South America

A critical rethink of the war on drugs features prominently on the agenda of the Cartagena summit. This provides opportunities to move forward but also faces several risks that could suffocate the remarkable yet incipient political opening of the drugs debate in Latin America.

The EU's proposed free trade agreement with Colombia will worsen the already serious human rights violations in the country, as its drive to access to cheap raw materials for European corporations means forcing local people off their land.

The EU could play a valuable role in preventing another flawed climate deal if it neutralises the US and brings other ditherers on board while starting talks on future obligations for the emerging economies.

There is a lot of contention over approaches to land reform policy, in terms of how to involve the state, the market and communities; but what matters most for a socio-economically and politically sustainable solution, is that the policy is genuinely 'pro-poor'.