Report of the South East Europe Drug Policy Network Meeting - Vienna, March 2012

The international drug control structures, the UN drug control conventions and drug policy in Austria

On Friday 9th and Saturday 10th March 2012, the South East Europe Drug Policy Network (SEE Network) held its annual meeting in Vienna, Austria. The programme of the meeting focused on the international drug control structures and the UN drug control conventions, the Austrian drug policy with special reference to young people who use drugs, and the work plan of the SEE Network for the coming year.

On Friday 9th, the participants met with the Austrian Federal Drug Coordinator to discuss the Austrian drug policy, and visited the Association Dialog, an NGO providing services to people who use drugs, people dependent on drugs, their relatives and families in Vienna. Special attention was given to the provision of drug dependence treatment among young people. The same day, the SEE Network met with representatives from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) working on South East Europe and the Civil Society Unit, followed by a visit of the Vienna International Centre where several UN bodies (including the UNODC) have established their headquarters. On Saturday 10th, Martin Jelsma, the Drugs and Democracy Programme Coordinator of the Transnational Institute made a presentation on the UN drug control conventions. The last session of this meeting consisted in a discussion about the future activities of the SEE Network.

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