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18th December 2009
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Thailand Convicts Police for Brutality in Anti-Drug Campaign
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Eight police officers in Thailand have been convicted for crimes during anti-drug operations. The Talingchan district court in Bangkok found Police Captain Nat Chonnithiwanit and seven other members of the 41st Border Patrol Police (BPP) unit guilty of assault with weapons, illegal detention, and extortion. Each was sentenced to five years of imprisonment.
According to Human Rights Watch, this should be a catalyst for the Thai government to end police abuses of people who use drugs. “The trial of Captain Nat and his team revealed just how casually police commit abuses,” said Elaine Pearson, Deputy Asia Director at Human Rights Watch. “This conviction needs to be followed up by clear action to put an end to police abuses once and for all.”
The officers were arrested in January 2008 for serious offenses committed over a period of three years. To date, 61 people have filed formal complaints that they or their family members were abused by BPP police under Nat’s command. In the case that led to the convictions, Nat’s squad arbitrarily arrested Jutaporn Nunrod in Bangkok on February 8, 2007. They took her to a ‘safe house’ at the Green Inn Hotel, where she was stripped half-naked, subjected to electric shock, severely beaten, and had a plastic bag placed over her head for two days in order to extract a confession that she was involved in drug trafficking. Jutaporn and her family were also forced to hand over cash and jewellery.
“These convictions were not an isolated case of rogue officers, but part of chronic problems in police operations that use violence and illegality to fight crimes,” said Pearson. “Police in Thailand have long had sweeping powers and have rarely faced punishment for often horrendous misconduct.” Thailand saw the worst police abuses after former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra launched his notorious “war on drugs” campaign in 2003 – stating that “There is nothing under the sun which the Thai police cannot do. You must use iron fist against drugs traffickers and show them no mercy. Because drug traffickers are ruthless to our children, so being ruthless back to them is not a bad thing…If there are deaths among traffickers, it is normal”. 2,819 people were killed in 2,559 murder cases between February and April 2003 as part of this campaign – but despite promises to bring those responsible to justice, no action has ensued.
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18th December 2009
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USA Drops Two-Decade Ban on Funds for Needle Exchanges
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The US Senate has approved a spending bill that drops a 20-year ban on federal funds for needle and syringe programmes, paving the way for an expansion of these proven, effective harm reduction services. This long overdue shift – which passed by a tally of 57 to 35 – is expected to be approved by President Obama and should be enacted into law before the 18th December.
The final approved version also did not include a proposed provision which would have forbidden financing needle and syringe programmes that were located within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, day care centres, swimming pools or video arcades. Such a stipulation would have severely restricted funds to the vast majority of existing needle and syringe programmes in the USA. Instead, the existing version enables local public health or law enforcement authorities to block funds to programmes situated at locations they consider inappropriate.
Despite the long-standing funding ban, there are nearly 200 needle and syringe programmes in the United States – which have relied mostly on city, state or county funds. Yet as IHRA reported in its Global State of Harm Reduction 2008, these services reach less than 20% of people who inject drugs in the USA. The report added that HIV prevalence among injecting drug users is between 14.5% and 47.9%, and that they account for 18% of new HIV diagnoses in the country.
The federal funding ban was passed by Congress in 1988. Under President George W. Bush, the USA had also tried to export this policy by urging various United Nations agencies to drop their support for potentially life-saving harm reduction services.
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17th December 2009
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Conference Programme Created for Harm Reduction 2010
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In December 2009, the Executive Programme Committee for Harm Reduction 2010: IHRA’s 21st International Conference held a three-day meeting in Liverpool to review the 1,000 abstracts that were submitted and to create the conference programme. This is always a very challenging task but, once again, the end result is an excellent programme with over 200 speakers in 57 sessions which cover a huge range of topics.
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The draft programme includes:
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- High-profile Opening and Closing Sessions on Sunday 25th and Thursday 29th April respectively
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- A high-profile Plenary Session on ‘Harm Reduction: Next Generation Challenges’ including presentations from the UN Reference Group on HIV and Injecting Drug Use, IHRA, the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria , and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance
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- A Plenary Session on ‘The Next Generation of Drug Policy’ – including presentations from Argentina, Portugal and the UK.
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- A Plenary Session on ‘Creating Evidence for Action’ – featuring presentations from leading social scientist Philippe Bourgois and the World Health Organization
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- Eighteen Major Sessions on topics including policing, young people, drug user activism, alcohol, tobacco, advocacy, crack cocaine, harm reduction in Europe, and sex work.
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- 36 Concurrent Sessions on a huge range of topics – including research, compulsory treatment, needle and syringe programmes, dance drugs, innovative services, legal aid, overdose prevention, drug treatment and prisons.
