This week, EMCDDA experts will join over 150 officials from Latin American, Caribbean and EU agencies in the annual COPOLAD III meeting, taking place from 20–21 February in La Paz, Bolivia (1). The event, focusing on the theme ‘More humane and effective drug policies’, will underline the importance of international cooperation in the face of the global drug phenomenon.
Over the two days, participants will engage in discussions around the four components of the programme:
- strengthening national drug observatories;
- problematic use and vulnerabilities;
- reduction of illegal drug markets; and
- strengthening the dialogue between the EU and Latin American and Caribbean countries.
This annual event is a technical meeting allowing for the exchange of experience between the programme partner agencies and the countries of the EU, Latin America and the Caribbean. The main conclusions, results and milestones of COPOLAD III to date will be presented. The meeting precedes the political dialogue being held on 22 February (see below).
XXIV High Level Meeting: CELAC-EU Coordination and Cooperation Mechanism on Drugs
On 22 February, the XXIV High Level Meeting of the CELAC-EU Coordination and Cooperation Mechanism on Drugs will take place in La Paz, co-chaired by Bolivia and Belgium. The importance of this long-standing mechanism was highlighted by the heads of state and government of the EU and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in the final Declaration of the EU-CELAC Summit held in Brussels in 2023. The mechanism is a key instrument for dialogue and progress on public drugs policies in the two regions.
Among the institutional representation attending the meeting are the Belgian Minister of the Interior, Annelies Verlinden, and her counterparts from Bolivia, Eduardo del Castillo, and Spain, Fernando Grande-Marlaska.
Thematic debates during the event will focus on issues of supply and demand reduction, namely:
- money laundering and drug trafficking;
- new post-pandemic micro-trafficking patterns and related effective prevention strategies;
- cooperation on sharing best practices on recovery and social reintegration; and
- demand reduction policies: human rights, traditional uses and public health based on scientific evidence.
The meeting will include an exchange of views on preparations for the 67th session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND). The meeting will end with the adoption of the La Paz Declaration (XXIV HLM Declaration) and the handing over of the CELAC co-chair of the mechanism to Colombia.
