Action Alert: Sign Letter to Hillary Clinton in Support of Traditional Coca-Chewing Rights

Source: Andean Information Network

Dear All,


Please find a letter to Hillary Clinton asking that the US withdraw its objection to Bolivia’s proposed amendment to the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.  As this letter explains, Bolivia’s amendment would remove the requirement in Article 49 that Bolivia and other Andean countries ban their people from chewing coca leaves for religious, social, medicinal and nutritional purposes.  Rejecting Bolivia’s amendment conflicts with the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which states: “indigenous peoples have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions.”

Click to continue for the letter, more information and the Andean Information Network