A report on the cocaine trade by UK MPs urges the government to do more to help Colombia tackle production of the drug.
“Given the unenviable position of the UK as one of the largest consumers of cocaine worldwide, the UK has a compelling duty to support Colombia in tackling cocaine production,” declared the Home Affairs Select Committee report.
“We therefore urge the UK Government to re-examine its development budgets to see whether more could be contributed to Colombian alternative developments schemes.”
The report describes Colombia’s “substantial reductions” of 18% in cultivation and 28% in production of the crop in the last year, and the 57% increase in seizures, as “impressive.”
The home affairs committee referenced the suggestions made in a November 2009 meeting with Colombian ambassador to the UK, Mauricio Rodriguez Munera, when the diplomat urged the British government to increase investment in alternative development programs in Colombia, in order to help generate money in other areas of the country’s economy.
Finally the committee highlighted the importance of preventative campaigns against cocaine use in the United Kingdom, suggesting that the Colombian government’s “Shared Responsibility” campaign, about the environmental and human costs of the cocaine trade, should be promoted in the UK.
To read the full report, click here.
