News release
25th June 2008

United Nations Secretary General Calls for Greater Focus on the Rights of Prisoners and Drug Users

United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki Moon, has used the UN’s International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, June 26^th, to remind UN Member States of their human rights obligations while countering the world drug problem.

 While calling for continued international co-operation, Mr Ban highlighted the 60^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, taking place throughout the United Nations this year. “I remind all Member States of their responsibility to fully respect the rights of prisoners who are drug dependent or are in custody for drug-related crimes” he said “especially their rights to life and a fair trial”. Recognising the discrimination faced by people who use drugs in accessing services, HIV prevention and other medical assistance programmes the Secretary General called on Member States “to ensure that people who are struggling with drug addiction be given equal access to health and social services.” “No one should be stigmatized or discriminated against because of their dependence on drugs”, he continued. 

 At the launch of the independent Commission on AIDS in Asia report earlier this year, Mr. Ban made similar comments in the context of HIV prevention, stating that there “will be no equitable progress so long as some parts of the population are marginalized and denied basic health and human rights”, including “injecting drug users”.

Today, the International Harm Reduction Association (IHRA) and Transform Drug Policy Foundation have welcomed the Secretary General’s statements. “The Universal Declaration is the bedrock of human rights protection in the United Nations system and must underpin drug law and policy” said IHRA Executive Director, Professor Gerry Stimson, “we are extremely pleased that the Secretary General has focused on the rights of people in prison and people who use drugs, so often overlooked in the global war on drugs. Drug policy must focus as a matter of priority on the right to health of people who use drugs, including HIV and hepatitis C prevention and treatment.”

 Danny Kushlick, Director of Transform, said: “We are hopeful that there is a sea change taking place at the international level. This statement follows on from a number of significant statements and developments at the United Nations, which suggest that a greater focus on public health and human rights may be on the cards for international drug policy. There is an increasing recognition at the UN that a punitive enforcement-led approach to drugs is undermining efforts to improve public health, and creating a criminal black market worth £160 billion a year.  The Secretary General and the Executive Director of UNODC are to be applauded for being so outspoken in this regard.

 In March, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs passed its first ever human rights resolution in its 60 year history. The International Narcotics Control Board, which has in the past said that it ‘will not discuss human rights’, this year said that a lack of respect for human rights can undermine drug control efforts. And the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Antonio Maria Costa, has acknowledged that a lack of focus on health and human rights has been an ‘unintended consequence’ of the current approach to drug control. Coinciding with the Secretary-General’s remarks, UN Office on Drugs and Crime Executive Director, Antonio Maria Costa will launch the UN’s ‘World Drug Report’ in New York later today.

In July, hundreds of civil society representatives will meet at the UN in Vienna as part of the ‘Beyond 2008’ process to discuss the next ten year strategy for international drug policy. Danny Kushlick concluded: “The last UN ten-year strategy included the slogan ‘A drug free world, we can do it!’ It is clear that the next strategy will be based on goals far less fanciful and far more life enhancing.”

 “We hope that the next ten years will see a significant shift in focus at the international level” said Professor Stimson “one that prioritises the health and welfare of those affected by drug related harm over stigmatisation and punishment”.

ENDS

Notes for editors

The full statement by the UN Secretary General is below

 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the Un General Assembly on December 10^th 1948. The Un is currently recognising a system-wide celebration of its 60^th anniversary with the slogan “Dignity and Justice for All of Us”

http://www.un.org/events/humanrights/udhr60/

 "Making drug control 'fit for purpose': Building on the UNGASS decade" a report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime Executive Director, Antonio Maria Costa, can be seen in full here:

http://www.tdpf.org.uk/drug%20control%20%27fit%20for%20purpose%27.pdf

 ‘Beyond 2008’ is a global forum of civil society representatives on the 1998-2008 review of the UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs co-ordinated by the Vienna NGO Committee on Narcotic Drugs and supported by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime

 The World Drug Report is the UNODC’s flagship publication aimed at providing an overview of the world drug situation as well as emerging trends. The 2007 report is available online at http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/WDR-2007.html 

UNITED NATIONS INFORMATION SERVICE VIENNA (UNIS)

(For information only - not an official document)

                                                              UNIS/SGSM/053

                                                               24 June 2008

 United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:  “No one should be stigmatized or discriminated against because of their dependence on drugs”

 Message on the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, 26 June 2008

VIENNA,  26  June (UN Information Service) -- Ten years ago, in response to  the  seriousness of the world drug problem, Member States of the United Nations convened  a  Special  Session  of the General Assembly, where they committed themselves to a vigorous plan of action to reduce both the supply and demand for drugs.

Today, drugs continue to destroy lives, generate crime and threaten sustainable development. But we also have a better understanding of how to confront drug abuse and trafficking. Policymakers can draw on a growing body of evidence about drug dependence and drug-use trends. International cooperation and technical assistance are improving law enforcement capabilities. Increased development assistance is helping to reduce poverty and the sale of illicit crops by giving farmers sustainable alternatives. A stronger focus on prevention and treatment is putting health at the centre of drug-control strategies and helping to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS. And there is a growing consensus, both within communities and among states, that drug control is a shared responsibility in which we all play a part.

We still have much work to do to reduce our vulnerability to drugs. States  with  weak  criminal  justice  systems  and limited law enforcement capabilities  need  assistance  to  reduce  illicit drug trafficking, which spreads  crime,  corruption and instability, and which ultimately endangers the successful realization of the Millennium Development Goals.

As we  mark  the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, I remind all Member States of their responsibility to fully respect the  rights  of  prisoners  who  are  drug  dependent or are in custody for drug-related crimes,  especially  their rights to life and a fair trial. I also call on Member States to ensure that people who are struggling with drug addiction be given equal access to health and social services. No one should be stigmatized or discriminated against because of their dependence on drugs.

 The  combined  efforts  over  the  past decade have greatly enhanced our understanding of the drug problem worldwide and strengthened our capacity and  resolve to reduce the damage done by drugs to individuals, their loved ones,  to  communities  and  states. On this International Day Against Drug Abuse, let us each shoulder our responsibility to prevent and reduce the damage that drugs do, and thereby build a healthier and safer world.

Contact

Contact:

Danny Kushlick, Director, Transform, +44 (0) 7970 174747

Damon Barrett, Human rights Analyst, IHRA, +44 (0) 7933 730 640

 Steve Rolles, Information Officer, Transform, +44 (0) 7980 213943

About Transform

Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a charitable thinktank that exists to reduce harm and promote sustainable health and wellbeing by bringing about a just, effective and humane system to regulate and control drugs at local, national and international levels.