Italian, Brazilian and Argentinian judges in a joint statement say that the war on drugs has overwhelmed the judicial and penitentiary system and benefited organised crime.
2011 will be marked by the ascendancy of emerging countries, tensions between the United States
and China, border clashes, a weak United Nations and the risk of an attack on Iran.
The seventh meeting of the Informal Drug Policy Dialogues in Latin America took place in Montevideo, Uruguay. The first Informal Dialogue also took place in Montevideo in September 2007. The meeting was supported by Uruguay’s National Drug Board (Junta Nacional de Drogas, or JND). The two days of dialogue were divided into four sessions that centered on the following issues: (1) Micro-trafficking and proportionality of sentences; (2) Challenges to reforming drug policies; (3) Marijuana in Latin America: Has the time come to open the debate?; and (4) Options and debates in international and regional organizations. There was also a discussion on the impact of the decriminalization of drug consumption in Portugal.
The seventh meeting of the Informal Drug Policy Dialogues in Latin America took place in Montevideo. And centered on the following issues: Micro-trafficking and proportionality of sentences; Challenges to reforming drug policies; Marijuana in Latin America; and Options and debates in international and regional organizations.
As the U.S. and Europe appear to be headed for a deeper economic crisis, some analysts discern a “decoupling” of East Asia and other developing areas from the western economies.
World Water Week took place in Stockholm this year. Water activists again participated in sessions to ensure that critical voices were heard. Satoko Kishimoto writes about her experiences.
The eighth meeting of the Informal Drug Policy Dialogue series took place in Lisbon on January 21-22, 2011, a joint initiative of Transnational Institute (TNI) and Diogenis, Drug Policy Dialogue in South East Europe that has replaced the Andreas Papandreou Foundation (APF) in co-operation with the Portuguese Institute on Drugs and Drug Addiction (IDT). Over 50 policy makers, practitioners, academics, and representatives from NGOs and governmental organisations attended the meeting, and discussed the Portuguese decriminalisation model, cannabis policy reform, and the agenda and global initiatives at the 54th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
Prior to the Dialogue an Expert Seminar on Threshold Quantities was held in cooperation with the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drugs Addiction (EMCDDA). The issues under discussion were the advantages and disadvantages of threshold quantities as a policy and legislative tool and it was hoped that this seminar would provide a springboard to inform current debate and to assist the elaboration of evidence-based drug law reform proposals now and in the future.
Policy makers, practitioners, academics, and representatives from NGOs and governmental organisations met in Lisbon, and discussed the Portuguese decriminalisation model, cannabis policy reform, and the agenda and global initiatives at the 54th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
The 54th Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) was the first for the new Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Mr. Yury Fedotov, who held his maiden speech.
This IDPC response to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)’s flagship publication, the World Drug Report, provides an overview of the data and topics presented in the Report and where appropriate, within the broader context of the current state of the UN drug control framework, offer a critical analysis of both.
Anniversaries are always good to catalyize drug policy reform activities – and 2011 is very special anniversary. It is the 50th anniversary of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the first international treaty prohibiting (some) drugs. NGOs launched an international campaign to show the world that the war on drugs creates massive costs, resulting from the enforcement-led approach that puts organised crime in control of the trade.
TNI's Water Justice programme is marking this year's UN World Water Day in Cape Town at the GWOPA (Global Water Operator partnerships Alliance) Congress, in the continuing struggle to reclaim public water.
Les Clubs Sociaux du Cannabis (CSC) sont des associations d’usagers qui s’organisent pour s’auto-approvisionner sans avoir recours au marché noir. Profitant de une zone grise juridique, il existe depuis plusieurs années, des clubs privés qui produisent du cannabis pour le distribuer, sans but lucratif et en circuit fermé, à des consommateurs adultes.
Les Clubs Sociaux du Cannabis (CSC) sont des associations d’usagers qui s’organisent pour s’auto-approvisionner sans avoir recours au marché noir. Profitant de une zone grise juridique, il existe depuis plusieurs années, des clubs privés qui produisent du cannabis pour le distribuer, sans but lucratif et en circuit fermé, à des consommateurs adultes.
Dr. Pedro Paez talks about the creation of a new financial architecture in Latin America, based on principles of redistribution, environmental sustainability and social cohesion rather than market principles that dominated the old architecture.
Although initiated as a counter-forum to Davos, the World Social Forum has evolved beyond it now, focusing on the root causes of problems facing humanity and developing real alternatives as solutions.
More than 90 environment, development, human rights, and anti-debt organizations from around the world want the Bank to have no say in setting up this key new tool for helping poor nations address climate change.
Jennifer Franco, Danny Carranza, Joann Fernandez (Rightsnet)
07 October 2011
Article
A Philippines biofuel project would appear to fit the World Bank's definition of a "win-win" scenario with its promise of jobs and conversion of 'idle land'. However a closer look unveils corporate manipulation, political corruption and exploitation of subsistence farmers that typically accompanies so-called "responsible investment"
