Guatemala calls for global efforts to make balance, comprehensiveness of drug policy a reality

Guatemala on Tuesday called upon the international community to make joint efforts in order to "make the balance and comprehensiveness of drug policy a reality."

The statement came as Jimmy Morales Cabrera, the president of Guatemala, was taking the floor at the Special Session of the UN General Assembly on the World Drug Problem, a three-day event which opened at the UN Headquarters in New York Tuesday morning.

"One of the most important changes that the current drug policy needs is that we give priority to demand reduction rather than focusing on supply reduction," the president said. "We must make the balance and comprehensiveness of drug policy a reality."

"In this regard, we welcome the balance that is beginning to emerge in some developed countries; and at the same time, we believe it is necessary that this approach constitutes a priority of the international community towards developing countries."

He also stressed the importance of diversifying the international cooperation that Guatemala receives with regard to drug policy, towards important areas such as sustainable development, as well as the care, treatment and rehabilitation of problematic users, and the prevention of consumption in general. Endit