UN CALLS FOR CHECK ON COCA SPRAYING

IN A surprise blow to the US-supported counter-drug offensive in
Colombia, the United Nations has called for international monitoring
of a controversial cocaine crop-spraying programme.

The UN proposal is backed by Britain, which has already promised
£150,000 towards independent environmental auditing of the spraying.

The European Union has voiced doubts about the programme since it
began in December. Some EU nations oppose the spraying outright;
British officials believe it is necessary but fear it is being
undermined by a lack of proper supervision.

Klaus Nyholm, head of the UN Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) in
Colombia, told a news conference that the spraying of small plots of
coca in poor rural areas was not just ineffective but "inhuman".

He queried Colombian and US claims of pinpoint accuracy of the aerial
spraying which has wiped out almost 130,000 acres of coca crops.
Peasant groups and indigenous Indian communities complain that the
spraying has hit legitimate crops and caused health problems among
local residents and livestock.

Colombian and US officials insist that the main chemical used, a
common herbicide, Roundup, has no known harmful side-effects. But in
view of the complaints, Mr Nyholm said international, neutral
verification was needed.