Human rights, drug policy and HIV

anya sarang

Russia: worst practice of HIV prevention

• HIV epidemic keeps growing, while other countries managed to take it under control

• The most affected group: people who inject drugs

• The government refuses to implement effective prevention and treatment programs known as “harm reduction programs”

harm reduction programs:

• provision of sterile needles and syringes, condoms

• low threshold testing and counseling • opioid substitution therapy for opiate

dependent people• timely and patient-oriented treatment

programs

why block simple and effective interventions?

• stigma of drugs and political fear to challenge it

• fed by repressive drug policies and discourse• International Drug Conventions that frame the

global drug policy are counterproductive:– drug use and availability increases– they rather threat health and public safety, not

protect it– growing epidemics of HIV, hepatitis, overdose, TB

importantly

• criminalization of drug users is a tool to punish people for their poverty and race

• repressive drug policies help governments to mask social and economic disparity and segregation which cause drug problems and blame the victims

progress in 2013

• major drug policy shift through legalization of marijuana in Uruguay and the US

• Report of the Global Commission on Drug Policy:

- decriminalization- revision of drug conventions - prepare for UNGASS-2016

UN human rights bodies should build capacity on drug policy issues

• For Russia for example, several important opportunities were lost due to UN bodies refusal to act upon evidence of clear violations of human rights, including:

- UN Committee against torture- UPR review - UNESCO- Human rights committee

sustain harm reduction and improve access to treatments

• Harm reduction programs shrink in some countries, and in others they do not reach coverage needed to stop the HIV spread among drug users

• Ensure equal access to treatment and medications:– antiretrovirals– hep c DDAs– naloxone

recommendations1. call the world’s governments to repeal criminalization of drug users.

2. provide equal access to treatment programs for people who use currently illegal drugs – including equal access to antiretroviral treatments, new treatments for hep C, naloxone. 3. the UN human rights bodies and agencies should reassess their stigma and bias in relation to drug users and act to protect their rights. 4. push for a major review of the international drug conventions at UNGASS 2016. 5. keep pushing for sustaining and increasing harm reduction services including needle and syringe programs, opioid substitution treatment, peer education and outreach

6. strengthen advocacy, human rights protection and legal support and activism of people who use drugs.