A high level segment of UN on drugs use and trafficking
March 9th, 2009
During March 11th -12th, 2009, Vienna will host the high level segment of the UN countries having as main theme, the drugs trafficking and use together the associated risks.
At 10 years since the campaign against drugs had been launched, a campaign targeting the elimination or significant reduction of the illicit drugs offer and request, the humanity seems further as never to a world without drugs.
Developed under the slogan "A Drug-Free World: we can do it!", the campaign activated governmental, international institutions and also representatives of civil society, united for a common effort to reduce the drugs trafficking and use. Unfortunately, the results are not encouraging at all: the drug use hadn't been reduces in a significant proportion, the production and implicitly the use of cocaine increased by 20% and the heroine by 120% at an international level. Moreover, in certain situations, the restrictive policies of drugs had unpredictable consequences.
Within the segmentation from Vienna, the states represented at a high level will debate the existent methods of applying the strategic objectives approved by the General Assembly of UN at the Special Session on drug use in 1998 (UNGASS, 1998).
In an application submitted through a press release, the Romanian Harm Reduction Network (www.rhrn.ro), whose members the Integration Association, Romanian Anti-AIDS Association (ARAS), ALIAT Association (www.aliat.ro), Close to You Foundation (www.alaturidevoi.ro), and also Samusocial from Romania, requests to the governmental delegations the support for the following reforms, with an emergency character:
- Non-incrimination of drug use;
- The abolition of the capital penalty for criminalities connected to drugs;
- Support for replacing the coca and opium cultures with alternatives that allow the development of the countries where these are being cultivated;
- Ensuring the access to services of multidisciplinary assistance, including to substitution treatment, for all drug users;
- Increase of the HIV, B and C hepatitis harm reduction programs among the injective drug users.
Please access www.rhrn.ro for more information regarding the high level segmentation in Vienna, the press release, the global evaluation of the drug related policies (media release), and also the harm reduction programs in Romania!
