Weekly Report - 13 August 2009 (WR-09-32)

BOLIVIA | Coca. Bolivia's President Evo Morales has hailed a decision by the UN Economic and Social Council (Ecosoc) to consider whether to decriminalise chewing coca-leaves, a process which is expected to take 18 months to reach a final decision. The announcement is a breakthrough for the Morales administration which has long sought to overturn the UN's 48-year old decision to classify the coca leaf - an important symbol of indigenous culture - as a narcotic. Earlier in the year, Morales addressed a letter to the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, in which he insisted that the leaf is harmless and non-addictive and complained that the coca policies established by the UN “constitute a threat to the rights of indigenous communities". Meanwhile the European Union is funding a research programme aimed at discerning the real demand for coca-leaves and coca products in Bolivia.

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