Tag: Milutin Milošević

5-5-5 – We Won’t Be Left Behind!

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During the AIDS 2024 Conference (Munich, July 21st-July 25th), the European Harm Reduction Network (Correlation), the European AIDS Treatment Group (EATG) and AIDS Action Europe (AAE), hosted the 5-5-5 Networking Zone at the conference’s Global Village.

The aim of the 5-5-5 zone was to address gaps and solutions in achieving the UNAIDS 2030 95% targets and propose strategies to reach the remaining 5%. It focused on horizontal and integrated approaches and how to address the multiple needs that people from the most affected and inadequately served populations face.

The three organisations arranged a diverse series of talks, networking opportunities, mutual learning sessions, and presentations. A blend of intimately personal life stories and the sharing of research results resulted in an engaging environment over the 5 days of the Global Village.

Each day focused on a different theme: HIV & Mobility, Sex-Positive Approaches, Well-Being and Quality of Life, Drugs and Harm Reduction and Blind Spots in the HIV response.

C-EHRN hosted the day program dedicated to Drugs and Harm Reduction, which included a Round Table on the Advocacy Strategy of the BOOST Project. This event was moderated by Katrin Schiffer (C-EHRN), Ganna Dovbakh (EHRA), Tuukka Tammi (THL), Aleksei Lakhov (EuroNPUD) and DPNSEE Executive Director Milutin Milošević.

Milutin presented advocacy priorities in South East Europe and activities we take in the region, and emphasizes cooperation between four European networks working on drug policy.

The evidence is clear: invest in prevention

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DPNSEE Executive Director Milutin Milošević participated in the Conference organised by the Office for Combating Drugs in Serbia, on the ocassion of the World Drug Day. The Conference was dedicated to prevention, but other issues related to drugs were also tackled.

Milutin presented work of the Civil Society Forum on Drugs, the expert advisory group of the European Commission. DPNSEE is member of the Forum and chairs the Working Group 4 Emerging issues on drug policies.

He presented the activities realised in the three-year mandate of the Forum, emphasizing those where DPNSEE were fully involved or took the lead:

  • Position Paper on Alternatives to Coercive Sanctions
  • Contribution from the Civil Society Forum on Drugs to enhance the gender perspective into EU DRUG policy
  • Position paper | People who use drugs and mental health
  • EU – Western Balkans Dialogue
  • Position Paper on Decriminalisation

Milutin also presented CSFD communication with the ECMDDA (in a few days to be the European Union Drug Agency) on their new mandat that will include more opportunities for cooperation with and support to the civil society.

Irena Molnar, from our member organisation Re Generation, presented their work on collecting Serbia’s input to the European Drug Report.

Slovenian conference on addiction treatment

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Our colleagues from the South Eastern European Adriatic Addiction Treatment Network organised the 11th Slovenian conference on addiction treatment. The Conference also included the 9th National Symposium “Hepatitis C virus infection and drug users”.

The conference was held in Ljubljana on 16 and 17 May 2024. Doctors and other involved medical staff had participated.

The conference agenda included a variety of interesting issues. A significant section was dedicated to treatment of children and adolescents using drugs.

During the session on international activities, DPNSEE Executive Director presented work of the Network, situation with harm reduction in the region, importance of civil society involvement and news from the Civil Society Forum on Drugs.

Advanced role of the civil society

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On 30 June 2023, the European Parliament and Council of the EU published a regulation which revises the existing mandate of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), in order to keep pace with an ever more complex and rapidly changing drug phenomenon. This regulation entered into force on 1 July 2023. The EMCDDA will become the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) on 2 July 2024, the day on which the regulation enters into application.

The new mandate grants the agency considerably more power to perform the tasks needed to address current and future challenges related to illicit drugs. With this more proactive remit, adapted to the current reality, the new EUDA will be better equipped to support the EU and its Member States in addressing emerging issues in this field. This will take place in three key areas: monitoring, preparedness and competence development for better interventions.

The new mandate also includes better cooperation and “co-creating” of EUDA and the civili society organisations.

The agency is currently in a transition period to prepare to implement the new mandate in 2024. As part of that transition process, DPNSEE Executive Director was today with the CSFD Core Group colleagues at the EMCDDA to discuss future cooperation with the civil society. Several other CSFD member organisations’ representatives participated online.

This was the first meeting, where a lot of interesting ideas were thrown at the table. The process will continue throughout this year.

More about the new EUDA mandate is avalable following this webpage>>>.

 

Heated discussion about cannabis regulation

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DPNSEE Executive Director Milutin Milošević participated in a TV debate about decision of the German parliament to lealise cannabis. Besides clarifying different aspects of that decision and informing about other modalities injurisdictions around the world, Milutin had to insist of some clear information about cannabis regulation and legal mechanisms for potential discussion and taking similar decision in Serbia.

The video from the debate (in Serboan) is available following the link bellow.

 

Eliminate Violence Against Women Who Use Drugs

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The Drug Policy Network Southe East Europe organised a meeting dedicated to eliminating violence against women who use drugs on Friday 8 December 2023 in the Palace of Serbia, in Belgrade, with the support from the Office for Combating Drugs of the Government of Serbia. It was the opportunty to share thoughts and experiences in working on this important issue.

Participants came from several intitutions, including ministries on human and minority rights and social dialogue and health, the Institute for Public Health and UNODC representatives for South East Europe, and civil society organisations.

