Bolivia has nationalised efforts to combat drugs when in 2008 we expelled the ambassador of the US and the DEA. Far from having complied with their duties, they were trying to destabilise Bolivia.

Bolivia now has a model which is a Bolivian model. It doesn’t claim to be the basis for other sovereign and dignified efforts elsewhere in the world. It is a model that properlyconsiders the coca leaf. We had to renounce the UN single convention and then request readmission which was accepted.

During the nine years [since the election of President Evo Morales] we have had an all out struggle to combat drug trafficking that is based on forced eradication in national parks, or areas where cultivation is not allowed, and based on a respect for human rights and full fledged development, which is part of the 2025 government agenda.

Bolivia has fully complied with international commitments. It has reaffirmed its respect for human kind and for shared responsibility. Countries, we ask for greater efforts to control and curtail money laundering and to control precursor substances that normally come into our country to manufacture drugs. Other related offences to drugs must be addressed such as arms trafficking and human trafficking.

The coca monitoring reports published by  theUNODC, in addition to the INCB report this year, show that coca cultivation dropped to the lowest figure since 1999 between Bolivia, Colombia and Peru. Bolivia has seen as drop to 23,000 hectares.

From 1998 and 2005 when there was neo-liberalism in my country, 67.5 tons of narcotics were seized. From 2006-2013, 209 tons were seized.

Bolivia is undertaking prevention and education campaigns to combat drug consumption in the country, which is comparatively low. For these reasons we believe that we have to use this successful Bolivian method to counter drugs, proposing the possibility of considering a regional strategy to tackle drug trafficking.

This strategy should be guided by respect for sovereignty. We’ have concerns regarding the country that is heading drug strategies throughout the world. The leader of this strategy, one which leads to displacement of people and trafficking, must recognise that it is a failed one.

Regionalisation must be considered. CELAC and UNASUR are two possibilities through which to coordinate this strategy ion Latin America. Once any regionalised strategy is agreed, we can approach the international community for cooperation without submission.

In Bolivia we will be stepping up our activities against drugs and organised crime. We will step up efforts to tackle all activities that are involved with drugs.

We do want to work toward a world without drugs, one that is multipolar and where common notions can be agreed without pressure from others.