MEXICO CITY — More than 61,000 people have disappeared in Mexico, authorities announced Monday, sharply raising their estimate of those who have vanished in more than a decade of extreme violence by and among organized-crime groups.

The government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador released the new figure after an exhaustive analysis of data from state prosecutors. The previous official estimate, released in April 2018, put the number at 40,000.

While hundreds of cases date to the 1960s, over 97 percent have been reported since 2006, when Mexico launched an all-out offensive targeting drug trafficking and criminal organizations.

Karla Quintana, head of Mexico’s National Search Commission, which coordinates the effort to find the missing, said that at least 61,637 people had been reported disappeared and not been found. “These are data of horror, and behind them are stories and narratives of great pain for families,” she said at a news conference.

The numbers confirm that Mexico is suffering one of the worst crises of “the disappeared” in Latin American history.

In the 1970s and 1980s, forced disappearances in the region became a global human rights concern as governments systematically detained and killed opponents — most suspected of involvement in leftist insurgencies.

Around 40,000 people went missing in Guatemala’s 36-year civil war, which ended in 1996. An estimated 30,000 disappeared during Argentina’s “dirty war,” which lasted from 1976 to 1983.

Unlike those countries, though, Mexico has not been at war — at least, not officially. And while militaries were behind most of the Cold War disappearances, narco-traffickers and other criminals are the likely culprits in the majority of the Mexican cases. Authorities suspect many of them worked with corrupt police and politicians.

More than 60,000 Mexicans have disappeared amid drug war, officials say

MANILA, Philippines — With a score of just one percent, the Duterte administration’s war on drugs is a “massive failure,” Vice President Leni Robredo said yesterday.

This is the gist of Robredo’s 40-page report on her 18-day stint as co-chairperson of the Inter-agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD), which she made public yesterday.

Robredo said the failure was due to law enforcers focusing on neutralizing low-level pushers rather than cutting main sources of supply.

She said the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) was able to seize only one percent of the total methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu supply in the past three years.

“If you liken it to an exam, the government’s score is one out of 100,” Robredo said at a press conference.

“(The drug war) is really a failure. The campaign against illegal drugs has many aspects, but almost the entire funds were poured into neutralizing small-time pushers and users. They forgot to look into the aspect on where the bulk of drugs that victimize the youth and our citizens are coming from,” she added.

Citing data from the Philippine National Police-Drug Enforcement Group, the Vice President said approximately 3,000 kilograms of shabu worth P25 billion are consumed per week, but the PDEA was only able to haul in 1,344.87 kilograms last year.

She added that the figures were even lower in 2017 and 2018 at 1,053.91 kilograms and 785.31 kilograms, respectively.

‘Duterte’s war on drugs in the Philippines a massive failure’

South-East Asia is notorious for its brutal approach to policing drug use and production. But in Thailand change is afoot, as authorities seek to develop a homegrown medical marijuana industry.

It has approved use of cannabis extracts for treatment of a range of illnesses and conditions, including cancer, epilepsy, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and anxiety.

The Government has promised to open more clinics in greater Bangkok, with patients able to book appointments via a specialised smartphone app.

Front and centre of the Thai Government's campaign to promote medicinal marijuana is its mascot Dr Ganja, an approachable, leaf-headed scientist.

Thailand's strongman Prime Minister, former military general Prayut Chan-o-cha, has personally promoted legal cannabis, recently appearing enjoying a cannabis inhaler alongside Dr Ganja.

So where did this push towards developing Thailand's legal cannabis industry come from, and could it signal further liberalisation of drug use in South-East Asia?

When did the push towards medical marijuana start?

First outlawed in 1935, marijuana has reportedly been a part of traditional Thai medicine and cooking for centuries, mainly used as a versatile form of pain relief.

Thailand legalised medical marijuana in December 2018, making it the first country in South-East Asia to do so.

The military-dominated parliament voted to amend the 1979 Narcotic Act to approve the use of marijuana for medical use and research, calling it a "New Year's gift" to the Thai people.

