To unravel Myanmar's drug trade and end the decades-long civil war, Tatmadaw-backed militias will need to be involved in the dialogue, experts say.

Tatmadaw-backed militias have long been permitted to indulge freely in the narcotics trade in return for their help fighting ethnic armed groups. These militias have thus far been excluded from ceasefire talks, casting doubt over how lingering problems in Myanmar’s border areas, including the drug trade, will be settled.

The nationwide ceasefire accord – signed between the government and eight ethnic armed groups in October last year – mentions “consultation” on the eradication of illicit drugs. But experts say the agreement is likely to have little impact on poppy cultivation.

“First of all, most opium farmers grow poppies due to poverty, and their needs have not been addressed yet. Second, a lot of opium and heroin production is now in areas controlled by Tatmadaw-backed militias, who are not included in the peace process,” said Tom Kramer, a researcher with the Drugs and Democracy program of the Amsterdam-based Transnational Institute.

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Solving Myanmar’s drug trade means involving militias in the peace process

The challenges of current drug policies have come at a significant cost to women. Punitive drug laws pose a heavy burden on women and, in turn, on the children for whom women are often the principal caregivers. Across the globe, women are the fastest growing population in jails and prisons. Women who use drugs are often subjected to disproportionate levels of gender-based violence, and many criminal networks that dominate drug markets in Latin America use violence against women to assert their control over communities. There is now an emerging body of research outlining a convincing case for gender-responsive drug policies that promote the health and rights of women, particularly those who are most marginalized.

The UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on drugs scheduled for April 2016 is an opportunity to draw attention to the urgent need for gender-sensitive drug policy and programs, and to secure commitments from UN member states to do better. This panel explores the gender dimension of drug policy and law and provides recommendations for how the rights of women should be represented in these drug policy discussions.

The impact of drug policies on women

The death penalty for drug offences has received much attention recently. Mass executions last year in Indonesia, and the announcements of further killings, have garnered world headlines. Iran continues to execute drug offenders at an astonishing rate, earning condemnation from human rights groups. At last month’s United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the world drug problem (UNGASS), the death penalty prompted vocal debates between retentionist and abolitionist States, and more than sixty countries voiced their opposition to the practice.

When Harm Reduction International (HRI) launched our death penalty for drugs project in 2007, this issue was largely invisible in both the human rights and the drug policy discourse. It was certainly not an issue of debate during UN meetings on drug control at the time, which passed every year with no mention of capital punishment. Given that our research has found as many as 1,000 people are executed annually for drug offences, the increased attention over the last decade is welcome.

I am often asked what the international community can do to challenge the practice of death penalty States. There are options. One is for abolitionist governments and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime to end financing of drug enforcement operations in death penalty States, which HRI and others have shown to directly contribute to death sentences and executions. Another is to fund human rights advocates working in death penalty countries to influence public opinion and government policy, and to defend death row prisoners.

Why pointing a finger at countries with the death penalty for drugs is not enough

As government delegates and civil society organizations from all over the world gathered at the UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) in New York last month, many hoped for a sober reflection of the world drug problem and an honest assessment of what has not worked over the years. Unfortunately, however, this hope was not entirely met.

The drug problem and its related "harms" transcend borders and affect people across Africa and the world as a whole. Hence, international cooperation is believed to be the way towards an integrated and balanced strategy, and the United Nations places a lot of emphasis and energy into the achievement of a "global consensus".

The Special Session in New York saw more 20 African countries (Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, South Africa, Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia) participate in this very important discussion. These countries had the opportunity to make their statements and contributed to the debate on the world drug problem.

Africa: The road after the UNGASS fracas - are things falling apart for Africa?

On May 10, an unusual post appeared on Facebook, apparently signed by Viktor Ivanov, the head of Russia’s Federal Drug Control Service (FSKN). “Comrades and fellow soldiers,” it began. “I want to apologize that I couldn’t save our organization. We protected our national interests honestly.” Someone somewhere seemed far from happy with the decision to dismantle one of the largest government agencies.

For any former senior level official to question President Vladimir Putin’s logic is, in the context of the Russian system, a demonstration of significant disloyalty. The post — allegedly written by Ivanov himself — disappeared from Facebook within an hour. The FSKN press office described the publication as a “provocation” against the service and its head.

The decision to disband FSKN, along with the Federal Migration Service, was announced on March 30 as part of a broader reform, including the creation of a new National Guard. Under the plans, in little over one week, the agency will be no more, and Ivanov, a longtime associate of Putin, will retire. According to various sources in and around government, Ivanov had been kept in the dark about the plans until the very last minute.

This is a quite unusual way of doing business in Putin’s universe, and seems to be a sign of serious dissatisfaction somewhere within government.

Putin closes Russia's drugs agency, casts aside longtime supporter Ivanov

In 2007, Supatta Ruenrurng travelled to Laos from her native Thailand. There she purchased one and a half methamphetamine tablets weighing 0.17g and brought them back to Thailand for personal use. She was arrested at the border and charged with importing and possessing a category one drug under the 1979 Narcotics Act.

The court initially dismissed the importation charge on the basis that the minor quantity of drugs involved was for personal use and would not cause any harms to society. Supatta was sentenced to six months in prison (suspended for two years) and was issued a fine for possession. This sentence took into account the fact that she had confessed to possession for personal use, that it was her first offence and she was the mother of a child for whom she was the primary caregiver. However the prosecution contested this decision, and on appeal the court found her guilty of drug importation, handing her a sentence of 25 years behind bars, reduced from life imprisonment due to Supatta’s confession, with immediate effect. The Supreme Court affirmed this decision.

