in the countries on the
"Majors" list to develop targets that each country should work toward
in the coming year in order to be certified. Throughout the year these
criteria are discussed with each nation and periodic progress reports
are provided by the U.S. embassies.

Between December and mid-February, the Assistant Secretary for
International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs coordinates an
interagency process to recommend whether countries should be certified
fully based on their counternarcotics performance, denied
certification, or granted a vital national interests certification.
These recommended determinations are presented to the Secretary of
State, who forwards the State Department's recommendations to the
President. The President makes the final determinations in a memo to
the Secretary of State, who then notifies the Congress by March 1.

The Congress has the option of passing a joint resolution disapproving
any of the President's certification determinations within 30 calendar
days, which the President can either sign or veto. If the President
vetoes the bill, the Congress would need a two-thirds majority to
override the veto and overturn the President's decisions.

(end text)