Bolivia drops out of UN drug pact to protect its coca chewers

[Judi Lynn]

Bolivia drops out of UN drug pact to protect its coca chewers
Bolivia intends to reapply to the UN Convention on Narcotic Drugs, but with a reservation that it does not recognize the ban on chewing the coca leaf, a practice with a long national tradition.
By Sara Shahriari, Correspondent / July 18, 2011

The Bolivian government's policy of "Coca Yes, Cocaine No" is unfolding in surprising ways, as the Andean nation is withdrawing from a United Nations convention that bans chewing the coca leaf and simultaneously planning a new deal with the United States and Brazil to monitor coca cultivation.

Bolivia has presented a denunciation to the UN that seals its resignation from the United Nations 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, which bans chewing the coca leaf. The denunciation responds to “the need to guarantee respect for the human rights of indigenous peoples, and all who chew coca as a traditional cultural practice,” said Bolivia’s foreign minister David Choquehuanca of the country’s unprecedented resignation from the convention.

The small, thick coca leaf, which can be processed into cocaine, is also an everyday part of Bolivian life. Sodas made using the leaf, packets of coca tea, and salves to treat arthritis can be purchased in shops and supermarkets around the country. Laborers including farmers and miners chew the leaf because it staves off hunger and thirst, and upper-class urban dwellers drink coca-leaf tea to calm upset stomachs. But the coca leaf is more than a pick-me-up and a natural remedy in Bolivia, where it also plays a key role in the religious ceremonies of many of the country's indigenous people, who constitute more than 60 percent of the population.

Bolivia’s resignation from the convention becomes effective Jan. 1, 2012. Government officials say the country will apply to rejoin the convention even before the resignation becomes effective with the reservation that it does not recognize language that bans chewing the coca leaf. A month after applying to rejoin Bolivia will again be a party to the convention, but all parties have until the end of 2012 to object to the reservation. If less than one-third of the parties object to Bolivia’s reservation regarding chewing the leaf, the reservation is accepted.

More:
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2011/0718/Bolivia-drops-out-of-UN-drug-pact-to-protect-its-coca-chewers?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+feeds%2Fworld+%28Christian+Science+Monitor+%7C+World%29

[naaman fletcher]

1. Don't rejoin,

now is the time for the rest of latin american to quit the drug war, too.