A dedicated Health Ministry website now provides information to the Thai public about cannabis cultivation, medical research and the legal status of marijuana in the country.

Government agencies, higher education institutions, agricultural producers, social enterprises and medical professionals are now permitted to grow marijuana for medical purposes.

In April last year, Rangsit University in Bangkok launched the country's first medical cannabis research institution.

It is reportedly home to Asia's first "ganja studies" program, which the university says has attracted significant interest.

Possession and trafficking of the drug still attract harsh penalties.

But further slated legal changes could allow people to bring medical cannabis into Thailand and foreigners to hold stakes in commercial cannabis producers of up to 33 per cent.

Foreign cannabis producers are already eyeing the Thai market.

US firm Rafarma Pharmaceuticals recently employed a Thai corporate officer in order to run its "upcoming" Thai operations and create "the most synergy between the company's European and Thai cannabis cultivation operations", it said in a statement.

Why is medical marijuana a high ranking priority for Thailand's military?

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — When the ostensible murder victim showed up at a family funeral, Gunalakshmi Karupaya thought her prayers had been answered. Here was living evidence that could overturn her husband's death sentence.

Yet more than two years later, Mainthan Arumugam remains in prison, one of nearly 1,300 inmates facing execution in Malaysia. It may be the largest death row in Southeast Asia — and one that, like Mainthan, has become a rallying point in a country on the cusp of a potentially historic legal shift.

After an upset election in 2018 that ended the ruling coalition’s six-decade run, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s government issued an immediate moratorium on executions. It also promised to abolish capital punishment, a legacy of British rule and a mandatory penalty for almost a dozen offenses. The subject has been intensely debated ever since.

Any change would have significance beyond Malaysia’s borders. Nearly half of the prisoners on death row here are foreign nationals, and more than 100 are women, Amnesty International reported this past fall.

The report found that 73 percent of death row inmates had been sentenced for drug trafficking, with most convicted of transporting small amounts of drugs. It also documented the use of torture for “confessions,” restricted access to legal counsel and a pattern of unfair trials.

The circumstances that entangled Mainthan, a father of four who worked as a scrap metal trader in the capital, represent “the most preposterous case,” the executive director of Amnesty International Malaysia told a public forum in November. “Mainthan was sentenced to death for a murder,” Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu recounted. “There was indeed a body. But the person who he supposedly killed is still alive.”

He and three other men were arrested in August 2004, a few days after police found charred body parts in a Kuala Lumpur neighborhood. They were charged with the murder of a man who had eloped with the sister-in-law of a friend of Mainthan’s. During the trial, Mainthan said he had only helped find the couple, who were brought to his house before the friend took them away.

Malaysia, a country with a growing death row reconsiders its future with capital punishment

Speaking before the country’s parliament, Singapore’s minister for home affairs, K Shanmugam (

), extolled the country’s success in fighting drugs. He attributed these results to Singapore’s harsh drug laws, which include the use of capital punishment.

It may seem surprising to the uninitiated that Singapore has the death penalty for drug crimes. But, as the minister said: “Our penalties are severe because we want to deter such offences”.

Singapore is one of a tiny number of countries classified by Harm Reduction International (HRI) as “high application” states in the use of capital punishment for drugs. This means that death sentences and executions are a regular part of the criminal justice system. Indeed, there have been two executions for drug offences just this month, killings which were condemned by UN human rights officials.

The idea that harsh drug laws such as the death penalty are effective is one actively promoted by Singapore. And it is a belief now allegedly being adopted by US president Donald Trump. Given Trump’s notorious concern with what he considers “fake news”, it is somewhat surprising he has embraced one of the more dubious claims in global drug control – the myth that Singapore’s harsh penalties have nearly eliminated drug use and drug crime.

