Sixtieth session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs was held in Vienna, Austria from 13-17 March 2017. It has been a session with the record number of participants and side events. Around 100 side events and numerous exhibitions were held during the session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, which was attended by more than 1,500 people representing Member States, civil society, academia and international organizations.
The main topic of the discussions at the CND was focused on the implementation of last year’s UNGASS outcome document and planning for the upcoming review of the 2009 Political Declaration and Plan of Action in 2019.
A resolution by countries in Eastern Europe directed to promote community, family and school-based prevention approaches and strategies was adopted. The resolution took an extensive standpoint on prevention, including the role of risk factors, the importance of families and communities in prevention and the need for culturally fitting, multi-component interventions to prevent drug use.
After the discussion at the plenary the Member States decided to schedule a number of New Psychoactive Substances and some precursors that are used in the production of the opioid Fentanyl, which caused a large number of overdoses in the USA and Eastern Europe in recent years.
Among other things discussed were a resolution to prevent HIV /AIDS and other blood borne diseases, principles for Alternative Development and the harms of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS).
Drug Policy Network South East Europe was first time present at the UN premises in Vienna, formally as part of the Diogenis delegation, supported by the EU project. It was a good opportunity to network with our peers from civil society organisations (including preparatory meeting organized by the IDPC and VNGOC meeting), to meet with representatives of the formal national delegations (Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, among others), and to hear a lot of good experiences at the side events.
Youth activists from member organizations of the DPNSEE, HOPS from Macedonia and Re Generation from Serbia, had presentations in the side event organized by the Youth Organisations for Drug Action (YODA) and Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe in the first year that YODA was present with the ECOSOC status. Side event was focused on the topic related to “Protecting the rights of young people in the areas related to drugs and drug policy, under international regulations” with aim of highlighting the real difficulties young people face under current drug policies.
A good insight in the Commission meeting can be found at the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) blog.
DPNSEE established recently contact with the organisation NEOstart from Belgrade – the centre for criminal prevention and post-penal assistance. Most of the people they support also have a problem with drugs and their experiences in the process of re-socialisation are interesting. As result of the project “Be literate – change”, prepared for the young people who leave detention and rehabilitation centres, NEOstart prepared the Guidelines which were promoted on 28 February 2017.
The Working Group of the Ministry of Health of Serbia proposed changes to the Law on Psychoactive Controlled Substances. This law has long been announced, as part of the obligations that Serbia has in the process of accession to the European Union, specifically covered by Chapter 24 of the negotiations. The draft is disappointing and restricting instead of proposing active and modern solutions. The public debate was badly prepared and led, with not proper timely information and draft being publicly shared after the debate started.
DPNSEE and its member organisations, together with a few other interested civil society organisations, communicated, met and prepared a comprehensive set of comments that were sent to the Ministry. We also held a press conference and were guests on three TV stations and national radio, and the news about the proposals we made was also in other electronic and social media. The cooperation with partner organisations was very fruitful, and can be a good basis for future partnerships and actions.
Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Serbia, in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), organised the conference about the sustainable development goals on 21 February 2017. DPNSEE, Prevent and Re Generacija were among 200 participants of this widely promoted event. The aim of the conference was to introduce the 17 proposed UN sustainable development goals to the civil society organisations working with young people and international trends in their implementation. Most of the conference was spent on promotions of different international and national organisations. Nebojša Đurasović was one of the few people who got an opportunity to speak and he commented very openly the presentation and work of the Ministry of Health. The conference was also an opportunity to meet representatives from different institutions and other CSO organisations.
The Office for Combating Drugs and the Office for cooperation with the Civil Society of the Republic of Serbia organised the first sectorial meeting with the representatives of the Ministry of Interior and the Department for prevention of narcomania and combating drug trafficking of the Directorate of Police on 2 February 2017. More than 40 representatives of various CSOs participated, including DPNSEE, Prevent and Re Generacija. The meeting was intended for sharing information and establishing contacts. The police representatives were more oriented to focusing the discussion on prevention and taking restrictive, repressive position and most of the CSO representatives also came from the prevention sphere. All our representatives took floor and indicated the need for new approach to drug issue.
