COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Report on Bolivia Accompanying the document COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION terminating the investigation initiated by Commission Decision (2012/161/EU) with respect to the effective implementation of the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs in Bolivia
Date: 2013-03-15
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Azerbaijan, European neighbourhood policy, corruption, democratisation, economic growth, economic reform, educational reform, fundamental rights, human rights, judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the EU, political reform, prevention of delinquency, rule of law, social change













EUR-Lex - 52013SC0070 - EN











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52013SC0070

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Report on Bolivia Accompanying the document COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION terminating the investigation initiated by Commission Decision (2012/161/EU) with respect to the effective implementation of the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs in Bolivia /* SWD/2013/070 final */









COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT
Report on Bolivia
Accompanying the document
COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION
terminating
the investigation initiated by Commission Decision (2012/161/EU) with respect
to the effective implementation of the United Nations Single Convention on
Narcotic Drugs in Bolivia
1.           Introduction 
1.           The Plurinational State of
Bolivia (hereinafter 'Bolivia') is a beneficiary country of the special incentive
arrangement for sustainable development and good governance (hereinafter 'the special
incentive arrangement'), provided under Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No
732/2008 applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences for the period
from 1 January 2009 (the GSP Regulation')[1]. To be noted that a
revised GSP Regulation has been adopted on 31 October 2012 whose preferences
will be applied only as of 1 January 2014. Therefore in the present case by GSP
Regulation it is meant Council Regulation (EC) No 732/2008. 
2.           The special incentive
arrangement was granted to Bolivia by Commission Decision 2008/938/EC[2].
2.           Legal background for an
investigation on temporary withdrawal of the GSP special incentive arrangement
for sustainable development and good governance
3.           Regulation (EC) No 732/2008
is the legal instrument for the application and administration of the Union's
generalised scheme of tariff preferences (hereinafter 'GSP') under which
preferences for the special incentive arrangement were granted to Bolivia.
4.           Article 15(2) of the GSP
Regulation provides for temporary withdrawal of the special incentive
arrangement, in particular if the national legislation of a beneficiary country
no longer incorporates those conventions referred to in Annex III of the
Regulation, which have been ratified in fulfilment of the requirements of Article
8(1) and (2) or if that legislation is not effectively implemented.
5.           The United Nations Single
Convention on Narcotic Drugs ('the UN Single Convention' or 'the Convention') is
listed in Annex III, part B, point 24 to the GSP Regulation. In accordance with
Article 8 of the Regulation, the ratification and effective implementation of
this Convention is one of the substantive conditions for benefitting from the
special incentive arrangement.
6.           Bolivia acceded to the
Convention on 23 September 1976.
7.           In February 2009, Bolivia adopted a new Constitution. Under Article 384, the Constitution provides that Bolivia shall protect native and ancestral coca cultural patrimony.
8.           In order to reconcile the
provision of Article 384 of the Constitution with its international
commitments, Bolivia submitted on 12 March 2009 a proposal to amend Article 49
of the UN Single Convention, to abolish the obligation for State Parties to
prohibit the chewing of the coca leaf within 25 years from the accession to the
Convention. This proposal was rejected since 17 State Parties objected to it by
31 January 2011.
9.           In the wake of that event,
on 29 June 2011, the Government of Bolivia notified to the Secretary-General of
the United Nations that it had decided to denounce the Convention. The
denunciation took effect on 1 January 2012. Simultaneously, Bolivia declared that it would have submitted an instrument of accession to the Convention,
with a reservation concerning the obligation to prohibit the chewing of the
coca leaf. 
10.         Therefore, on 29 December
2011, the Government of Bolivia sent to the Secretary-General of the United
Nations a letter containing an instrument of accession to the Convention. The instrument
of accession included a reservation, where Bolivia asked for the right to allow
in its territory the use of coca leaf for traditional use (chewing, medicinal
purposes, infusion) and its cultivation to the extent necessary for licit
purposes. In the same reservation, Bolivia engaged to take all necessary legal
measures to control the illicit cultivation of coca in order to prevent its
abuse and the illicit production of the narcotic drugs which may be extracted
from the coca leaf.
11.         The request for
re-accession has been subject to the permission of the State Parties of the
Convention. The condition for the acceptance of the Bolivian request was that,
by 10 January 2013, less than one third of the 183 government Parties had
explicitly objected to it.
12.         In the light of those
events, the Commission considered that it was necessary to analyse the effects
of the denunciation of the UN Single Convention and to determine whether they
justify a temporary withdrawal of the special incentive arrangement.
13.         Consequently, by the adoption
of a Commission implementing Decision, which was published in the Official Journal
of the European Union[3]
on 20 March 2012, the Commission decided to initiate an investigation pursuant
to Article 17(2).
14.         In particular, the
investigation referred to the provisions of Article 15(2) of the same
Regulation.
3.           Relevant findings
regarding the Investigation
3.1.        The status of Bolivia as a member of the UN Single Convention on narcotic drugs
15.         By 10 January 2013, 15 out
of 183 State Parties had explicitly objected to the Bolivian instrument of accession.

