IHRA Blog
IHRA’s Sr. Human Rights Analyst, Damon Barrett, at AIDS 2010
27 July 2010
IHRA’s Senior Human Rights Analyst, Damon Barrett , joined experienced scientists, clinicians, researchers and advocates from around the world to serve as a rapporteur for AIDS 2010 in Vienna Austria. His Summary Session was held on 23 July, immediately before the conference’s Closing Session , which featured video messages from US President… Read more
Rights Here, Rights Now! The Global Commission on HIV and the Law
26 July 2010
The Global Commission on HIV and Law , New York, 19 July 2010: Legal frameworks can be powerful tools for countries struggling to control their epidemics. The last three decades have given rise to contentious legal debates on HIV-related issues (e.g.: criminalization of HIV transmission; legal restrictions on needle and syringe distribution in… Read more
World’s leading science journals on drug policy and HIV/AIDS
14 July 2010
Next's week's XVIII International AIDS Conference has inspired a flurry of much anticipated scholarly debate in the world’s leading science journals about drug policy’s impact on HIV/AIDS prevention. From the British Medical Journal : ‘Comment and research: Tackling injecting drug use: Strict laws on the criminalisation of drug use and drug… Read more
Secretary-General appoints Yuri Fedotov of Russian Federation Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime
12 July 2010
UN press release: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Yuri Fedotov (Russian Federation) as the new Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). He succeeds Antonio Maria Costa in that position and as Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV). The… Read more
The Vienna Declaration: A Global Call to Action for Science-based Drug Policy
04 July 2010
In Lead Up to XVIII International AIDS Conference, Scientists and Other Leaders Call for Reform of International Drug Policy and Urge Others to Sign-on 28 June 2010 [Vienna, Austria] – Three leading scientific and health policy organizations today launched a global drive for signatories to the Vienna Declaration , a statement seeking to… Read more
Harm reductionists and lawyers challenge mandatory death penalty in India
25 June 2010
While executions for drugs are taking place in China, the Indian Harm Reduction Network and the Lawyers' Collective have a legal challenge against the mandatory death penalty for drugs in their country June 23, Mumbai: The Bombay High Court admitted a petition challenging the constitutionality of Section 31 A of the Narcotic Drugs and… Read more
New UN drugs tsar must be a leader on human rights, Guardian Comment is Free
25 June 2010
China's likely execution of drug dealers this week should inspire UN to choose a drugs tsar who will avoid complicity in abuses This weekend China will most likely execute dozens of people, and contrary to standard practice, it will make sure everyone knows about it. Why? Because once again it is time to mark the UN’s international day… Read more
Drug cases shoot up 16 percent last year in China, Washington Post
25 June 2010
Bad news in the run up to UN anti-drug day Associated Press, Friday 25 June, 2010 BEIJING -- China says drug cases shot up 16 percent last year from 2008 with courts convicting more than 56,000 people. Chinese courts handled more than 50,000 drug trafficking cases in 2009 and about 17,000 people received severe sentences - from five… Read more
Calls for Russian not to join UN drugs agency, The World Today, ABC Radio
25 June 2010
IHRA's Damon Barrett on ABC radio and ex INCB member Brian Watters disagreeing Apparently its doesn't matter who leads the UN agency responsible for HIV related to injecting drug use. SHANE MCLEOD: The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is being urged to disregard Russia for a key position on the UN drugs agency. An international… Read more
Russia must not be rewarded with key UN drugs post, says the International Harm Reduction Association and HIV/AIDS activists
24 June 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Russia must not be rewarded with key UN drugs post, says the International Harm Reduction Association and HIV/AIDS activists New UN drugs chief must be a leader in human rights and the HIV/AIDS response, says International Harm Reduction Association China expected to carry out public executions on Saturday June 26 to mark… Read more