On the 22nd February Dana Beal, an American social and political activist, best known for his efforts to legalize marijuana and to promote the benefits of Ibogaine as an addiction treatment, visited office of DPNSEE. The main topics discussed was use of Ibogain in treatment off the addiction but also Parkinson disease. Through the discussion Dana presented the ibogain as the only substance-abuse treatment that regenerates neuron damaged by drugs and several other benefits of it, underlining that there is no potential for abuse of it.
We discussed the issue of difficulties for introducing this treatment in Serbia, since the Ibogaine is being on the list of Illicit and controlled substances in Republic of Serbia as psychotropic substance that can cause severe damage of the health of the people. The discussion led to explanation that the certain private clinic in Serbia that treat addictions are using the Ibogaine method as a treatment. We closely looked at the law and what concluded that there is inconsistencies in the interpretations of the law that gives space for the treatment.
Mreža za politike prema drogama otvara dva volonterka mesta u okviru projekta “Jačanje kapaciteta nevladinih organizacija i promocija politike prema drogama u jugoistočnoj Evropi koja je zasnovana na javnom zdravlju i ljudskim pravima”, finansiranim od strane EU.
U okviru ovogodišnjeg volonterskog programa DPNSEE će angažovati volontere kratkoročno na dve pozicije. Profili volontera nisu strogo određeni ali bi bilo poželjno da se prijavite ako ste student (ili svršeni student) humanističkih, organizacionih, socijalnih ili političkih nauka, prava ili medicine. Obavezno je znanje engleskog jezika, a znanje drugih jezika regione je prednost
Trajanje volonterskog staža neće biti duže od 3 meseca, a obim poslova podrazumeva angažman od 10 do 12 sati nedeljno.
Ova mogućnost volontiranja prilika je za sticanje znanja, veština i iskustava u oblasti politike prema drogama zasnovanje na principima ljudskih prava i javnog zdravlja, ne samo u Sbiji već u regionu jugoistočne Evrope. Na taj način aktivno se uključuje u društvene procese i razvoj humanijeg i ravnopravnijeg demokratskog društva jednakih mogućnosti.
Volonter/ka 1: Izrada Rečnika pojmova
Rečnik pojmova (glossary) će biti abecedni spisak termina koji se koriste u oblasti politike prema drogama, sa definicijama. On će sadržati objašnjenja pojmova i termina koji se koriste kada se govori o droge ali i drugim bliskim oblastima i sličnim pitanjima.
Rečnik treba da služi pre svega organizacijama članicama tako što će pomoći u procesu usklađivanja mišljenja i stavova. Nadalje, ovaj materijal će koristiti širi spektar grupa ljudi, uključujući donosioce odluka, kreatore politika, interesnih grupa, aktivista, medija, policije, sudstva i druge.
U toku marta i aprila 2017. godine, očekujemo da se volonter/ka angažuje na sakupljanju i popisu termina u prvoj etapi formiranja rečnika.
Volonter/ka 2: Uspostavljanje Resursnog centra
Resursni centar Mreže za politike prema drogama Jugoistočne Evrope će imati ulogu da služi zajednici organizacija građanskog društva Jugoistočne Evrope. On ima za cilj da poboljša rad, omogući i doprinese razmeni informacija, resursa i iskustava između nevladinih organizacija, njihovih partnera i lokalnih organizacija, dodatno obezbeđuje korisne obuke, praktične informacije i usluge. Ona takođe ima za cilj da ojača odnose i unapredi dijalog između nevladinih organizacija i drugih aktera, u oblastima vezanim za politike prema drogama, ljudskih prava i javnog zdravlja.
U toku marta i aprila 2017. godine, očekujemo da se volonter/ka angažuje na sakupljanju podataka za kreiranje baze u oblasti politike prema drogama, ljudskih prava i javnog zdravlja u jugoistočnoj Evropi.
