IDPC Special Alert - please sign -The Vienna Declaration: A global call to action for science-based drug policy

 

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. The Vienna Declaration: A Global Call to Action for Science-based Drug Policy In lead up to XVIII International AIDS Conference, scientists and other leaders call for reform of international drug policy and urge others to sign-on 28 June 2010 [Vienna, Austria] – The International AIDS Society, the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy and the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS today launched a global drive for signatories to the Vienna Declaration, a statement seeking to improve community health and safety by calling for the incorporation of scientific evidence into illicit drug policies. The Vienna Declaration is the official declaration of the XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010), the biennial meeting of more than 20,000 HIV professionals, taking place in Vienna, Austria from 18 to 23 July 2010.  The Vienna Declaration describes the known harms of conventional “war on drugs” approaches and states: “The criminalisation of illicit drug users is fuelling the HIV epidemic and has resulted in overwhelmingly negative health and social consequences. A full policy reorientation is needed… Reorienting drug policies towards evidence-based approaches that respect, protect and fulfill human rights has the potential to reduce harms deriving from current policies and would allow for the redirection of the vast financial resources towards where they are needed most: implementing and evaluating evidence-based prevention, regulatory, treatment and harm reduction interventions.” The Vienna Declaration calls on governments and international organizations, including the United Nations, to take a number of steps, including: undertake a transparent review the effectiveness of current drug policies; implement and evaluate a science-based public health approach to address the harms stemming from illicit drug use; scale up evidence-based drug dependence treatment options; abolish ineffective compulsory drug treatment centres that violate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and unequivocally endorse and scale up funding for the drug treatment and harm reduction measures endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations. The Declaration also calls for the meaningful involvement of people who use drugs in developing, monitoring and implementing services and policies that affect their lives. Those wishing to sign on may visit the official website for the Vienna Declaration, where the full text of the declaration is available in Chinese, Dutch, English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish, along with a list of authors. The two-page declaration references 28 reports, describing the scientific evidence documenting the effectiveness of public health approaches to drug policy and the negative consequences of approaches that criminalize drug users. About AIDS 2010 The XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010) is the biennial meeting of researchers, implementers and diverse leaders involved in the global response to HIV. It is convened by the IAS in partnership with international, regional and local partners. Click here for more information and to register for the conference, which is taking place from 18 to 23 July 2010 in Vienna, Austria. International AIDS Society   The International AIDS Society is the world's leading independent association of HIV professionals, with 14,000 members from 190 countries working at all levels of the global response to AIDS. Our members include researchers from all disciplines, clinicians, public health and community practitioners on the frontlines of the epidemic, as well as policy and programme planners. International Centre for Science in Drug Policy   ICSDP aims to be a primary source for rigorous scientific evidence on illicit drug policy in order to benefit policymakers, law enforcement, and affected communities. To this end, the ICSDP conducts original scientific research in the form of systematic reviews, evidence-based drug policy guidelines, and research collaborations with leading scientists and institutions across diverse continents and disciplines. BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS   The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) is Canada’s largest HIV/AIDS research, treatment and education facility. The BC-CfE is based at St Paul’s Hospital, Providence Health Care, a teaching hospital of the University of British Columbia. The BC-CfE is dedicated to improving the health of British Columbians with HIV through developing, monitoring and disseminating comprehensive research and treatment programs for HIV and related diseases. You are receiving this alert either because you signed up at www.idpc.net or because someone has to forwarded it to you. If you have received this alert as a forward and would rather not receive it, please reply to the sender's email address as we can only unsubscribe you if you signed up at www.idpc.net. Unsubscribe mark.haden@vch.ca from this list | Forward to a friend | Update your profile Our mailing address is: International Drug Policy Consortium 124-128 City Road London, London EC1V 2NJ Add us to your address book Copyright (C) 2010 International Drug Policy Consortium All rights reserved.