16.         Therefore, Bolivia's instrument of accession has been accepted and the country will be again a full
party of the UN Single Convention as of 10 February 2013.
3.2.        Procedure of the
investigation
17.         In order to assess whether Bolivia effectively complies with the requirements laid down in the Regulation (EC)
732/2008, the Commission sent to the Bolivian government a questionnaire on its
policy in the fight against illicit drugs and the implementation of the
Convention's clauses. The Government of Bolivia provided the Commission with an
answer to the abovementioned questionnaire in good time. The Commission
analysed the content of that reply and transmitted to the Government of Bolivia
a request for further clarification of certain elements of the reply. Bolivia also replied to this request in good time.
18.         The analysis of the
Commission, based on the answers contained in the reply to the questionnaire
and on other sources of information publicly available, verified whether the Bolivian
authorities had changed their national legislation and practice towards illicit
drugs after the denunciation of the Convention; i.e., whether the legislation
did not incorporate the provisions of the Convention or if that legislation was
not effectively implemented.
3.3.        Changes in Bolivian
legislation on fight to illicit drugs
19.         The investigation revealed
that rules and obligations under national law remained substantially unchanged
after 29 June 2011. 
20.         From January 2012, the only
changes in the national legislation have aimed at strengthening the
effectiveness of the policy against illicit drugs:
·        
The conclusion of two memoranda of understanding
with, respectively, the United States of America and Brazil, on an integrated
control system for the reduction of excessive cultivation of coca. 
·        
The conclusion of a memorandum of understanding
with Iran regarding the fight against trafficking.
3.4.        Bolivian national
legislation and participation to international cooperation on fight to illicit
drugs
21.         Bolivia has in place a system of internal
legislation and international cooperation which are linked to the relevant
international rules on the fight against the production, trade and use of
illicit drugs.
22.         None
of the elements of this system has undergone any change after the denunciation
of the UN Single Convention. In particular:
23.         As
for internal legislation, the main domestic legislative tool is the "Law
for the coca regime and controlled substances" No. 1088 of 1988. The
circulation and trade of the coca leaf is ruled by the Ministerial Decree
112/06 of 2006. 
24.         The
most relevant organism for the definition and execution of the national policy
against illicit drugs is the "National Council against the Undue Use and
Illicit Trafficking of Drugs (CONALTID)" which is normally presided by the
President of Bolivia and comprising various Ministries (Foreign Affairs,
Government, Defence, Health and Sport). The vice-Ministry of Coca and Integral
Development (VCDI) is responsible for the policies of economic and rural development
in coca-growing areas, with the aim to replace and rationalise coca production with
other economic activities.
25.         The
main strategy of the Bolivian government is set in the "Fight Strategy
Against the Drug trafficking and Reduction of surplus Cultivations of the Coca
Leaf 2011-15".
26.         The
Bolivian government continues to integrate an international framework for the
cooperation against the production, trade and use of illicit drugs. To-date, Bolivia has concluded a total of 28 international agreements with 16 States and
the European Union; it is also part of regional initiatives under the auspices
of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), the Andean Community (CAN) and
the Southern Common Market
(MERCOSUR).
3.5.        International reporting
requirements and reports of the relevant international bodies on the
effectiveness of Bolivia's fight to illicit drugs
27.         After
the denunciation of the Convention, Bolivia continued complying with the
requirement to submit to regular reporting as provided in the Convention.
28.         In
June 2012, it sent the information required by the International Narcotics
Control Board (INCB), which is administering controls on production and trade
