The meeting was an opportunity for the CSF to discuss and draft recommendations on the UNGASS in an effort to feed into the conclusions of the CSTF, and met with members of the HDG to offer guidance on the EU position around the Special Session.
This statement from the Board’s President is therefore a positive step which we hope will pave the way towards the endorsement of decriminalisation for people who use drugs, following similar calls from other UN agencies such as UNAIDS, WHO, UNDP, UN Women and others.
The prison crisis and inhumane prison conditions that high incarceration rates have generated is at the heart of the debate on the need for drug policy reform in Latin America.
The meeting highlighted some of the challenges engendered by the global drug control regime as well as ways forward that could inform the process of dialogue and negociations taking place in the run-up to the UNGASS 2016.
INCB President Werner Sipp stated that the Special Session ‘provides a real opportunity to enhance the effectiveness and impact of national and international drug control policy…’ Reviewing the performance of States Parties, he noted the lack in prevention, treatment, harm reduction (‘reduction of negative consequences’), rehabilitation and reintegration.
The conference’s main objective was to promote collaboration between law enforcement agencies and CSOs in order to identify measures to protect children and young people from the use of illicit drugs - although conclusions were disappointing in terms of promotions of harm reduction and drug policy reform.
The President of the INCB, Mr Werner Sipp, presented the Annual Report of the INCB for 2014 to the ECOSOC Coordination and Management on 22nd July 2015. Mr Sipp told delegates that he regarded the Report as a contribution to the UNGASS debates on the ‘right path’ for drug policies.
21st July marks the International Remembrance Day for people who have died in the war on drugs. International Remembrance Day is to remember those we know, and those we don’t – from our villages, towns and cities across the world.
This blogpost highlights the last 2 weeks of developments in Thailand, including a meeting with the Minister of Justice that 12D and other advocates organised for the Support Don’t Punish Campaign, and seminars organised by the Ministry of Justice.
The actions varied in size and design: from small gatherings of supporters in countries as diverse as Guinea and Kazakhstan, to larger protests in France and the USA, and a range of music events, dance displays, flash mobs and sport tournaments.