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The Road to Vienna 2003 and Beyond

TNI
November 2005

 

The Road to Vienna 2003 and Beyond

23-26 October 2003: The Lisbon International Symposium on Global Drug Policy organised by the Senlis Council. During the Workshop International Cooperation on Drug Policy, TNI fellow Martin Jelsma concluded that there was a need for a roadmap for change. A precondition, of course, being political will. The view was taken that change would best be founded on collective action based on ad hoc alliances between like-minded states
(See: Conclusions from Workshop III: International Cooperation on Drug Policy)

At the symposium other interesting papers on UN Drug Control were presented:

20 June 2003: Martin Jelsma presents an analysis of the UNGASS Mid-term Review at the Social Forum in Cartagena (Colombia): Global Trends: Lessons from Vienna
"Alliances have to be constructed rooted in pragmatic approaches and in solidarity with the victims of this War on Drugs on both sides of the spectrum, be they in the North or in the South, consumers or producers. The concepts of ‘co-responsibility’ and a ‘balanced approach’ between demand and supply sides have to be redefined. If countries here in Latin America want to challenge the War on Drugs forced upon them, if they want more leeway to negotiate with farmers, if they want to end forced eradication, they will need to build a bridge with those countries in the North experimenting with less repressive approaches, countries like Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Portugal, etc. Only if such a coalition of like-minded countries could be brought together, and act in a coordinated manner to explore more pragmatica drug policies for both the demand and the supply sides, the UN level might become a useful forum. Only then, a stronger political alliance can enforce a more open-minded debate about current anti-drug strategies and challenge the US hegemony and discourse in this field."

17 April 2003: The outcomes of the 46th CND session and the mid-term review are most disappointing. The absence of significant progress over the past five years has not led to self-reflection and evaluation. The goals and targets of the UNGASS have been simply re-affirmed. Most countries concentrated on a stock taking halfway of the implemented measures, without an honest analysis of the impact these measured have had. The result is a distorted picture of virtual progress in order to justify to stay on the same course. The illusion is kept alive that reality will somehow fall into line with wishful thinking.
See Cracks in the Vienna consensus, TNI Press Release, 17 April 2003.

See also:

8 April 2003: Progress Report by the Transnational Institute as a contribution to the Mid-term (2003) Review of UNGASS: Measuring Progress: Global Supply of Illicit Drugs.
The Executive Director of the UNODC, Mr Antonio Maria Costa, released a progress report, Encouraging progress towards still distant goals [PDF document], as a Contribution to the Mid-term (2003) Review of UNGASS. The report examines whether the international community is on track to reduce illicit drug production, trafficking and abuse. TNI reviewed the UN report and concluded that "While one might agree that the goals are still distant, the conclusion that there is encouraging progress cannot be substantiated on the basis of avail­able evidence. Levels of cultivation of coca and opium poppy as well as the supply of cocaine and heroin have shown fluctuations but the trend seems to be relatively stable. No
indications point at any sustainable decline. The situation regarding the supply of cannabis and synthetic drugs has even deteriorated. Rather than plough on towards what is likely to be failure and humiliation in 2008, the Com­mis­sion on Narcotic Drugs, during the course of this Mid-term Review, might be better ad­vised to reconsider zero-option deadline thinking and start to acknowledge that inter­national drug policy should shift its focus to reducing the harm of drugs for users and society as a whole."
See also:
World Trends in the Production, Trafficking and Consumption of Illicit Drugs, by Cindy Fazey and Charlie Lloyd, Forward Thinking on Drugs Research Paper.
Presentation of Tony White, former chief of the supply reduction and law enforcement section of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), at the panel discussion – What about drug production – held at the Vienna Civic Center on 15 April 2003.

3 April 2003: The influential UK magazine The Economist published an article in its April 3 issue on the UNGASS Mid-term review: The international pressure to keep drugs illegal.
See also the comment: Breaking convention. Time to think again about the rules of engagement in the war on drugs.

28 March 2003: In a press briefing in Brussels, the "Network of European Foundations – Comité des Sages" presented its conclusions for the UN ministerial conference on drug policies, to be held in Vienna in mid-April. A recent
review of international drug policies by the Comité des Sages [PDF document] represented by Raymond Kendall, Honorary Secretary General of Interpol, shows a failure of the US-led "War on Drugs", whose hard-line approach dominates the current UN drug policy framework adopted in 1998. Kendall is confident that European countries "will voice their concerns and make strong demands for policy changes" at the upcoming Vienna UN conference.
Comité des Sages "Arrabida Conclusions" [PDF document]

26 March 2003: Report of the Greek Presidency on the High Level Conference on Drugs.
The report summarises the High Level Conference in Athens, Greece, organised on March 6-8 by the EU Presidency, the European Commission and the EMCDDA under the title "Towards an Effective Policy on Drugs: Scientific evidence, day-to-day practice and policy choices". The aim of the Conference was, among other things, to contribute to the establishment of an EU position at the forthcoming 46th session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) to be held in Vienna from 8 to 17 April 2003 (see under paragraph 3).

