Cracks in the Vienna Consensus Briefing
Numerous UN conferences and summits have been devoted to negotiating a harmonized global approach to illicit drugs. Yet more and more cracks are now beginning to appear in the supposedly universal model which is, in reality, based on a highly fragile consensus.
Cracks in the Vienna Consensus Four decades have passed since the first United Nations drug control convention entered into force. Numerous UN conferences and summits have been devoted to negotiating a harmonized global approach to illicit drugs. Yet more and more cracks are now beginning to appear in the supposedly universal model which is, in reality, based on a highly fragile consensus. The failure to counter the ever-growing problems related to the abuse of illicit drugs has led countries to question the validity of current policies and to experiment with approaches less driven by the US-inspired ideology of "zero tolerance" and more rooted in pragmatism. This has led to increasing acceptance of the concept of harm reduction for consumers, where drug use is treated as a public health rather than a law enforcement problem. On the production side, discussion centers on the need to secure alternative livelihoods for involved farmer communities and how to most effectively promote alternative development. |
About the authors
Martin Jelsma
Martin Jelsma is a political scientist who has specialised in Latin America and international drugs policy. In 2005, he received the Alfred R. Lindesmith Award for Achievement in the Field of Scholarship, which stated that Jelsma "is increasingly recognized as one of, if not the, outstanding strategists in terms of how international institutions deal with drugs and drug policy."
In 1995 he initiated and has since co-oordinated TNI's Drugs & Democracy Programme which focuses on drugs and conflict studies with a focus on the Andean/Amazon region, Burma/Myanmar and Afghanistan, and on the analysis and dialogues around international drug policy making processes (with a special focus on the UN drug control system). Martin is a regular speaker at international policy conferences and advises various NGOs and government officials on developments in the drugs field. He is co-editor of the TNI Drugs & Conflict debate papers and the Drug Policy Briefing series.
Pien Metaal
Pien Metaal is a researcher with TNI. She holds a Master of Arts Degree in Political Science and International Relations from University of Amsterdam. She has been a member of the Transnational Institute's Drugs and Democracy team since 2002, though her participation with the Programme dates further back.
She lived in Latin America for several years, spending most of that time in the Andean region. During those years, she dedicated most of her time and energy to research, development and implementation of drug policy, particularly in relation to coca and cocaine, and worked with local and international experts and NGOs. She has written numerous articles, and contributed to various books and publications on the drug policy in Latin America since 1996.
Recent publications from Drugs and Democracy
Human rights and drug policyAn accessible but comprehensive primer on why TNI believes that human rights must be at the heart of any debate on drug control. |
Expert Seminar "Where next for Europe on drug policy reform?"Analysis of the new EU strategy on drugs and its action plan and discussion on ways to improve and innovate European drug policy. |
Working towards a legal coca marketModern use of the coca leaf in Argentina provides a series of examples that could contribute to dispelling many of the myths that have polarized debate about the subject over the last few years. |
Informal Drug Policy Dialogue 2013, WarsawThe tenth meeting of the Informal Drug Policy Dialogue series, organised by the Transnational Institute (TNI) and Association Diogenis, took place in Warsaw, Poland, gathering over 35 NGO representatives, academics, policy makers and practitioners. |