Singapore’s claim that the death penalty deters drug use is wrong, here’s why

Full-time position based in Bangkok, Thailand

11 months fixed term contract (with possibility of extension, budget allowing)

The International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) is a global network of NGOs and professional networks that aims to promote objective and open debate on the effectiveness, direction and content of drug policies at national and international level, and supports evidence-based policies that are effective in reducing drug-related harm. We have over 180 member organisations worldwide, and extensive communication and contacts with a range of experts in the field. The IDPC Secretariat is based in London with a smaller presence in Bangkok.

The IDPC office in Bangkok is looking to appoint a Programme Officer to provide support to the IDPC regional work programme in Asia.

The successful candidate will report to IDPC’s Regional Director: Asia and support financial management and reporting to donors, communications, administration, networking amongst IDPC members in the region with the potential to take on policy research and analysis work.

The successful candidate will be highly motivated, flexible, capable of working both independently and as part of a team, and will possess a willingness to combine financial management and administrative work with communications, networking and other tasks requiring more autonomy and creativity.

Demonstrable experience and/or interest of issues relating to human rights, public health, HIV/AIDS and harm reduction, criminal justice and law reform as it relates to drug policy in Asia

Demonstrable project and financial management skills with experience of managing budgets, expenditures and project and financial reporting to donors

Excellent interpersonal, representational and communications skills, especially in developing and sustaining relationships with a wide range of stakeholders in a professional and courteous manner at all times

Excellent organisational skills with attention to detail

Strong problem-solving skills along with the ability to work independently

Ability to multi-task and manage competing priorities, including those that arise on an ad hoc and urgent basis

Excellent spoken and written English and Thai language skills

Strong capabilities in policy research, analysis, and writing

Experience working on strategic social media communications

Please note that we can only accept applications from individuals who already have the right to live and work in Thailand

If you wish to apply for this post, please complete the application form and send it to Ms. Daisy Bowdery (dbowdery@idpc.net) by 5:00 pm (Bangkok time) on Monday 3 February 2020.

It is expected that interviews will be held from 10 February 2020, with a commencement date as soon as possible afterward.

IDPC recruits Programme Officer in Bangkok!

By Brandon D.L. Marshall and Abdullah Shihipar, The New York Times

In September 2018, the rapper Mac Miller died of a drug overdose — a toxic combination of fentanyl, cocaine and alcohol. Three men were charged with distributing the drugs that allegedly led to his death. In July, Tyler Skaggs, a pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels, died from asphyxia. Fentanyl, oxycodone and alcohol were found in his system, and federal authorities are working to determine who provided the drugs that killed him.

Mac Miller (whose real name was Malcolm James McCormick) and Mr. Skaggs are among the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have lost their lives to drug overdoses. One way the authorities have responded to this crisis is by promoting the use of naloxone — a medication used to revive people who have overdosed on opioids — and expanding access to medications for opioid use disorder.

But despite the recognition of drug use as a public health issue, some states have also introduced “drug-induced homicide” laws that put the responsibility of an overdose at the feet of the drug suppliers. In Rhode Island, for example, under “Kristen’s Law” a person who supplies drugs to someone who overdoses can be punished with a life sentence.

These laws have been enacted in at least 25 states, while a few more are considering adopting them. They represent a return to the outdated “war on drugs” approach, which decades of research has shown to be unsuccessful. It instead increases risks for those who use drugs, particularly minority populations and people of color.

The latest failure in the war on drugs

(Manila) – The Philippine government’s murderous “war on drugs” remained the Philippines’ gravest human rights concern in 2019, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing its 

. Security forces were also implicated in often deadly attacks on activists.

“President Duterte’s anti-drug campaign remains as brutal as when it started, with drug suspects being killed regularly across the country,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director. “Four years into the ‘drug war,’ the need for international mechanisms to provide accountability is as great as ever.”

, its 30th edition, Human Rights Watch reviews human rights practices in nearly 100 countries. In his introductory essay, Executive Director Kenneth Roth says that the Chinese government, which depends on repression to stay in power, is carrying out the most intense attack on the global human rights system in decades. He finds that Beijing’s actions both encourage and gain support from autocratic populists around the globe, while Chinese authorities use their economic clout to deter criticism from other governments. It is urgent to resist this assault, which threatens decades of progress on human rights and our future.

