- AGENDA AT BOTTOM -

International Meeting &emdash; Workshop:

The War on Drugs and the Use of Biological Weapons

Quito, Ecuador
10-11 October, 2000

 

Organized by:
Acción Ecológica, The Sunshine Project, and the Drugs and Democracy Program of Acción Andina and the Transnational Institute

Supported by:
Acción Ecológica, Heinrich Böll Foundation, C. Deans Crystle Foundation, Hivos, Instituto de Estudios Ecologistas del Tercer Mundo, Red por una América Latina Libre de Transgénicos

Background
International drug policy is shifting towards an aggressive strategy of reduction of supply of illicit drugs. Instead of emphasizing work to reduce demand, more and more efforts and resources are being allocated to forced eradication of drug producing crops. Tools favored by countries that promote eradication are chemical fumigation, which has recently intensified in several drug producing countries and, more recently, the introduction of biological eradication agents.

The United States is the political force behind the use of biological weapons to eradicate drug crops and has undertaken programs to identify, test and deploy microbial agents to kill marijuana, opium poppy and coca. Several candidate pathogens have identified and developed, including use of genetic engineering in laboratory work to create microbial strains with enhanced virulence. Part of the research and field testing in this program is being conducted, with US encouragement and financial support, through the United Nations Drug Control Program (UNDCP). Despite high-level attempts to further "internationalize" support for this research, only the United Kingdom has agreed to back the US biological eradication idea with money.

While the US and UNDCP plan contemplates the use of biological weapons for eradication of narcotic crops globally, Colombia is currently the major focus of attention because of intense political pressure from the US for it to deploy the agents as part of President Pastrana’s "Plan Colombia". The US Congress conditioned a US 1.3 billion dollar package of mainly military aid on Colombia’s agreement to field test biological weapons for use in the counterinsurgency war, which is focused on the Putumayo region bordering Ecuador and upstream from Brazil and Peru.

The main organism that has captured media attention and promoted by the United States is a coca-killing strain of the fungus Fusarium oxysporum. The idea to use this organism came originally from the US Central Intelligence Agency, which passed off research and development to the US Department of Agriculture. There are, however, many other species in the US arsenal that could be used, including insects and viruses that have been investigated by US government scientists.

Publicity surrounding the US plan to use biological eradication agents provoked deep concern in the region - particularly Ecuador and Brazil; but also Peru, Bolivia, and Venezuela - as well as dissent within the Colombian government. This concern has resulted in legal bans on the Fusarium agent Ecuador and Peru as well as repeated, but ambiguous, denials from the Colombian President and Environment Minister that the Fusarium would be allowed. Regional concern recently resulted in the adoption of a joint position of Andean Environment Ministers rejecting one strain of Fusarium oxysporum.

Additionally, controversy surrounding the US plan has provoked some reconsideration in Washington. At the end of August, without renouncing the fungus, the US President waived the Congressional stipulation that Colombia accept mycoherbicides, conceding that their use raises questions about biological weapons proliferation. Because the Fusarium issue was threatening to impede release of US aid to Colombia, waiver of the Congressional stipulation also served the US Administration’s desire to announce release of funds for Plan Colombia in time for President Clinton’s recent visit to Cartagena.

Despite the slowdown and possible halt of plans to use Fusarium, the Colombian Ministry of the Environment is implementing a project to identify, test and develop "native" biological agents to kill narcotic plants. It has linked this project to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s troubled "Biotrade" initiative.

At present, the future biological eradication work in Colombia is uncertain. The Colombian Environment Ministry appears intent on implementing a domestic research project funded by the US, while UNDCP has announced that its talks with the Colombian government failed to produce agreement on a bioweapon testing program, although it is proceeding with its biological weapons work in Asia. Yet the United States, as recently as May, 2000, affirmed to civil society organizations that it would only support biological eradication research in Colombia through a multilateral mechanism. Meanwhile, a UK cabinet minister has publicly suggested that Britain may be backing away from its support of biological eradication.

The use of biological weapons in the eradication of narcotic crops demands action at national, regional and global levels. At the national level, some countries had already taken steps to prevent the use of biological agents within their territories. Peru and Ecuador have enacted laws banning the use of biological agents in coca eradication. Bolivia maintains a similar policy, while others have started a similar process. Civil society groups need to analyze possibilities to ban Drug War biological weapons at regional and United Nations agencies that work on related issues of environment, genetic resources, health, arms control, and agriculture.

 

The Seminar
The complexity of the issues involved in the use of biological weapons in the drug war requires addressing the issue from several perspectives, namely drug policy, biological weapons, environmental, indigenous peoples’ rights, and human rights. Also the relationship of the anti-drug pathogens to the potentially beneficial field of legitimate biological controls needs consideration. Understanding of the broad issues involved would enable to further strategies and actions, both by governments and civil society, to halt the use of biological weapons in the Drug War in Colombia, the region, and globally.

To contribute to advances in such understanding that would enable effective action, civil society organizations specialized in drug policy, environment, indigenous peoples rights, and biological warfare are organizing a seminar in Quito, Ecuador, on October 10-11, 2000.

 

Purpose of the Seminar

Participants
The two day seminar is open to CSOs and media and is primarily targeted to activists, indigenous leaders, congressmen and scientists from the Amazon region and will have participants from overseas, as well as from relevant intergovernmental organizations. The focus on the Amazon responds to the fact that this region is currently the target area in the plans to use of biological weapons in the drug war against coca. The issue, however, is of worldwide importance, and is part of global US and UNDCP policy.

 

Methodology
The public seminar is two days long. In the first day, there will be mainly informational presentations from the key different perspectives represented at the meeting. The second day will consist of shorter presentations more focus on possible political strategies and discussion by meeting participants.

