En esta mesa redonda, que tendrá lugar en Washington DC, se discutirá la reforma de las políticas de drogas con un especial acento en el encarcelamiento de mujeres por delitos relacionados con drogas. Más información, en inglés, está disponible abajo.

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The roundtable discussion will focus on the presentation of a guide on policy reform related to women's incarceration for drug-related crimes.

 Tuesday, February 2, 2016 from10:00 AM to 1:00 PM (EST)

Where: Organization of American States - 17th Street and Constitution Ave Northwest Washington, DC 20006

: Inter-American Commission of Women - CIM

Established in 1928, the Inter-American Commission of Women is the only hemisperic policy forum on women's rights and gender equality in the Americas.

Click here to view and register for the event.

Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert.

Mujeres, políticas de drogas y encarcelamiento

El problema mundial de las drogas y cómo abordarlo será el tema principal de una importante audiencia parlamentaria que tendrá lugar en la sede de las Naciones Unidas en Nueva York. Más información, en inglés, está disponible abajo.

The world drug problem and how to address it will be the focus of a major parliamentary hearing at the United Nations in New York on 8-9 February. Hundreds of MPs from around the world will attend the event, which will be opened by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, IPU President Saber Chowdhury, UN General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft, and UN Office on Drugs and Crime Executive Director Yuri Fedotov.

The hearing, “The World Drug Problem: Taking Stock and Strengthening the Global Response”, will review what progress parliaments have made on the issue since a plan of action on illegal drugs was adopted by governments in 2009. The plan set 2019 as a target date for eliminating or significantly reducing supply, demand and associated criminal activity such as money laundering.

MPs, experts and representatives from international organizations and civil society will examine the problem and the global response, focusing on key areas such as finding the most effective solutions to new and existing challenges, increasing international cooperation, and identifying the links between drug trafficking, organized crime and corruption.

They will address the underlying question of whether the so-called “war on drugs”, which relies on a law-enforcement solution to the problem of illicit drugs, is working as intended. The MPs will also explore whether drug policy needs rethinking in light of the new people-centred Sustainable Development Goals.

The impact of the global problem can be felt in many areas, including the diversion of resources from healthcare to law enforcement, the displacement of people affected by drug production and the criminalization and marginalization of drug users.

IPU-UN parliamentary hearings enable MPs to feed their views and experiences into UN work and decision-making processes, as well as increasing their understanding of those processes.

The conclusions and recommendations of this hearing will be fed into a UN General Assembly special session on the world drug problem, UNGASS 2016, in April.

Audiencia parlamentaria UIP-ONU: acción sobre las drogas

En esta mesa redonda sobre la producción de cultivos de drogas, la pobreza y el desarrollo participarán investigadores, agricultores y artistas que son expertos en este campo. Más información, en inglés, está disponible abajo.

Save the date for Tuesday, February 9th from 3pm-8pm at the Open Society Foundation offices (224 West 57th Street) for a discussion on the topic of drug crop production, poverty and development.

Open Society Foundations will be hosting two back-to-back panel discussions featuring researchers, growers and artists who are experts in this field. The afternoon will also feature two short documentary screenings and a photography exhibit capturing the experiences of coca growers.

At the event, we will be launching the latest report in our UNGASS series titled Drug Crop Production, Poverty and Development

The briefing paper presents cultivation of crops declared illicit (also known as drug crops) as a development issue, not a criminal or security issue, and discusses the need to incorporate cultivation into the goals of sustainable, rights-based, empowering development. The author of the report will present key findings and discuss its implications.

The event will also feature presentation of the official declaration from the 2nd annual Growers Forum taking place in Amsterdam this week.

Please RSVP to Mariam Tanzilla Mariam.tanzilla@opensocietyfoundations.org

Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert.

Mesa redonda sobre producción de cultivos de drogas, pobreza y desarrollo

ONUSIDA y las misiones permanentes de Colombia, Noruega y Suiza ante las Naciones Unidas organizarán un acto paralelo en la sede de la ONU en Nueva York coincidiendo con la consulta informal interactiva entre partes interesadas (IISC). Más información, en inglés, está disponible abajo.

On Tuesday the 9th of February UNAIDS and the Permanent Missions of Colombia, Norway and Switzerland to the United Nations (UN) will be hosting a side event at UN headquarters in New York in the margins of the Informal Interactive Stakeholder Consultation (IISC).

 (EST), CR-3, Conference Building, UN Headquarters, New York

The event will feature introductory remarks from H.E. Ambassador Khaled Shamaa, UNGASS Board Chair and a panel featuring:

Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Mr. Ivan Šimonović, OHCHR

Executive Director, Dr. Nata Menabde, WHO

Deputy Executive Director, Mr. Aldo Lalé-Demoz, UNODC

and a keynote address from civil society.

Passes to enter United Nations headquarters 

will be available at the visitor entrance to the United Nations (1st Avenue, between East 45th and East 46th Streets), between 

 Those arriving after 3:15pm (EST) will not be issued passes.

For those not in New York, the event will be streamed live here

Please, find further information about the event below:

Acto paralelo sobre personas, salud pública y derechos humanos organizado por ONUSIDA y las misiones permanentes de Colombia, Noruega y Suiza

El evento se enmarca en un proceso de consulta a todos los actores relevantes, incluyendo a representantes de la sociedad civil y organizaciones, los cuales están invitados a participar y compartir sus experiencias y pericia en vísperas de la UNGASS en abril. Más información, en inglés, está disponible abajo.

