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Sanchi Khare
Third Main Committee: Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural
Subcommittee: International cooperation against the world drug crisis
Brazil
South American countries have faced a growing problem with drug production
and trafficking within the last century. Brazil, the biggest South American country, has
been working to curb and eventually end their involvement in this illegal activity. Its
central location amongst countries that produce cocaine, its own production of marijuana,
and its many ports that have access to the United States and Europe have led Brazil to
become essential to the international drug crisis.
The drug crisis has been a result of the extreme poverty in Brazil. The socioeconomic divide has left much of the country in desperation. Amongst the numerous
slums of Brazil, gang warfare is plentiful and drug lords roam freely, buying off the
underpaid and overworked Brazilian police force. Up until recently, Brazilian officials
had been doing little to even acknowledge they had such a problem.
In 1999, Brazil took its first steps towards combating their crisis. The then
government created an anti-drug task force. The task force took part in eliminating legal
loopholes that were benefiting drug traffickers. Also, the task force helped to create
cooperation between South American countries to swap information about gangs and
other related crimes.
Brazil has also tightened its borders between Colombia in order to slow the
cocaine trafficking and protect cities along its border. Many of those local cities have so
much drug related crime that people refuse to even bother helping improve the standard
of living for citizens of such cities. By tightening the borders, the Brazilian government
hopes to critically slow trafficking between the Colombian-Brazilian borders.
In 2004, Brazil finally began to shoot down air crafts used in illegal trafficking
over the Colombian and Peruvian borders into Brazilian air space. Originally there was
hesitation for fear of shooting down civilian planes. However, the increase in illegal
activities has forced the government to take tougher action. Pressure from the US
government has left Brazil with no choice but to allow flights to be shot down.
Brazil has continued to improve its actions towards illegal drug activity. In
January, Brazil donated a record $36 million [US] to the UNODC, the United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime. The money will be used to help prevent drug abuse, but it
will also be used to slow the rising AIDS cases caused by the rise in the use of injected
illicit drugs.
Each year Brazil is becoming more proactive in its fight against their drug crisis.
The gangs and drug related violence have finally reached a point at which the Brazilian
government can longer ignore. Thankfully, Brazil is reaching out and joining forces with
the UN. With greater cooperation internationally, greater results can be achieved.
Hopefully one day Brazilians can finally rest in peace with no fear that drug related
violence will savage their lives.