Bolivia will again belong to the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs after its bid to rejoin with a reservation that it does not accept the treaty's requirement that "coca leaf chewing must be banned" was successful Friday. Opponents needed one-third of the 184 signatory countries to object, but fell far, far short despite objections by the US and the International Narcotics Control Board.

Of the 61 countries needed to veto the initiative only 15 turned out led by the US and UK, plus other European countries, Canada, Japan and Mexico.

The official re-entry of Bolivia to the convention is scheduled for February 10 and is a milestone in the Bolivian government campaign to defend the 'acullicu' which has seen President Morales and his Foreign minister David Choquehuanca, both indigenous Aymaras, lobby around the world in support of the coca leaf chewing tradition.

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Major victory for President Morales: UN accepts "coca leaf chewing" in Bolivia

Drugreporter proudly presents the second part of HCLU’s documentary on Portugal's reformist drug policy approach. In this documentary we give you an insight into the everyday work of an NGO working with vulnerable people, such as people who use drugs, and sex workers. 

Watch our movie to see how our Portuguese EDPI partner ADPES works. Also please share if you like it!

HCLU film: An insight into a progressive Portuguese NGO’s work

the Plurinational State of Bolivia celebrated a rightful victory, as the country becomes formally a party again to the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, but without being bound by its unjust and unrealistic requirement that “coca leaf chewing must be abolished.”

This represents the successful conclusion of an arduous process in which Bolivia has sought to reconcile its international treaty obligations with its 2009 Constitution, which obliges upholding the coca leaf as part of Bolivia’s cultural patrimony.

Bolivia wins a rightful victory on the coca leaf

The World We Want web platform is a joint initiative between the United Nations and Civil Society. It is a growing movement of people all over the world contributing their vision towards an overall plan to build a just and sustainable world free from poverty. It will help ensure that global efforts to secure a post-2015 development agenda are based on the perspective of people living in poverty.

Leading up to the year 2015, the United Nations is planning a series of consultations to help shape the post-2015 agenda with support from Civil Society coalitions including the Global Call to Action Against Poverty, CIVICUS and the Beyond 2015 Campaign, which have been organising Civil Society engagement in post-2015 discussions.

This process includes the creation of a High Level Panel, over 50 national and thematic consultations, community based discussion and a Global Online Conversation - all of which will contribute to a vision for The World We Want beyond 2015.

For more information about the consultations, 

National and thematic consultations to help shape the development agenda post-2015

GNP+ in collaboration with ICSS, SAA, ICASO and UNAIDS would like to invite you to participate in a consultation process to ensure that knowledge and experiences of key populations and communities affected by HIV will help shape the post-2015 development goals.

The webinars will provide you with background information regarding the UN process and how we can influence this process. Advocacy has been a driving force in innovating the global response to HIV and health in general. Concrete internationally agreed targets have been key in mobilizing countries, communities and funding. There is a real risk that the new development health goal(s) will not be ambitious enough to win the fight against HIV.

The Survey will build on the main consultation questions, but seek your feedback on a more detailed level regarding sub-questions that relate to your specific knowledge and experiences at country level and/or from key affected populations and communities. 

Webinars and survey on health related MDGs after 2015

The Research officer is responsible for the overall coordination of the IAS Industry Liaison Forum (IAS-ILF), within the Research Promotion team. The Industry Liaison Forum (ILF) is an initiative of the International AIDS Society (IAS) with a mission to accelerate scientifically promising, ethical HIV research in resource-limited countries, with a particular focus on the role and responsibilities of industry as sponsors and supporters of research, and during its current strategic plan it is focusing on HIV research related to women and children.

The International AIDS Society (IAS) is the world's leading independent association of professionals working in HIV. It has more than 16,000 members from 196 countries and plays a key role as an independent voice in the global response to AIDS. It is a dynamic professionally run and well governed not-for-profit organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. It has a highly dedicated international staff of fifty.

The IAS advocates for the implementation of effective evidence-based policies and programmes that promote and protect human rights. It also runs a number of projects to strengthen research capacity to address HIV and AIDS.

The ILF Research Officer will be employed full-time based in Geneva, Switzerland and report to the Senior Manager, Research Promotion. The position is fixed-term for 11 months from February 2013 until 31 December 2013.