The General Assembly decided in resolution 69/200, that the UNGASS 2016 shall have an inclusive preparatory process that includes extensive substantive consultations, allowing organs, entities and specialized agencies of the United Nations system, relevant international and regional organizations, civil society and other relevant stakeholders to fully contribute to the process, in accordance with relevant rules of procedure and established practice.

To that end, there will be an Informal Interactive Stakeholder Consultation for the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem (UNGASS 2016) on 10 February 2016 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The Consultation is an opportunity for all relevant stakeholders to contribute further to the ongoing preparatory process for UNGASS 2016 by sharing practical expertise and experiences from their work on the ground as an input for consideration by Member States in the negotiations of the outcome document. It presents also an opportunity for stakeholders to prepare for their contributions to the interactive multi-stakeholder round tables at UNGASS.

All organizations wishing to attend the one-day Consultation will need to register by applying here. Applications for general registration for the Consultation are being accepted from 17 December 2015 – 13 January 2016.

The one-day Consultation features an Opening Segment, two interactive-round tables and a closing segment.

Consulta interactiva informal del CSTF para participantes de la UNGASS 2016

El resultado del diálogo contribuirá a las deliberaciones intergubernamentales sobre las actividades operativas del sistema de la ONU que emprenderá la Asamblea General en la segunda mitad de 2016. Más información, en inglés, está disponible abajo.

The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations will convene a transparent and inclusive dialogue on the longer-term positioning of the United Nations development system in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, based on ECOSOC resolution 2014/14. To launch the dialogue, the Vice-President of ECOSOC, H.E. Mr. Alejandro Palma Cerna, will convene an informal civil society briefing on 10 February 2016, at UN Headquarters in New York, in Conference Room 3, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

This event will build on the first phase of the ECOSOC Dialogue which concluded on 9 June 2015, and focused on building a solid understanding among Member States of the current state of play in the UN development system as a whole. For the report on the outcome of the first phase, please click here.

The second phase of the ECOSOC Dialogue, launched on 17 December 2015, is expected to result in the development of concrete proposals and options for strengthening the UN development system in response to the requirements of the 2030 Agenda for further discussion and consideration by Member States. It will focus on issues regarding the interlinkages between the alignment of functions, funding practices, governance structures, organizational arrangements, capacity and impact, and partnership approaches.

The outcome of the Dialogue will inform intergovernmental deliberations on operational activities of the UN system to be undertaken by the General Assembly in the second half of 2016.


Diálogo del ECOSOC sobre el posicionamiento a largo plazo del sistema de desarrollo de la ONU en el contexto de la Agenda 2030

Este es uno de los mayores encuentros internacionales dedicado a las políticas de drogas en espacios urbanos. Más información, en inglés, está disponible abajo.

The Second International Urban Drug Policy Conference (UDPC2016) is one of the largest international events dedicated to narcotics policies in the urban space. Its goals are the professionalization of urban drug policies, improvement in the quality of cooperation between sectors, the transfer of knowledge between European cities and the promotion and dissemination of urban drug policies based on scientific evidence.

The conference arose out of the desire for integration and cooperation between local government authorities, politicians and policy-makers, representatives of programs to counteract drug addiction, police officials, prosecutors, penitentiary staff, NGO activists and researchers.

A meeting of people from local and national governments with those from the NGO world to exchange experience and knowledge, and to have an opportunity to network.

Outstanding experts, from Poland and worldwide, in the areas of drug policies, harm reduction, addiction treatments, epidemiology, prevention, NGO administration, management, CSR, communications and other areas.

Debates, lectures and workshops, as well as scientific publications and reports.

Side events: study visits, seminars, workshops, as well as group excursions to discover Warsaw.

All organizations, companies and institutions interested in participating in the conference and working together under the auspices of the UDPC2016 program are invited to contact the office of the organizing committee.

II Conferencia Internacional sobre Políticas Urbanas de Drogas (UDPC2016)

El curso está dirigido a responsables de políticas que trabajan en el ámbito de la salud pública, las políticas de drogas y los derechos humanos. Más información, en inglés, está disponible abajo.

The Graduate Institute, Geneva, Switzerland

The Political Declaration of the 1998 United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on the 'World Drug Problem' called for eliminating illicit drugs in a decade. Eighteen years later and with drugs now being more easily available and less expensive, the General Assembly decided to reconvene an UNGASS in April 2016. More countries from the Americas and Europe are calling for an open debate and for the introduction of innovative policies that will enable countries to ensure the health and welfare of mankind, the original goal of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.

Countries are now facing the challenges of the horizontal nature of the drug issue that goes far beyond law-enforcement in compliance with international drug control rules, when their ministries of health tend to treat users, while their ministries of interior and justice tend to criminalise them? How can WHO have a meaningful and impactful role in the drugs issue? And how can UNGASS 2016 shift drug control and include better health outcomes for affected people?

The course is aimed at policy-makers involved in public health, drug policy, and human rights negotiations including:

Governments' representatives from presidential offices, ministries of health, foreign affairs, justice, interior and drug control agencies

Representatives from international and regional institutions

Representatives from non-governmental organisations

The course will proceed under the Chatham House Rule.

Professor Michel Kazatchkine, Senior Fellow, Global Health Programme, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Switzerland; UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia; Commissioner, Global Commission on Drug Policy

Professor Thomas Zeltner, former Secretary of Health of Switzerland and Director-General of the Swiss National Health Authority, Chairperson of the Advisory Board, Global HealthProgramme, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Switzerland

Speakers from international organisations and representatives from different sectors will also contribute their expertise throughout the course.

Find out more about this course's content, fee and application process.

Or contact globalhealthdiplomacy@graduateinstitute.ch for further inquiries.

Eventos