Contact
Search

Stay informed with periodic news about the Public Health Program and related activities. Archive

Drug Control, Criminalization, and Global Health

A Conversation with UN Special Rapporteur Anand Grover

Audio:
Location: OSI-New York
Event Date: October 26, 2010
Speakers: Anand Grover, Daniel Wolfe, Joseph Amon

In his latest report, UN Special Rapporteur Anand Grover finds that the current international drug control regime is damaging the health and human rights of people who use drugs. Criminalization and excessive law enforcement practices undermine public health initiatives, perpetuate stigma, and increase health risks to which entire
populations—not only those who use drugs—may be exposed.

The Special Rapporteur's report (available below) recommends that governments decriminalize drug use and possession and adopt harm reduction services for people who use drugs. The report also calls on UN drug control agencies to take a human rights-based approach to drug control.

The Open Society Foundations and Human Rights Watch present a moderated discussion with the Special Rapporteur on the recommendations of his report.

Speakers

  • Anand Grover, UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
  • Joseph Amon, Director, Health and Human Rights Division, Human Rights Watch
  • Daniel Wolfe, Director, International Harm Reduction Development Program, Open Society Foundations

 

back to the top of the page
Related Information

Former Polish President Calls for Drug Law Liberalization
December 2010
Initiated by Krytyka Polityczna, an Open Society Foundations grantee, a number of prominent public figures, including former Polish president Aleksander Kwasniewski and sociologist Zygmunt Bauman, have called for liberalizing Polish drug laws.

Setting the Record Straight on Motherhood and Drug Use
Rebecca Tolson
December 16, 2010
blog BLOG  
Pregnant women who use drugs are demonized by lawmakers, the media and society despite little scientific proof of harm to their offspring. What they really need is access to evidence-based, compassionate and non-judgmental care.

Eurasian Harm Reduction Network Launches Hepatitis C e-Resource
December 16, 2010
The Open Society Public Health Program supported the Eurasian Harm Reduction Network to develoop a Hepatitis C e-Resource with materials for patients and their families, clinicians, and advocates.

Breaking the Chains? How Police Practices Are Constraining HIV Efforts
Daniel Wolfe
December 10, 2010
blog BLOG  
The sooner that governments get police out of health care and drug users out of detention, the sooner universal access to HIV prevention and treatment will move from aspiration to reality.

About  |  Initiatives  |  Grants, Scholarships & Fellowships  |  Resource Center  |  Newsroom  |  Site Map  |  About this Site  |  Contact


Creative Commons License
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative License.
©2011 Open Society Foundations. Some rights reserved.