Ivana Joksimović, the Assistant Minister for human rights and social dialogue spoke about human rights of marginalised and discriminated communities. Milutin Milošević, the DPNSEE Executive Director presented the EVAWUD campaign to eliminate violence against women and gender diverse people who use drugs and presented some results from recent surveys published by DPNSEE.

Irena Molnar from ReGeneration shared about their program on improving the competencies of employees in social protection through examples of activities aimed at working with women who have survived violence and are drug users and young people at risk. Nebojša Djurasović from Prevent, the DPNSEE President, presented their experiences in working with the shelter for sex workers in Novi Sad.

The discussion showed a shared determination to continue fostering and protecting human rights of women and gender diverse people who use drugs in Serbia.

Quality Assurance for Drug Use Disorder Treatment Systems

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The Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section (PRTS) of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), with the support fom the Ministry of Health of Serbia, organised a three-day Training on Quality Assurance for Drug Use Disorder Treatment Systems. The aim of this training was to help stakeholders to review national drug use disorder treatment systems, identify gaps and develop plans that will enable the improvement and further development of the national treatment system.

25 participants came from specialised hospitals for treating addictions of pcychiatric hospitals from around the country, institute for public health, institute for mental health, centres for social work and ministry of health. DPNSEE Executive Director Milutin Milošević and representative from Izlazak represented the civil society organisations.

The program of the training was developed following the International standards for the treatment of drug use disorders, prepared by UNODC and the World Health Organisation. A translated version of the Standards was presented and shared during the training.

Trainers Victor Anthony Capoccia (USA) and Thomas Clausen (Norway) were supported by UNODC staff Christina Gamboa-Riano and Žana Glavendekić, Project Officer, UNODC South-Eastern Europe.

A chapter on drugs in the PrEUgovor Alarm Report

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The Coalition prEUgovor, consisting of seven civil society organizations from Serbia with expertise in various policies under chapters 23 and 24 of the European Union accession negotiations, held a conference on 22 May 2023 to celebrate 10 years of their work. Mission of the prEUgovor is to oversee the implementation of policies in the field of judiciary and fundamental rights (Chapter 23) and Justice, freedom and security (Chapter 24) and propose measures to improve the reforms, using the process of EU integration to achieve substantial progress in the further democratization of Serbia.

PrEUgovor published their jubilee 20th Alarm Report. For the first time, it includes section on drugs. This chapter was prepared by DPNSEE Executive Director Milutin Milošević.

To Alarm Report is available in English following this link>>> and in Serbian following this link>>>.

A quiet CND

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The 66th session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) was held between 13th and 17th March in hybrid format with much broader in-person participation than in the past two years. Chaired by the Colombian Ambassador Miguel Camino Ruiz Blanco, it was also the first ever CND session that was recorded on UN Web TV. Positively, a wide number of civil society organisations attended, with 135 NGOs registered, and more than 570 NGO participants following the debates both online and in person.

In a way, the CND was quiet and without many sparkles, but some statements indicate that the next one will be very intense.

As in previous years, the session was marked by ongoing clashes between more progressive member states, and those that continue to promote a war on drugs approach, resulting in new tensions and contradictions hampering the so-called ‘Vienna consensus’. This was clearly felt during the fractious negotiations of the 5 draft resolutions tabled for this CND session.

For the first time in recent history, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk addressed the CND, which is an important historical development in itself. Recognising that ‘if drugs destroy lives, the same can also be true of drug policies’, Mr. Türk called for ‘transformative change’ in the global approach to drugs.

The call for change was explicitly echoed by Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health. After restating the known fact that criminalisation aggravates stigma and discrimination against people who use drugs, the Special Rapporteur urged States to ‘End prohibition, decriminalize drug use or the possession, purchase, or cultivation of drugs for personal use and other related activities; and introduce appropriate regulations’. Other clear and open challenges to the global drug control regime were voiced by Member States.

But if the 66th CND session witnessed some open challenges to the UN drug control regime, the status quo stroke back. At least 14 countries took the floor to express concern over the legal regulation of cannabis and the resulting contravention of the UN drug conventions. In contrast with

It was another record-breaking year for side events at this year’s CND, with 155 taking place in total, up 21 from last year. In contrast to last year, where side events remained entirely online, the 66th session saw the majority of its side events take place in-person or in a hybrid setting. Only 20 side events took place solely in an ‘online setting’, which meant that in-person attendance for events was extremely high, including from UN diplomats.

DPNSEE President Nebojša Djurasović, Board Member Marios Atzemis, Executive Director Milutin Milošević and several other member organisations’ representatives participated in the event. For the first time, DPNSSE participated in the meeting in full capacity as an ECOSOC-accredited NGO.

In addition to very useful meetings with UNODC representatives, especially Ms. Fariba Soltani and Gorica Popović (including sharing about the implementation of the project for refugees from Ukraine) and colleagues from the Rome Consensus 2.0 (Marios spoke at their side event “A global call for deflection: as the new policy on policing and drugs”), Milutin participated in events organised by the EU Civil Society Forum on Drugs.

 

A visit to UNODC Office in Belgrade

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DPNSEE President Nebojša Đurasović, Executive Director Milutin Milošević and Director of the Timok Youth Centre Goran Radisavljević visited Ms Žana Glavendekić, the Regional Project Officer for Drug Demand Reduction.

It was a good opportunity to share about our activities in the region of South East Europe, and to present the “Emergency support for the provision of HIV and Harm Reduction services among key populations in Ukraine and refugees in selected neighbouring countries” project that is just about to start with the support of the UNODC Regional Programme Office for Eastern Europe.