Volonterima će biti obezbeđeno:
· uslovi za rad u kancelariji Mreže
· refundaciji mesečnih troškova prevoza
· učešće na treningu iz oblasti politike prema drogama koji Mreža organizuje krajem aprila
· potvrda o obavljenom volontiranju
Početak volonterskog staža planiran je za 1. mart 2017. godine.
Prijave slati na elektronsku adresu office@dpnsee.org do 24. februara 2017. godine. Prijava treba da sadrži kratko motivaciono pismo (do 200 reči) i biografiju kandidata.
Najuspešniji kandidati biće pozvani na intervju koji će biti održan 28. februara u prostorijama Mreže za politike prema drogama u jugoistočlnoj Evropi, Dr Aleksandra Kostića 14/6, u Beogradu.
Mreža za politike prema drogama jugoistočne Evrope vas poziva na konferenciju za medije povodom predstavljanja stavova organizacija civilnog društva o Nacrtu Zakona o izmenama i dopunama Zakona o psihoaktivnim i kontrolisanim supstancama (Zakon o PKS) koja će se održati u EU info centru, u sredu 01. februara 2017. godine od 11 do 12 časova (Kralja Milana 7, Beograd).
Ministarstvo zdravlja objavilo je Nacrt Zakona o izmenama i dopunama Zakona o PKS 26. decembra 2016. godine a javna rasprava o ovom predlogu trajala je do 20. januara 2017. godine. Organizacije građanskog društva angažovane na politici prema drogama pozdravile su inicijativu za izmene i dopune Zakona, ali su veoma nezadovoljne načinom na koji je (u potpunoj tajnosti) predlog pripremljen, traljavom organizacijom javne rasprave i ograničenim rešenjima koje izmene predlažu.
Jedan broj organizacija građanskog društva predložio je mnogo širi spektar izmena i poziva na korenite promene politike prema drogama zasnovane na principima javnog zdravlja i ljudskih prava.
Na konferenciji ćete pored ostalog čuti naše mišljenje o temama kao što su:
šta zapravo nude predložene izmene Zakona a šta ne?
da li je ozbiljno izmene Zakona doneti po hitnom postupku ili treba sprovesti ozbiljan i kvalitetan proces i kako on treba da izgleda?
da li i kako dekriminalizovati droge? koja je uloga organizacija građanskog društva u pomoći osobama koje koriste psihoaktivne supstance i kako im omogućiti da tu ulogu sprovedu?
šta je Sistem ranog upozoravanja i koja je njegova uloga u prevenciji upotrebe novih prihoaktivnih supstanci?
kako zakon o PKS utiče na mlade, da li i koju ulogu oni treba da imaju u donošenju odluka?
da li je legalizacija lekova na bazi kanabisa već moguća i kako to omogućiti ljudima kojima su ti lekovi potrebni?
da li i kako urediti proizvodnju lekova od kanabisa?
u kojoj meri je moguće dobiti potpune informacije o zaplenjenim drogama?
kako preduprediti pojave predoziranja?
kako jezik koji koristimo doprinosi stigmatizaciji i marginalizaciji osoba koje koriste droge?
Na konferenciji će govoriti:
Milutin Milošević – Izvršni direktor Mreže za politike prema drogama u jugoistočnoj Evropi
Dr Hajrija Mujović Zornić – Podpredsednik udruženja pravnika za medicinsko i zdravstveno pravo Srbije
Bojan Arsenijević – Koordinator za treninge i izgradnju kapaciteta, NVO Re Generacija
Ovim putem želeli bi da vas pozovemo da prisustvujete ovom događaju, kao i da potvrdite vaše prisustvo na office@dpnsee.org, zbog ograničenog broja mesta do 01. 02. 2017. do 10 časova.
Za više informacija možete se obratiti Ireni Molnar na e-mail adrese office@dpnsee.org, ili irena.molnar@dpnsee.org, ili na telefon 061/6951243.
