UN General Assembly
1996

the value structure which supports the governability of democratic systems. As we prepare for the twenty-first century, I invite all world leaders present or represented here today, to a collective and above all sincere reflection on this proposal, which Colombia presents with the moral authority it has been granted, having been the nation which has suffered most, which has invested most, and which has paid the highest social and economic costs in this struggle against drug trafficking. In recent years, Colombia has spent 14 times more resources fighting drug trafficking than what is invested annually by the international community through the United Nations system for the same purpose. Thanks to this determined effort, Colombia has been able to avoid the annual distribution throughout the world of more than 6 billion doses intended for drug users. I, too, have been a victim of drug trafficking. Several years ago I was the target of an assassination attempt that almost cost me my life. I received 11 bullet wounds, and still carry four bullets in my body. More recently I fell