March 2009    
    

    
                             
     
    Welcome

    IHRA Launches Report on Civil Society Engagement at CND

    IHRA Launch Three Fact Sheets for CND ‘Regular Segment’

    Press Release: IHRA Urges Nations to Reject the New UN Drug Policy
              
    Harm Reduction 2009: Latest Developments

    WHO, UNODC and UNAIDS Launch Target Setting Guide for Injecting Drug Users

    OHCHR Biennial Report References Harm Reduction Networks

    March 2009 Article of the Month


 


          
     
Welcome

Welcome to the IHRA e-newsletter for March 2009. This month has seen two major international policy making events – the Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva and the 52nd Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in Vienna. IHRA had a significant presence at both, launching reports, issuing press releases and presenting to government delegates. The CND meeting this month was particularly important, as it marks the end of a period of reflection of the last ten years of international drug control efforts, and the agreement of a Political Declaration on Drugs that will shape the coming ten years. However, the final Declaration was poor and made no reference to harm reduction, despite important interventions by certain government delegations.

The IHRA website contains a number of news items and reviews from the CND meeting – some of which are listed here. It was a meeting of frustration, but also of positive actions and lobbying. A ‘blow by blow’ account of the proceedings has been recorded on IHRA’s new CND Blog – established especially for the meeting this month – with further analysis on the IHRA Blog.

 
          
         
     
IHRA Launches Report on Civil Society Engagement at CND
IHRA launched a short paper which describes the current state of civil society engagement at CND, highlights key issues, and provides examples of good practice from elsewhere within the UN system in order to demonstrate the extent to which CND is out of step with UN practice in this area. CND is required to engage with civil society but, in practice, this is extremely limited.

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IHRA Launch Three Fact Sheets for CND ‘Regular Segment’
IHRA, Human Rights Watch and the Open Society Institute released three fact sheets on human rights and drug policy to coincide with the CND meeting – each describing ten main points related to how drug policy affects human rights, why human rights is an issue for CND, and why access to controlled medicines is an issue for CND.

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Press Release: IHRA Urges Nations to Reject the New UN Drug Policy
IHRA, Human Rights Watch and the International AIDS Society issued a joint press statement before the start of the CND meeting and called upon government delegations to reject the new ‘Political Declaration on Drugs’. The Declaration will shape global drug policies for the coming decade, but omits any reference to harm reduction. The IHRA Executive Director slammed described the Declaration as “weak” and claimed it “undermines fundamental health and human rights obligations”.

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Harm Reduction 2009: Latest Developments
There are only a few weeks left until ‘Harm Reduction 2009: IHRA’s 20th International Conference’ – which is now officially endorsed by every relevant United Nations organisation! The programme is available to download from the conference website, and includes keynote speeches from Professor Michel Kazatchkine (Executive Director of the Global Fund) and Craig McClure (Executive Director of the International AIDS Society), Plenary Sessions on HIV and injecting drug use in Asia, harm reduction and human rights, and methamphetamine (which include presentations from the UN Special Rapporteurs on the Right to Health and on Torture), and loads more sessions, workshops, and poster presentations – as well as a film festival, conference party and a ‘Dialogue Space’ sponsored by the Global Fund. The online registration system is still open, and delegates are advised to plan to arrive in Bangkok on Sunday 19th April in order to take advantage of early check-in, satellite events and a conference opening reception.

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WHO, UNODC and UNAIDS Launch Target Setting Guide for Injecting Drug Users
Three major United Nations groups have released a new Technical Guide to help countries set national targets to measure their progress towards universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care. The document describes a “comprehensive package” of nine essential interventions – including needle and syringe programmes and opioid substitution therapy.

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OHCHR Biennial Report References Harm Reduction Networks
The submission made by IHRA and other harm reduction networks to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has been included in their biennial report on HIV ahead of the Human Rights Council meeting this month. The submission provided a global overview of the injecting-driven HIV epidemic worldwide and examined the human rights issues.


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March 2009 Article of the Month
This months article is a ‘Rapid Communication’ from EMCDDA, ECDC and the WHO Regional Office for Europe, and presents the latest data on HIV and injecting drug use for the European region. The data shows a marked geographical divide – with stable rates in the ‘West’ and alarming increases in the ‘East’ (where the report estimates that over half of all new HIV infections are due to injecting drug use). The report warns that existing public health measures in the ‘East’ “need to be reinforced”.

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     Dear mario, welcome to IHRA

IHRA is the leading organisation in promoting evidence based harm reduction policies and practices on a global basis for all psychoactive substances (including illicit drugs, tobacco and alcohol).

 
     
     
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