The Colombian delegation will be headed by Minister of Defense Iván Velásquez, who will be accompanied by the Deputy Minister of Multilateral Affairs at the Foreign Ministry, Elizabeth Taylor; the director of the National Police, William Salamanca; and other officials.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the representatives of the Colombian Government will promote the process initiated during the Latin American and Caribbean Conference on Drugs, held in Cali in early September, when it was agreed to make a roadmap and set up a Monitoring Group with a view to reaching new messages and consensual proposals on the world drug problem before multilateral bodies.

This includes the mid-term review of the 2019 Ministerial Declaration of the 67th Commission on Narcotic Drugs.

Colombia intends to generate spaces for inclusive, frank and multidisciplinary dialogue and reflection on the world drug problem, on the basis of admitting that the punitive and criminalizing approach has failed to reach the expected results.

Colombia’s vision prioritizes public health care, the guarantee of human rights and people’s freedoms.

This session of bilateral Dialogue on Drugs will allow finding common points and opportunities for future work on the subject and will incorporate environmental issues in a transversal manner.

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