EU Civil Society Forum on Drugs calls for more inclusion

The Forum, chaired by Maria Phelan (Harm Reduction International) and Fay Watson (EURAD) is a diverse group of NGOs representing different fields, regions and ideological approaches. It has four working groups. The first, led by Marie Nougier from the International Drug Policy Consortium, is the biggest and busiest. It coordinates institutional relations with the EU – that is, it feeds into the discussions at the Horizontal Working Party on Drugs (HDG), the monthy decision-making forum of the EU Council, where all member states represent themselves. This twenty-member working group has submitted several papers to the HDG, and its recommendations were reflected in the EU's position at the UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs in April, 2016.

The fact that the EU has championed the cause of abolishing the death penalty, as well as harm reduction and access to essential medicines, was partly the result of the intensive advocacy efforts of the CSF, which continues to provide advice to EU member states, both in implementing the UNGASS outcome document, and in preparing for the next big global UN drug policy meeting in 2019. The group is calling for more emphasis on public health, human rights and civil society participation. Issues such as the legal regulation of drugs divide the Forum, which is an ideologically-diverse group of NGOs.

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