Interested and qualified candidates should send their CV and a cover letter, in English and by email only, to recruitment@iasociety.org by 25 January 2013.

IAS recruits a Research Officer

The Editorial Assistant will be responsible for supporting the editorial process of JIAS, in particular coordinating publication of special issues.

The Journal of the International AIDS Society (JIAS) is an online, scientific journal serving the dissemination of essential and innovative HIV-related research. As a peer-reviewed, open access journal JIAS publishes articles from various disciplines and including thematic supplements, as well as encourages contributions from regions most affected by the epidemic.

JIAS is actively involved in capacity building of less experienced authors offering professional development opportunities such as workshops and online courses.

Please click here for more information on JIAS.

The Editorial Assistant will be employed full-time based in Geneva, Switzerland and report to the Managing Editor of JIAS. The position is fixed term for 11 months from 1 February 2013 until 31 December 2013.

IAS recruits an Editorial Assistant 

There's a new wind blowing through the very home of marijuana prohibition: not only have dozens of states legalised the medical use of marijuana, but two states (Washington and Colorado) have even legalised the use of marijuana by adults for non-medical purposes.

The video advocacy team of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) travelled to Seattle in November, to find out why people voted 'yes' on I-502, an initiative to regulate and tax marijuana. After interviewing several professionals and activists, we found this to be a piece of carefully-considered legislation, which addresses human rights, social justice, and public health concerns, in relation to the region's number two cash crop after apples.

A new approach to marijuana in Washington 

On December 17-22, 2012, the TS Hub Kiev together with the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC) organised a training “Peer Driven Intervention (PDI) to prevent HIV among injecting drug users”. The training is a first step on the way to development of PDI in Malaysia which will be implementing as a part of CAHR project in 2013.

The aim of the training facilitated by Pavlo Smyrnov and Oksana Matiyash (TS Hub Kiev) was to adopt a PDI model in order to address the HIV epidemic in Malaysia. Its main focus was to bring the model to a local context, educate relevant staff and develop all of the documents and tools required for the field work. As a result of the training, a list of practical recommendations was elaborated to support and sustain the model implementation in Malaysia. The PDI will help to increase the coverage of active drug users, in particular female drug users, who have so far not been reached by prevention activities.

Training to introduce peer driven intervention in Malaysia

The Mexican government enacted a controversial law aimed at giving recognition and recourse to tens of thousands of victims of the drug-related violence that has raged across the nation for the last six years.

In a ceremony where survivors held photographs of missing or slain children, parents and spouses, President Enrique Peña Nieto said the law would require authorities to assist victims and establish a fund for possible reparations.

Former President Felipe Calderon, whose term ended Dec. 1, vetoed the law last summer, a move for which he was roundly condemned by human rights groups. He contended the measure had technical flaws that could make it difficult to enact and was possibly unconstitutional.

Peña Nieto brushed aside such concerns, saying there would be details yet to work out, but that putting the law on the books was urgent. It also requires authorities to pay for victims’ medical care and sets up a national registry of victims.

Mexico enacts law to help drug war victims

Komunity CAKNA Terengganu, partner organisation of Malaysian AIDS Council runs a shelter for recovering drug users. The shelter fits in around 25 people. There are no detoxication services and medical treatment for people living in this shelter. They get emotional support from their peers and attend a local mosque for prayers. There is no limit for stay in the shelter; people may leave when they feel they are ready. All outreach workers working for CAHR project in this area used to be the clients of the shelter.

For more information about CAHR, please click here.

Chili growing project in Malaysia

Hundreds of people are locked up for petty drug offences every year - many for crimes New Zealand's top legal body says should not exist.

Justice Ministry figures show a significant amount of court time is taken up by minor drug cases, with nearly as many people imprisoned for possessing a small quantity of cannabis as for dealing.

Among these offenders are hundreds imprisoned for possessing a pipe or a needle, an offence the Law Commission recommended legalising last year.

The figures also show fewer than one in three minor drug offenders is offered diversion, allowing them to avoid a criminal record.

The New Zealand Drug Foundation said the figures were alarming and showed the court-focused treatment of minor offenders was not working.

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