of illicit drugs, for its annual report. That information regards annual
statistics of production, manufacturing, consumption, existence and seizure of
narcotic drugs and substances used in the illicit manufacturing of narcotic
drugs and psychotropic substances. 
29.         The
Bolivian government cooperated with the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC) for the annual report on coca cultivation in Bolivia, which was finally published in September 2012.
30.         The
fact that Bolivia's denunciation of the UN Single Convention did not negatively
impact the effectiveness and results of the fight against illicit drugs in
confirmed by two reports issued by INCB and UNODC.
31.         The
last available report of INCB did not show any significant issues regarding the
incorporation of the Convention into the Bolivian legislation and its effective
implementation.
32.         The
last available report of UNODC on coca cultivation (officially presented on 17
September 2012) showed that, during 2011, the effectiveness of the fight
against cultivation of illegal coca has not diminished and did not report any significant
issue in Bolivia's implementation of the relevant legislation. According to the
UNODC report, the cultivation of coca bush decreased by around 12 per cent in
2011 with respect to 2010 (27,200 hectares versus 31,000). Coca leaf production
diminished by 13%, down from 55,500 metric tons to 48,100 metric tons.
Rationalisation and eradication of coca crops increased by 30%, from 8,100
hectares to 10,500 hectares, above the minimal legal threshold, set by the
Bolivian "Law for the coca regime and controlled substances" at 5,000
hectares per year.
33.         According
to the information available, there is no evidence of major changes in terms of
drug seizures, eradication and illicit drugs-related arrests in Bolivia during 2012.
3.6.        Participation of Bolivia in the joint activities with the European Union on fight against illicit drugs
34.         The
government of Bolivia did not declare or show any intention of denouncing or
reducing its commitment at international level in the fight against illegal
drugs. At the two EU-Bolivia High Level Dialogues , held on 7 September 2011 in
 La Paz and on 13 November 2012 in Brussels, both parties reiterated their
commitment to develop joint efforts to fight drugs, under the principle of
shared responsibility.
35.         The
denunciation of the UN Single Convention did not affect Bolivian participation
and commitment in the framework of the Cooperation Programme on Drug Policies
between Latin America and the European Union on Drugs Policies (COPOLAD).
36.         During
2012, Bolivia regularly participated in the activities of the Joint Follow-up
Group of the EU-Bolivia agreement on precursors and chemical substances
frequently used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs or psychotropic
substances.
4.           CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
37.         It descends from above that
  Bolivia is a State Party to the UN Single Convention which was ratified and
incorporated into its national legislation. Therefore, Bolivia has ratified all the conventions listed in Annex III of the currently applicable
Regulation.
38.         Furthermore there are no
reasons to conclude that Bolivia does not effectively implement that
legislation.
39.         The Commission therefore
decides to conclude its investigation on the basis that the above findings do
not justify temporary withdrawal of benefits under the special incentive
arrangement. The Commission shall therefore adopt a Decision to terminate the
investigation and thereafter publish a Notice in the Official Journal of the
European Union announcing the termination and setting out the main conclusions
of the investigation.
40.         It
should be also recalled that in accordance with Article 8(3) of Regulation (EC)
No 732/2008, the Commission is to continue to monitor the developments with
respect to the status of ratification and the effective implementation of the
UN Single Convention in Bolivia and react to them in accordance with the
procedures available under the GSP regulation, including, if necessary, by
opening a new investigation on this issue. 
[1]               OJ L 211, 6.8.2008, p. 1 
[2]               OJ L 334, 12.12.2008, p. 1 
[3]               OJ L 80, 20.3.2012, p.30