Mexico President Felipe Calderon urges United Nations to lead debate on alternative drug policy (VIDEO)
Mexican President Felipe Calderon addresses world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly on September 26, 2012 in New York City. More than 120 prime ministers, presidents and monarchs are gathering this week at the UN for the annual meeting. This year’s focus among leaders will be the crisis in Syria, which is beginning to threaten regional stability.
Outgoing Mexican President Felipe Calderon today called on members of the United Nations to lead a global debate on alternative ways to tackle drug trafficking, which has been the focus of his six years in office.
In his last address to the UN General Assembly, Calderon said organized crime was “one of the most serious threats of our time” and there was a need for a “profound international debate” on the issue, the Associated Press reported.
"Today, I am proposing formally that (the United Nations) … carry out a far-reaching assessment of the progress and the limits of the current prohibitionist approach to drugs," Calderon said.
More from GlobalPost:UNGA 2012: What is the UN General Assembly, anyway?
According to CNN Mexico, Calderon lamented that some countries had made little progress in reducing drug consumption, but he stopped short of naming names.
Calderon did not go into details about what an alternative drug policy might look like, but he has been open in the past to the idea of legalizing certain drugs if it meant a reduction in violence, Reuters noted.
Calderon, who belongs to the National Action Party, will leave office in December. His successor will be Enrique Pena Nieto from the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.
In 2006, shortly after taking office, Calderon launched an aggressive offensive against the drug cartels which has resulted in the deaths of more than 50,000 people.
More from GlobalPost: Mexico President Felipe Calderon defends war against drug cartels
The story you just read is accessible and free to all because thousands of listeners and readers contribute to our nonprofit newsroom. We go deep to bring you the human-centered international reporting that you know you can trust. To do this work and to do it well, we rely on the support of our listeners. If you appreciated our coverage this year, if there was a story that made you pause or a song that moved you, would you consider making a gift to sustain our work through 2024 and beyond?