We’ve reduced our statement as much as we can for the sake of brevity. My delegation supports the statement made by the Group of 77 and China this morning.

My country believes that the UNGASS is a unique opportunity so that we can take stock on the road to 2019 and within the framework of the three conventions pursue policies to better confront the global drug problem.

In the context of the interactive debate beginning tomorrow we would like to establish our stance.

For Chile, the three drug treaties are an essential framework and are fully in line with international treaties on human rights and are binding. As a country which respects its international commitments, we have drafted our own drug policies along the lines of human health and a full respect for human rights, including those affected by the scourge of drugs.

We are aware of the debate surrounding drug policies. We want to make the current system more effective. Chile supports a paradigm of human safety, and as such our drug policies have focused on the well being of people. All of our strategies are based on the UN declaration for human rights.

The state should provide public safety and protect the population. This means establishing an efficient system to control drug and alcohol consumption, guaranteeing that they don’t attack human rights. Chile advocates that we continue to promote evidence-based measures. We believe we should continue to support this strategy.

Providing evidence takes time which is usually greater than political times. I reiterate Chile’s rejection of the death penalty. We believe this is an ineffective penalty, disproportionate and against the right to life.

I would like to reiterate our willingness to work with the CND and other states to tackle the drug problem.