20 March 2003:The
UK Home Office minister's is questioned by the Home Affairs Select Committee on the subject of Vienna. Mr Ainsworth: "There is nothing to stop the treaties from being renegotiated. But at the moment the UK Government has no intentions of pursuing that line. Why should we pursue a change in the treaties when they are not preventing us from operating the drugs strategy that we have decided is best for our own country? If it is inhibiting other people, and there is a good case to be made, then we will examine that. There is, I think, a need for clarification. There are a lot of different messages coming out as to what the Conventions do and do not allow. We should be encouraging that clarity."

19 March 2003: The Committee on Citizens' Freedom and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs of the European Parliament approved a recommendation on the reform of the UN Conventions on drugs and the UNGASS Midterm Review. The recommendation will go to the plenary session of the EP now. The recommendation: "Calls on the Council and the EU Member States to begin a process of revising the UN Conventions on the occasion of the conference for the mid-term review of UN drug policies to be held in Vienna in April 2003, with the aim of repealing or amending the 1961 and 1971 Conventions with a view to reclassifying substances and legalise the use of drugs for purposes other than medical or scientific ones, and to repealing the 1988 Convention."
Report: Reform of the conventions on drugs [PDF document]
Assessing the UN Conventions, an interview with Kathalijne Buitenweg, MEP, Rapporteur of the Resolution.

New publication Change of Course. An Agenda for Vienna, Drugs & Conflict 6, March 2003.
The Transnational Institute (TNI) has prepared a special briefing for the mid-term review in Vienna. Read the Press Release.

The briefing will be launched at two major events:

6-8 March 2003: High Level Conference in Athens, Greece, organised by the EU Presidency, the European Commission and the EMCDDA under the title "Towards an Effective Policy on
Drugs: Scientific evidence, day-to-day practice and policy choices". Aims are to overcome obstacles to evidence-based drug policies and to make suggestions for an EU-position for Vienna in April. See:
Greek Presidency website

At the session on Supply Reduction and Law Enforcement which considered the effectiveness of various supply reduction measures, and proposed issues for consideration in the current reviews of policy and programmes at European and international level, Martin Jelsma made a presentation called What do we know about the effectiveness of crop eradication/alternative development, and issues raised to promote effective practice.

Excerpts of the speeches at the conference are available as webcasts: Day 1 and Day 2

A summary of the meeting is presented in the Report of the Greek
Presidency on the High Level Conference on Drugs.

4 March 2003: Hearing in the European Parliament in Brussels under the title "Vienna 2003: A Chance for the world - For Another Drug Policy". The Hearing is organised by the International Coalition of NGO's for a Just and Effective Drugs Policy (ICN). See the website: Vienna 2003: A Chance for the World

Change of Course. An Agenda for Vienna, speech presented by Martin Jelsma at the Public Hearing in the European Parliament on 4 March 2003.
Read the other presentations at the hearing.

26 February 2003: In the Report of the International Narcotics Control Board for 2002 the president of the Board, Dr. Philip O. Emafo from Nigeria, launches a strong attack against groups that advocate legalisation or decriminalisation of drug offences, as well as groups "that favour a crusade" focusing only on harm reduction. Mr. Emafo’s attack reflects how out of touch the president of the INCB is with current developments in inter­national drug control. If anyone is involved in a ‘crusade’ with ‘missionary zeal’, it is Mr. Emafo himself, trying to turn back accepted best practices in countering the adverse effects of problematic drug use. Mr. Emafo gives a completely distorted picture of the political
acceptance of the harm reduction concept.
See: TNI Press Release and The Erratic Crusade of the INCB TNI Drug Policy Briefing 4, February 2003.

The INCB report caused dismay among many governments. The United Kingdom Government
wrote a letter "to record its dismay at comments made in the INCB annual report about the Government's decision to reclassify cannabis. In particular the alarmist language used, the absence of any reference to the scientific evidence on which that decision was based, and the misleading way in which the decision was presented by the INCB to the media." See: Letter by Bob Ainsworth (UK Home Office) to the INCB Secretariat.
See also: Cannabis law sends 'wrong signal', BBC News, 26 February, 2003; and UN attacks Blunkett's new cannabis law, The Guardian, 26 February, 2003.

10 February 2003: The Committee on Citizens' Freedom and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs of the European Parliament is preparing a resolution on the UN Conventions on drugs and the UNGASS Midterm Review. In the working documents the effectiveness of harm reduction strategies is recognized at EU level, but also that the implementation of these alternative strategies is limited by constraints imposed by the UN Convention, since these are based on the logic of eradicating drug abuses by forbidding them. The Committee urges for a serious evaluation of the effectiveness of the implementation of the Conventions and recommends that, should the conclusions of such an evaluation give reason for this, procedures for amending of the 1961 and 1971 Conventions and the repeal of the 1988 Convention should be considered. It also recommends that immediate action should be undertaken to correct major inconsistencies regarding cannabis.
To follow the deliberations see: Committee on Citizens' Freedom and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs
Draft
Report on the UN conventions on drugs [2003/2015(INI)], by the rapporteur Kathalijne Buitenweg,
February 10, 2003.
Working Document on the UN conventions on drugs [PDF document], by the rapporteur Kathalijne Buitenweg, February 4, 2003.
target="_blank">Recommendation on the reform of the conventions on drugs [PDF document], December 23, 2002.

