Note to Correspondents
UNIS/NAR/904
9 June 2005
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to Launch 2004 Andean Coca Surveys for Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru
Trend in Reduction in Colombia Continues, But New Statistics in Bolivia and Peru Warrant Close Monitoring
VIENNA, 9 June (UN Information Service) -- Coca cultivation in the Andean region has declined by almost one-third since 2000. For 2004, the numbers indicate an increase of 3 per cent, the result of upswings in Bolivia and Peru. The success story in Colombia remains unchallenged -- a 50 per cent decrease from 2000 to 2004.
Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, European Commission, will co-host the launch of the 2004 Andean Coca Surveys for Bolivia, Colombia and Peru at the European Commission in Brussels. Victor Gabriel Barrios, Minister of Agriculture, Bolivia, and Nils Ericsson Correa, Executive Secretary, DEVIDA (National Commission for Development and Life without Drugs), Peru, will also make statements as will a Representative from the Government of Colombia. The Survey results will also be presented by UNODC field offices in Bolivia, Colombia and Peru and at the United Nations in New York and Vienna.
The media are invited to attend the launch on:
Tuesday, 14 June, 11:30 hours at the Press Room of the European Commission,
Berlaymont Building, Rue de la Loi 200, B-1049 Brussels
For more information on the launch, contact:
In Brussels: Piero Bonadeo, Tel: +32-22-895175 or +32-472933759
email: piero.bonadeo@unodc.org
In Vienna: Kathleen Millar, Tel: +43 1 26060 5629, email: kathleen.millar@unodc.org
Craig Krueger, Tel: + 43 1 26060 5214
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