 

Venue

Paraninfo Simón Bolívar
Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar
Toledo N22-80 y Ladrón de Guevara
Plaza Brasilia
Quito, Ecuador

Contact Persons

Natalia Arias
Insitituto de Estudios Ecologistas del Tercer Mundo
Telephone (593-2) 547 516
Fax Number: (593-2) 527 583
Quito, Ecuador
institut@hoy.net

Susana Pimiento
Sunshine Project
Telephone (1) 512-689-5369
Austin, TX USA
spimiento@sunshine-project.org

PROGRAM

International Meeting - Workshop:
The War on Drugs and the Use of Biological Weapons

10 - 11 October, 2000
Quito, Ecuador

 

Organized by:
Acción Ecológica, The Sunshine Project, and the Drugs and Democracy Program of Acción Andina and the Transnational Institute

Supported by:
Acción Ecológica, Heinrich Böll Foundation, C. Deans Crystle Foundation, Hivos, Instituto de Estudios Ecologistas del Tercer Mundo, Red por una América Latina Libre de Transgénicos

(The meeting will be primarly conducted in Spanish. English interpretation will be available)

 

DAY ONE:
BACKGROUND AND INFORMATION ON FUMIGATION, PLAYERS, AND BIOLOGICAL AGENTS

9:00 - 9:30
Welcome
Aurora Donoso, President of Acción Ecológica


Part I
Eradication, Fumigation and Agent Green: Regional and Global Perspective

9:30 - 10:00
Drug Supply Reduction in the Current International Policy Context: The Rise of the Use of Biological Agents
Martin Jelsma, Transnational Institute (Netherlands)

10:00 - 10:30
The Eradication and Fumigation Policies of Andean Countries (with emphasis on recent Colombian policy)
Ricardo Vargas, Acción Andina (Colombia)

10:30 - 11:00
Background and Scientific Introduction to the US Research on Fusarium oxysporum and other Biological Agents to Kill Illicit Crops.
Jeremy Bigwood, independent researcher (US)

11:00 - 11:30 INTERMISSION

 

Part II
Biological Agents for the Eradication of Illicit Crops and their Possible Impact: Indigenous Peoples’ Rights, Human Health, and the Ecosystems of Amazonian Countries

11:30 - 12:00
Ecosystems The Futility Continues? Use of Agrochemicals in Production and Eradication of Coca and some Observations on the Possible Reactions of Coca Farmers to Biological Agents
Elsa Nivia, RAPAL (Colombia)

12:00 - 12:30
Ecosystems Posible Impacts of the Massive Use of Biological Agents in the Colombian Amazon
Drs. Emilio Constantino and Tomás León (Colombia)

12:30 - 13:00
Ecosystems From the Other Side of the Border: The Ecuadorean Reaction to the Possible Use of Biological Weapons - Environmental Impacts on Ecuador and the Region
Elizabeth Bravo and Lucía Gallardo, Acción Ecológica (Ecuador)

13:00 - 15:00 LUNCH

 

Part II
Continued

15:00 - 15:30
Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Eradication and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to Their Biodiversity
Emperatriz Cahuache, Indigenous Peoples’ Organization of the Colombian Amazon - OPIAC (Colombia)

15:30 - 16:00
Human Health Questions about the Impacts on Human Health of the use of Biological Agents to Eradicate Crops
Dr. Oswaldo Jave, Department of Pulmonology, Dos de Mayo National Hospital (Peru)

16:00 - 16:30 INTERMISSION

16:30 - 18:00
Round Table: Discussion of the Facts, Figures, and Cruel Reality
Coordinators: Adriana Rodriguez and Marta Guadiola

 

DAY TWO:
CONFRONTING THE PLAN TO USE BIOLOGICAL AGENTS: REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL OPTIONS

Part III
UN Mechanisms: Possibilities of Confronting use of Biological Agents in International Agreements on Arms Control, Health, Agriculture, Biodiversity, and Human Rights

9:00 - 9:30
UN Instutions: FAO, UNEP, WHO, ... What Role Could They Play?
Susana Pimiento, Sunshine Project (Colombia/USA)

9:30 - 10:00
Biological Control of Biological Warfare?
Linking Biological Eradication with International Agreements on Biological Weapons
Edward Hammond, Sunshine Project (USA)

10:00 - 10:30 Discussion, Debate, and Questions

10:30 - 11:00 INTERMISSION

Part IV
Regional Reaction, Strategies, and Legal Framework: Andean Community and Amazonian Cooperation Treaty

11:00 - 11:30
Regional Reaction - The Brazilian Position on the Use of Biological Agents in Colombia
Walter Maierovitz, Instituto Brasileiro Giovani Falcone and former National Anti-Drug Secretary (Brazil)

11:30 - 12:00
Legal Framework - The Treaty of Amazonian Cooperation
Ricardo Soberón, Acción Andina (Peru)

12:00 - 13:00 Discussion, Debate, and Questions

13:00 - 15:00 LUNCH

Part IV
Continued

15:00 - 15:30
Legal Framework Biological Agents and Decision 391 of the Andean Community
Lucía Gallardo and Elizabeth Bravo, Acción Ecológica (Ecuador)

15:30 - 16:00
Regional Strategies Other agreements , strategies, and possibilities
Margarita Flórez, ILSA (Colombia) y Theo Roncken, Acción Andina (Bolivia)

16:00 - 16:30 Discussion, Debate, and Questions

16:30 - 17:00 INTERMISSION

17:30 - 18:45
Round Table: Discussion of Strategies
Coordinator: Ricardo Vargas

18:45 - 19:00
Conclusion