Asia: we need to give the women incarcerated by the ‘war on drugs’ a voice

By Dainius Puras, Paul Hunt and Anand Grover

Last year, world leaders adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, which include a bold global target to end AIDS by 2030. While ambitious, this target is achievable, but only if governments redouble their efforts to prevent the transmission of HIV infection among those at risk, and their commitment to provide treatment to those living with the virus. In short, it requires governments to stand up against the stigma, discrimination and criminalisation that have driven the spread of HIV for decades, and embrace instead evidence- and rights-based responses.

People who inject drugs are among those who have been left furthest behind by the global response to HIV. Not only are people who inject drugs at increased risk of contracting the HIV and other blood borne infections thanks to a lack of access to sterile injecting equipment; they also suffer as a result of the stigma and criminalization associated with drug use, and the focus on criminalisation as the primary means of addressing drug issues. This has only served to fuel the epidemic among drug users, and it is unfortunately not surprising that the world missed the previous target of halving HIV among people who inject drugs by 2015 - by a staggering 80%.

Responding to the HIV risks linked to unsafe injecting is imperative if we truly hope to end AIDS. We know these risks can be minimised or even avoided altogether by providing access to harm reduction services - such as sterile needles and syringes, and prescription of substitute medications such as methadone. This is one of the reasons why each of us, during our tenures as UN Special Rapporteurs on the Right to Health, have consistently called upon States to provide access to harm reduction programmes as an essential component of their international legal obligations. People who use drugs do not forfeit their right to health simply by virtue of their drug use, and States cannot escape their universal human rights obligations simply because people happen to use drugs that are illegal.

Ending AIDS in this context is achievable with only minor changes in how governments spend their drug control resources. Recent statistical modelling published by Harm Reduction International shows that HIV-related deaths and new HIV infections could be cut by over 90% by 2030 if just 7.5% of global funding for drug law enforcement was redirected to scaling-up harm reduction. Despite the obvious benefits of such redirected spending, too many governments continue to neglect or even oppose harm reduction programmes, and adamantly continue to pursue criminalisation as their primary response. If the world continues to adopt harm reduction programmes at its current slow pace, it will be 2026 before every country which needs a harm reduction programme has even one service in place. In this context, we do not stand a chance of meeting goals to end AIDS by 2030.

Thumbnail: International HIVAIDS Alliance

End AIDS by 2030? Not without harm reduction

Illinois lawmakers have approved legislation to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana.

The Illinois House passed the bill with a 64-50 vote on Wednesday, that previously passed in the Senate, sending it to Republican Governor Bruce Rauner’s desk.

Possession of up to 10 grams of marijuana is currently a class B misdemeanor, the 

 reports, and could land a defendant up to six months in jail with fines up to $1,5000. The legislation would impose fines between $100 and $200 with no jail time.

Illinois lawmakers pass marijuana decriminalisation bill

“Let us live and save our loved ones.” These powerful words from Dorota Gudaniec convey a simple message to Polish and international drug policy-makers. Medicinal cannabis is saving lives, but people willing to try this kind of treatment are still considered criminals and may face criminal charges and sanctions, including up to three years in prison for possession of a controlled substance. Our new video, produced by Paweł Libera and the Polish Drug Policy Network, provides some insights into the medicinal cannabis situation in Poland.

Let us live and save our loved ones

The first time I met Veni she was carrying boxes of clean needles from the Centre for Health Research at the University of Indonesia. She is an outreach worker whose life has been entangled with the physical and social harms of drug use. Her first husband was a drug user who sometimes earned money from drug dealing. While he struggled with his addiction, Veni was left to find ways to provide for her family. After 15 years Veni finally ended the marriage as she felt she couldn’t be her husband’s ‘guardian angel’ any more.

The experience of coping with her ‘junkie’ ex-husband had a profound impact on Veni and in 2008 she became involved in harm reduction, a global intervention program aimed at minimising the medical and social problems associated with illegal drug use. It does this by encouraging the use of legal substitution drugs, like methadone and subuxone, and distributing free clean needles and condoms.

Veni’s involvement in harm reduction started when she was invited to give a testimonial as the wife of an injecting drug user (IDU). Soon after, she was recruited by several non-government agencies (NGOs) in Jakarta to do outreach work meeting with drug users, distributing clean needles and referring those who want access to treatment. She has found outreach work a positive way to share her experience of living with a drug user while, at the same time, earning enough money to provide for her children. Veni believes that she is not only helping drug users and their families but also helping to manage the emotional pain and trauma of her past.

No more money for our needles

Pavel Bém is former Mayor of Prague and a member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy,Czech Republic. Here he gives his assessment of April’s UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on the world drug problem.

The United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on “the world drug problem” was an important moment for the international community to evaluate and assess both the advances and the challenges facing drug control on a global level. Member states participated throughout the preparatory process, submitting country and regional positions, hosting meetings, inviting inputs from civil society organizations and engaging in thoughtful policy proposals. United Nations agencies also took note of the importance, submitting detailed reports of the impacts of drug control on human rights, development, health and economic growth. These expert reports were reflective of current efforts and put forward innovative proposals on how to improve policies directed at people who use drugs, producers and people incarcerated and others. The Global Commission participated through attending official meetings, hosting presentations on our recent reports and recommendations, bringing together countries to discuss possible reforms and engaging with the media so that more people would be aware of this historic opportunity.

Much ado about nothing? The Global Commission on Drug Policy assessment of UNGASS

This week, world leaders are gathering at the United Nations in New York for the highest-level meeting on drug policy in nearly two decades. The United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on drug policy is illustrating growing divisions in the "drug war" model as more states speak up in opposition to ineffective, punitive policies.

WOLA is at the UN in New York observing and participating in the proceedings. Senior Fellow Coletta Youngers offers insights into the proceedings and explains how, despite attempts to limit debate in support of reform, numerous countries have spoken out from the floor of the General Assembly and called for an alternative policies.

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