Ovaj materijal je izrađen uz pomoć Evropske unije. DPNSEE je jedini odgovoran za sadržinu ovog događaja i on ni na koji način ne odražava stavove Evropske unije.
In Belgrade, on 26 December 2016, almost secretly, public debate on the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on psychoactive controlled substances was organised by Working Group of the Ministry of Health. This law has long been announced, as part of the obligations that Serbia has in the process of accession to the European Union, specifically covered by Chapter 24 of the negotiations.
The Ministry of Health, in consultations with various relevant institutions, hopes that the amendments will result in better organization and quality of work of all ministries involved: health, education, internal affairs, labour, defence, youth and sport, culture, justice, agriculture, public administration and local self-government, finance (customs), as well as numerous organizations, institutes competent for public health and other interested organizations.
The discussion was not organized in the right manner, whatsoever. On the one hand the event involved a number of members of the working group for drafting the document. It was attended by several members of various patient organizations and organizations fighting for legalization of cannabis for medical purposes. Their aggressive discussions largely focused the discussion to the issue of cannabis. Several other participants, including DPNSEE representatives, insisted on a holistic approach, but we remained the minority. Also, DPNSEE asked that the drafts of accompanying documents should also be made available to the public (medical and other protocols, etc.).
Presentations and discussions on the proposed draft law will be further organised and in:
• Novi Sad, 10 January 2017, from 10:00 to 14:00 pm in the great hall of the Assembly of AP Vojvodina, the official entrance, Banovinski passage, Novi Sad;
• Kragujevac, 18 January 2017, from 10:00 to 13:00 pm in Assembly Hall of the City of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Trg Slobode 3
All interested citizens and professional are invited to participate in the public debate, by submitting suggestions and comments electronically to the following e-mail address: javna.rasprava.pks@zdravlje.gov.rs or in writing to the Ministry of Health, Department of Medicine and Medical assets psychoactive controlled substances and precursors, Belgrade, Nemanjina 22-26, stating: “For a public hearing on the Draft Law on amendments to the Law on psychoactive controlled substances.”
DPNSEE and member organisations Prevent and Re Generacija, in consultations with various partners, will deeply analyse the draft law, comment is and propose improvements.
Long waited visit to Turkey happened the last few days of 2016. MIlutin Milošević, Executive director DPNSEE and Thanasis Apostolou, director of Diogenis, visited Istanbul from 27 to 30 December. Unfortunately, there were no time to visit other cities, especially Gaziantep and Izmir which are known for their work in the field of addiction.
Thanks to the excellent co-operation with the Green Crescent of Turkey and the dedicated assistance of Ms Rukiye Deniz staff member responsible for foreign affairs we set up a programme for 3 days. We also got support from the TACSO Turkey team in establishing contacts with few local civil society organisations.
DPNSEE and Diogenis representatives with Mr. Gökhan Dinç
Our first meeting was with Mr. Gökhan Dinç director of Project department of the Green Crescent. This organisation has a leading role in Drug Policy making in the country and has 40 branches (even outside of Turkey) and 101 representative agencies in Turkey, engaging more than 30.000 volunteers. Drug issue came high on the list of priorities since 2014 when the new Strategy and Action Plan were adopted.
Treatment of addiction is a responsibility of the ministry of health and is provided through the Alcohol-Substance Addiction Research, Therapy and Education Centres (AMATEMs) and psychiatric clinics of public hospitals. Opioid substitution treatment (OST) exist since 2010. Harm reduction services are non-existent, but they claim that if the numbers keep growing, they will turn more to harm reduction services.
Drug possession is crime. Those who violated the law can choose to go to prison or treatment. In 2014, number of imprisoned persons in Turkey was 167.308, and estimation for 2016 are that it will raise to more than 180.000 people. Green Crescent advocates that possession will no longer be a crime.
