LIVE: World Economic Forum Debate on Drugs
What emerges from Davos, Switzerland every January marks a trend in the international agenda. This year, the future of the “War on Drugs” will be one of the main global concerns that leaders will discuss at the World Economic Forum (WEF).
Through a partnership between Univision and the WEF, “The Drug Dilemma: Consequences for Society, Politics, and Business” opens a conversation between political and business leaders about new possible approaches to dealing with the drug problem.
Panelists included in this debate are former Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, President of Human Rights Watch Kenneth Roth and Texas Gov. Rick Perry. The discussion will be moderated by Univision’s anchor Enrique Acevedo.
Date: Thursday January 23rd
Time: 8:45am (ET)
Despite the billions of dollars spent worldwide fighting drugs in the last 30 years, the global consumption has increased and so have drug related crime and violence. Several world leaders have declared a failure of the current model in combating drugs, and have suggested alternative ways to find solutions.
Some countries have even decided to experiment with drug legalization for recreational purposes, like Uruguay with marijuana and New Zealand with synthetic drugs. In the U.S., Washington and Colorado also moved forward to allow the leisure consumption of cannabis by adults.
The prohibitionist approach to drugs preached by the United States that persists as a core foreign policy is against the wall. Heavyweight politicians, intellectuals and leaders like Carlos Fuentes, Richard Branson and Ernesto Zedillo created the Global Commission on Drug Policy, an independent organization with an aim to “bring to the international level an informed, science-based discussion about humane and effective ways to reduce the harm cause by drugs to people and societies.”
Two of its members, Kofi Annan and former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, recently wrote an article that drew massive media attention. In it, they suggested that the criminalization of drug use and trade should be replaced by other models in order to dismantle the illegal structures that threaten security and are fueled by drug trafficking. Leaders of countries that historically have suffered deep violence related to drug production and traffic, like Colombia and Guatemala, have called on a “rethink” of global drug laws.
The Univision and WEF panelists will begin the conversation on international drug policies, paving the way for a deeper discussion that will take place during the 2016 United Nations General Assembly, when member-nations will have a special session to draft a new global strategy against drugs.
Watch and don’t miss the discussion!
@fusion