Serbia: una larga batalla por la transparencia en la formulación de políticas

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Serbia: una larga batalla por la transparencia en la formulación de políticas

20 febrero 2018

La próxima reunión entre períodos de sesiones de la Comisión de Estupefacientes se celebrará el 21 de febrero de 2018. Más información, en inglés, está disponible abajo.

Amendments of the law on psychoactive and controlled substances in Serbia. Read about the controversial and not-transparent process of the adoption of the amendments, and the fight of NGOs to be involved.

In the process of harmonisation with EU regulations, and especially in order to organise services more efficiently in the Republic of Serbia, amendments to the Law on Psychoactive and Controlled Substances aim to address the introduction of new organisational units whose role is to provide conditions for implementing effective mitigation measures for harmful consequences of “drug abuse“ as stated by the Ministry of Health.

Amendments to the Law on Psychoactive and Controlled Substances foresee the establishment of a Drug Monitoring Centre, tasked with collecting statistical data related to drug use in the general population, needs for treatment, infectious diseases and mortality associated with drug use, data in drug-related links to crimes, drug seizures, and the drug market. That centre should work closely with EMCDDA, and represents the so-called National Observatory.

The Ministry of Health, in consultations with various governmental institutions working on the document, is/was supposedly hoping – as stated in one of the inviting documents – that the amendments will result in better organisation 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 organisations, institutes responsible for public health, and other interested organisations.