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Click images to view larger
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We are confident that the final programme will appeal to, and cater for, all of our delegates. In addition to the formal programme, there will also be a number of satellite meetings, around 400 poster presentations, a conference party, a Drugs and Harm Reduction Film Festival, and a separate ‘Dialogue Space’ programme (to be announced in early 2010) of interactive debates, discussions and sessions. Please remember that the deadline for ‘Early-Bird’ discounted delegate fees is January 21st 2010 – with additional savings available on any payments made before December 31st 2009 due to the temporarily reduced UK tax rates.
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14th December 2009
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Club Health 2010: Call for Abstracts
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Club Health 2010 – the 6th International Conference on Nightlife, Substance Use and Related Health Issues – is scheduled to take place in Zurich, Switzerland from the 7th to the 9th June 2010. It is organised by a Swiss Steering Committee – which includes the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health, Infodrog, the City of Zurich and Safer Clubbing – together with the Healthy Nightlife Tool Box – an international initiative to reduce harm from alcohol and drug use among young people in nightlife settings.
The conference is currently welcoming abstract submissions on the following key themes: alcohol use, recreational and non-prescription drug use, violence prevention, sexual health, management and design of nightlife settings, training for staff in nightlife environments, international nightlife tourism, therapeutic and medical aftercare of party drug users, and early detection of drug problems. The deadline for submissions is 15th February 2010. The conference will bring together experts from around the world to exchange information on the latest research, policy and evidence on protecting and promoting health in nightlife settings. In particular, the conference will focus on disseminating the evidence base for effective interventions to protect health in nightlife environments.
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14th December 2009
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UN Leaders Make Statements for World AIDS Day
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Various leaders from the United Nations marked World AIDS Day with statements highlighting the need for sensible policies that protect vulnerable populations, and an urgent appeal for more resources to support them in the face of the global financial crisis.
At the launch of the Commission on AIDS in the Pacific report on 2nd December, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, “There can be no effective response to AIDS as long as some parts of the population are marginalized and denied basic health and human rights. This includes people living with HIV, sex workers, men who have sex with men, and injecting drug users”. He added, “Prevention activities aimed at high-risk behaviours need greater funding. Programmes must address behaviours and not population groups, to avoid stigma and discrimination. They must be in the language of the people most affected. And they must integrate HIV with other programmes designed to change behaviours, including those related to drug and alcohol use, sexual and reproductive health, and gender-based violence”.
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The Secretary General’s comments echoed an earlier statement on 1st December, which asserted that “Successful AIDS responses do not punish people; they protect them. In many countries, legal frameworks institutionalize discrimination against groups most at risk. Yet discrimination against sex workers, drug users and men who have sex with men only fuels the epidemic and prevents cost-effective interventions. We must ensure that AIDS responses are based on evidence, not ideology, and reach those most in need and most affected”.
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Also on the 1st December, Michel Sidibé – Executive Director of UNAIDS – warned that the fragile fiscal situation many governments are facing is no excuse to weaken the international commitment to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. “The economic crisis should not be a reason for reducing investments in health,” he said. “Economic adjustments must be made through a human rights lens that keeps the focus on those most vulnerable. This is the time to increase rather than decrease funding for AIDS”. In June 2009, UNAIDS released a report entitled The Global Economic Crisis and HIV Prevention and Treatment Programmes: Vulnerabilities and Impact, which revealed that programmes aimed at HIV prevention among high-risk groups in 34 countries were negatively affected by the global economic crisis.
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11th December 2009
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New Report on German Support for Harm Reduction
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The German Development Corporation (GTZ) has released a new report showcasing Germany’s support for successful harm reduction programmes around the world. The document highlights projects in Ukraine, Malaysia, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Viet Nam. The types of assistance offered by GTZ included technical support to NGOs and regional health departments to develop strategies for needle-syringe programmes, opioid substitution therapy, assistance in developing targeted services for female injecting drug users, and capacity-building at local health clinics.
As reported in IHRA’s Global State of Harm Reduction 2008 – cited in the GTZ document – drug use accounts for about 30% of all new HIV infections outside of Sub-Saharan Africa. The GTZ report states, “At this critical stage in the global dialogue surrounding harm reduction, these and other initiatives demonstrate the global relevance of harm reduction as a critical component of HIV prevention. Now it is time to balance global and national drug strategies to allow for the rapid expansion of evidence-based programmes that reduce the harm of injecting and other modes and aspects of drug use.”
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3rd December 2009
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Nominations Invited for 2010 IHRA Awards
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Nominations are now being invited for the 2010 International Rolleston Award, National Rolleston Award and the Carol and Travis Jenkins Award – all of which will be presented at Harm Reduction 2010: IHRA’s 21st International Conference. Each year, IHRA presents these awards to leading individuals or organisations in the field of harm reduction.