24 January 2003: Mike Trace, the recently appointed new head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime's Demand Reduction Section, resigned for "personal reasons". Trace had been described by the London Daily Mail as a "fifth columnist" because of his open minded approach to drug control reform. Trace's resignation follows pressure from ODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa, the United States and others who support a prohibitionist stance with regard to illicit drugs and were disturbed by Trace's past ties to decriminalization efforts, a former ODC official said. Trace's resignation is reflective of the tensions that still exist in the office between technical experts who favor reform of current treaties on illicit drugs and "career" employees who support the prohibitionist status quo.
See: ODC: Demand Reduction Official Resigns Under Pressure, UN Wire, January 24, 2003

12 December 2002: The Canadian House of Commons Special Committee on Non-medical Use of Drugs released its
final report target="_blank">A Policy for the New Millennium: Working Together to Redefine Canada's Drug Strategy. The report calls for safe injection sites, pilot heroin maintenance programs, decriminalization of cannabis, among other reforms.

December 2002: The president of the INCB, Dr. Philip O. Emafo from Nigeria, has serious reservations against the decriminalisation of the use of cannabis which is currently taking place in Europe. He is also opposed to harm reduction programmes that "promote drug use illicitly through the giving out of needles or through providing rooms for drug abusers to inject themselves without supervision of medical practitioners". In doing so Emafo is dismissing stated UNAIDS objectives, agreed to at the 2001 UNGASS on AIDS: Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AID (SA/RES/S-26/2) {PDF document], at the General Assembly 26th Special Session on HIV/AIDS, June 2001 (article 52).
See: Interview
with Dr. Philip O. Emafo in the ODC newsletter Update, December 2002.

23 November 2002: In April 2003, at the yearly session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the Greek Presidency has to voice the EU position. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Giorgos Papandreu, explains the priorities of the Greek Presidency in an article published in the newspaper ELEFTHEROTYPIA.
Papandreou says that harm reduction and social integration of the users should be the aims of the European drug policy, driven by the scientific evidence and with a view to the effectiveness of the interventions. Regarding the world wide approach to the drug issue, EU should claim for a thorough evaluation of the international treaties, as a first step in seeking new ways to approach drugs.
Read the article: Giorgos A. Papandreou: Aims and Priorities of the Greek EU-Presidency

4 September 2002: Canada's Special Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs concluded, after a two-year study, that cannabis should be legalized. The Committee also recommended that the Government of Canada should instruct the Minister of Foreign Affairs to inform the appropriate United Nations authorities that Canada is requesting an amendment to the conventions and treaties governing illegal drugs.
See: Senate Committee recommends legalization of cannabis

22 May 2002: The House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee in the United Kingdom released its report The Governments Drugs Policy: Is It Working? In the report the Home Affairs Committee
concluded "...we believe the time has come for the international treaties to be reconsidered" and recommended that "...the Government initiates a discussion within the Commission on Narcotic Drugs of alternative ways–including the possibility of legalisation and regulation– to tackle the global drugs dilemma."
See: Reform of UN Drug Conventions on the Agenda, TNI Press Release, May 23, 2002.
To follow the debate in the UK, see: target="_blank">BBC: The Drugs Debate

April 2002: The Brazilian Elisaldo Luiz de Araújo Carlini, head of the Centro Brasileiro de Informações sobre Drogas
Psicotrópicas, and appointed as a member of the International Narcotics Control Board in May 2001, says that he is against legalisation of drugs, but favours decriminalisation of all drugs and a harm reduction approach to drug use. Carlini prefers the Dutch system of coffee-shops over zero-tolerance policies and is also in favour of needle-exchange programmes. These views are in clear contradiction to the position of the INCB. Legalizar drogas não, descriminalizar sim [PDF document], interview with Elisaldo Luiz de Araújo Carlini, Ciência Hoje, April 2002 [in portuguese]

March 2002:From 11-15 March the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) convened in Vienna. At the meeting there was a strong attack against the European practice of 'leniency' regarding cannabis use and possession through an orchestrated attempt to pass a CND resolution to put a dam against the 'leniency'.
See: European Cannabis Policies Under Attack, TNI Briefing, April 2002.
At the CND meeting three of the issues on the agenda might be crucial for the future of international drug policy making. Basic question is whether the CND –as usual– will drown in diplomatic caution and careful consensus seeking, or whether some delegations this time will have the courage to bring to the surface the growing discrepancies between conflicting drug control strategies.
See: TNI Press Release: Important issues at stake at UN drugs commission 8 March 2002.

  

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