AMATAM creative workshop
In one of the Amatams, we met with Dr. Rabia Bilici explained that they are treating in their centre a variety of patients: children, adolescents and adults. Opiate users are often probation clients. Staff includes doctors, psychologists, nurses, social workers, professional orientation, all equally involved in work. They use suboxone in their treatments.
The Counselling centre (YEDAM) is a Green Crescent institution in a neighbourhood of Istanbul. The centre provides information and social and psychological support to individuals and families who face problems with alcohol and drugs. The centre is a new established institution that started working in 2015. A second centre was opened in 2016. Ms Gülsüm Melike Şimşek director of the centre informed us about their work. The centre fulfills an essential task in preventive and protecting services. The modern facilities of the centre, the information leaflets and the professional approach to drug use and addiction make a very good impression.
BEMEV (Bağımlılığı Engelleme Mücadele ve Eğitim Vakfı) is an initiative of scholars and professionals in the field of Alcohol and drugs who are working as volunteers for the aims of the foundation. The foundation is focusing on preventive activities, organises lectures and open public discussions, publishes brochures with information and is advocating for a consistent national strategy. Their main concern is the youth. They are promoting the idea that education about addictive substances in schools is necessary and contributes essentially in preventing young people to use drugs.
We had an interesting discussion with a number of young men and women of the Narcotics Anonymous group in Istanbul. NA have 18 different meeting points in the city. They pointed out that one of the main problems they face is the communication with the police and the bad experience they have with police approach of drug users. Another important issue that they face is the lack of recognition of their group by the responsible authorities; they have ideas how to deal with addiction, but are not consulted. They stressed the importance of the self- support, the free choice and the personal responsibility of their members.
BAYEV started in 2014 as a rehabilitation initiative in one of the municipalities of Istanbul. We met in their office with Ms Nurşah Alagöz and a staff member. They are helping people with drug addiction problems. In our discussion, they pointed out that the issue of drug use and addiction is only recently recognized as a social problem. They claim that 600 people died from overdose in 2016 and that number of users raised to 2 million. Drugs are problem of the young generation.
With young activists of Bayder
BAYDER is an organisation that conducts faith-based prevention and rehabilitation activities. We met with Dr Mustafa Kemal Özsoy the leader of the organisation and had afterwards a discussion with the coordinator of the project and members of the group that is in treatment. The initiative started 3 years ago. The treatment they receive is free and strongly based on mutual support and the good relationship with the family. The recovery program is an essential part of the activities.
The Human resource and development Foundation is a leading non-profit, non- governmental organization in Turkey established in 1988. The aim of the foundation is to promote reproductive health and family planning education, information, training and services as well as the empowerment of the human resource. They have, during the past period, developed and implemented projects including Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV/AIDS. The attitude of the Turkish government towards the work in the field of STI’s, HIV and AIDS is rather reserved. The National HIV Committee haven’t had a meeting for 8 years! Turkey has transitioned from Global Fund support to a government-supported program. Number of infected grows – in 2015 there were 2.500 new cases registered. Unfortunately the Human resource and development Foundation is not any more involved in the field, of HIV/AIDS and drugs, but is open to contacts with our organisations and willing to help with advice where they can.
Social Policies, Gender Sexual orientation studies Association (SPoD) is a national non-governmental LGBT organization in Turkey, founded in 2011. The Association works for equality and human rights (economic, legal, political) for LGBT people. Although the Association does refer to drugs as an area of their work we met with Neçip Varan who is very well informed about drugs, drug dependence and Harm reduction. Naçip has a rich experience in the field of drugs due to work that he has done in several countries. Drugs and HIV/AIDS is also an issue in the LGBT population and SPoD is interested in this this field. SPoD participates in the regional project of the EU that is developing and implementing a similar initiative of co-operation of organisations in SEE like our Drug Policy Network SEE.
The visit of December was a good start of our relationship with Turkish institutions and non-governmental organisation. These were three very interesting days establishing contacts and speaking with people with whom we can co-operate in the future.