The IHRA awards are presented each year to individuals or organisations that have made outstanding contributions to reducing harm from psychoactive substances. These contributions may include work on:
• harm reduction programming
• harm reduction practice
• harm reduction policy
• harm reduction teaching and training
• science, research or critical thinking relevant to harm reduction
• advocacy for harm reduction
• providing funding or resources for harm reduction
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3rd December 2009
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Youth RISE Call for International Working Group Members
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Youth RISE – the global youth-led network for reducing the risks and harms associated with substance use – is seeking volunteers from around the world to join their ‘International Working Group’ (IWG) in 2010. The Youth RISE IWG provides leadership for the organisation and the Youth RISE Management Team, and consists of motivated young activists working in harm reduction who each contribute their unique and regional perspectives to the development and effectiveness of the network.
Youth RISE aims to increase the engagement and social inclusion of young people in the policies and decisions that affect their lives. It advocates for effective harm reduction programmes and policies for young people, and works across five core themes – improving harm reduction knowledge, challenging discriminatory policies, creating effective harm reduction services, increasing research and evidence on youth and harm reduction, increasing training opportunities, and addressing street children and youth.
IWG members must be able to maintain continuous communication (in English) with the network staff and members, travel to international meetings and conferences, have frequent internet access and the ability to attend teleconferences. To apply, please complete the short form and submit your resume and/or short biography to info@youthrise.org by December 18th 2009.
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1st December 2009
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IHRA and Human Rights Watch Issue Joint Briefing for World AIDS Day
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To mark World AIDS Day 2009, IHRA and Human Rights Watch have issued a joint briefing note which urges governments worldwide to to reform punitive drug laws, disproportionate penalties, and harsh and discriminatory law enforcement practices which cause harm to people living with HIV/AIDS. Launching the briefing, Professor Gerry Stimson (IHRA’s Executive Director) said, “The war on drugs is fueling HIV epidemics among people who use drugs around the world, and condemning millions of people with terminal cancer and with HIV/AIDS to needless suffering”.
In the briefing note, Human Rights Watch and IHRA express their concerns that existing policies may be driving people away from lifesaving HIV services – as well as impeding access to pain treatment for tens of millions of people who need it. “Of course, these are complex and controversial issues," said Rebecca Schleifer from Human Rights Watch’s ‘Health and Human Rights’ Division, “But we must have the courage to discuss them openly if we are to fully understand what is needed to halt and begin to reverse drug-related HIV/AIDS”.
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1st December 2009
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UNAIDS and WHO Release 2009 AIDS Epidemic Update
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The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have released the 2009 AIDS Epidemic Update documenting the most recent global developments and figures. The annual survey charted some very positive trends, including a 17% decline in new HIV infections over the last eight years, and the overwhelming success of harm reduction services in numerous regions of the world. There are now 33.4 million people living with HIV in the world, including 2.1 million children under 15-years-old, according to the survey.
The document notes that annual HIV incidence among injecting drug users plummeted by two-thirds in South-Western China following the introduction of harm reduction measures, with equally encouraging statistics from others regions. The report said, “In countries that have invested heavily in harm reduction programmes, reductions in drug-related HIV transmission have been especially pronounced. In Switzerland, where transmission during injecting drug use accounted for a majority of HIV diagnoses in the late 1980s... this mode of transmission accounted for only 4% of new HIV infections in 2008”.
Despite these successes, resources for prevention among injecting drug users remains disproportionately low in many countries. For example, in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, injecting drug use is the leading mode of new HIV infections – with an alarming number of new infections occurring in young people between 15 and 19 years of age. However, the report notes that the availability of harm reduction services remains badly inadequate across the region.
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1st December 2009
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UN Committee Calls on Poland to Improve Access to Harm Reduction
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The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) has urged Poland to scale up access to antiretroviral therapy for people who use drugs and are living with HIV, and to increase the availability of substitute drug dependence treatment – especially for people in detention. These recommendations have been made after advocacy and lobbying from IHRA’s Harm Reduction and Human Rights (HR2) team and the Open Society Institute (OSI).
In May 2009, Anand Grover – the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health – paid a visit to Poland to assess service provision in terms of sexual health, HIV and harm reduction, and their impact on the right to health. Following a series of field visits and meetings, Mr. Grover raised a number of concerns including the lack of available methadone maintenance treatment. He also noted that some practices in Poland restrict access to treatments. In October 2009, IHRA and OSI submitted a briefing to the CESCR that urged Poland to improve access to opioid substitution therapies. The briefing highlighted Poland's obligations under Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which recognises “the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health”.
In its concluding observations, the CESCR stated that “The Committee is concerned at reports that only a small number of drug users have access to substitute drug dependence treatment, and that such treatment is even more limited for those in detention... The Committee calls on the State party to adopt measures to ensure that effective treatment of drug dependence is made accessible to all, including to those in detention”. The CESCR went on to express concern at “reports of limited access to treatment by HIV patients, particularly among drug users, and at the absence of information on provision of treatment following the closing of the above-mentioned programme” and recommended that the Polish Government “take measures to ensure that treatment and care be available to and accessible by persons living with HIV/AIDS”.
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