COCA LEAF AND INDIGENOUS RIGHTS IN BOLIVIA

That this House is concerned by the UK Government's support, and that of the Chinese, Russian, Japanese, German, French, Belgian and Indonesian administrations, for the United States' diplomatic efforts to block Bolivia's attempt to amend the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs; notes that the Bolivian government has tabled this amendment in order to preserve indigenous peoples' customs and right to chew coca leaf; further notes that the Convention's prohibitive provisions on refined cocaine production or trafficking will be unaffected by this amendment; is alarmed by the recent escalation in the deadly violence inherent in the cocaine trade which is threatening to overwhelm state apparatus in a number of Latin American countries; observes that the UK is a signatory to the 2007 UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights; and calls on the Government to withdraw this support for the United States' neo-colonial interference in Bolivia's cultural affairs.