Duterte’s appointment in November of Vice President Leni Robredo as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee Against Drugs (ICAD) raised hopes that drug campaign violence would be tempered. But Duterte fired Robredo, an opponent of the anti-drug campaign, just days later.

Philippines: No letup in ‘drug war’ killings

By The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

We are deeply troubled by the staggering number of human rights defenders killed in Colombia during 2019. According to our records, 107 activists were killed last year, and our staff in Colombia are still in the process of verifying 13 additional cases reported during 2019 which, if confirmed, would raise the annual total to 120 killings. Attacks on human rights defenders had already intensified during 2018, when 115 killings were confirmed by the UN Human Rights Office in Colombia. And this terrible trend is showing no let-up in 2020, with at least 10 human rights defenders already reportedly killed during the first 13 days of January.

We renew our call on the Colombian Government to make a strenuous effort to prevent attacks on people defending fundamental rights, to investigate each and every case and to prosecute those responsible for these violations, including instigating or aiding and abetting violations. The vicious and endemic cycle of violence and impunity must stop. Victims and their families have a right to justice, truth and reparations.

The great majority of the 107 killings in 2019, happened in rural areas, almost all (98 %) in municipalities with illicit economies where criminal groups or armed groups operate, and 86 % of the total number took place in villages with a poverty rate above the national average. While more than half of the killings occurred in just four provinces -- Antioquia, Arauca, Cauca and Caquetá -- murders were nevertheless recorded in 25 different provinces. The single most targeted group was human rights defenders advocating on behalf of community-based and specific ethnic groups such as indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombians. The killings of female human rights defenders increased by almost 50 per cent in 2019 compared to 2018.

Colombia: Human rights activists killings

The implementation of the Global Fund grant came to an end on 31 December 2019 and the new transition grant is not still signed yet. By 1st of January, all NGOs providing services to key population run out of any kind of support. Access to the services of 1800 people who inject drugs and 380 methadone clients, 1200 MSM, 290 sex workers, 30 prisoners and up to 200 people living with HIV is being jeopardized.

NGOs are required to shut down services, cut human resources and return all assets to the principal recipient (Ministry of Health and Social Protection): computers, printers, minivans, tables, furniture and even remaining rapid tests. This is disturbing for those NGOs which are renting spaces.

There is a total lack of information from all institutions, including CCM, how the project will continue, what will be the role of each actor and how the sustainability of services will be ensured, if it will be.

HIV prevention services for key populations in Albania on the brink of collapse

Black and Asian men are more likely to be jailed for drug dealing offences in England and Wales than white men, a study of 14,000 people suggests.

The Sentencing Council looked at the penalties received by defendants aged 26-50 for possession with intent to supply from April 2012 to March 2015.

Its analysis also found men were more likely to be jailed than women.

The council said it was seeking views on whether its sentencing guidelines could lead to discrimination.

Its study found that for possession with intent to supply a class B drug, 37% of white offenders would be expected to receive an immediate custodial sentence, compared with 46% of Asian, 44% of black and 46% of Chinese and other ethnicities.

For a class A substance, around 93% of white offenders, 95% of Asian offenders and 95% of black offenders would be expected to be jailed.

The length of sentence also differed, with Asian offenders being jailed for an average of 4% longer, equal to around one month extra, than white counterparts.

Black and other ethnicity offenders did not have statistically different sentence lengths to white offenders.

The researchers also compared men and women and found 37% of men would be expected to be jailed for possession with intent to supply a class B drug, compared with 20% of women.

Minorities in the UK more likely to be jailed for drug dealing, study suggests

Health advocates say a safe supply of opioids is critical to help prevent people from overdosing on tainted street drugs.

Now, a pilot project in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside provides some high-risk users with access to an automated machine that dispenses opioids prescribed by a doctor.

The machine, called MySafe, is stocked with hydromorphone tablets that are released on a pre-determined schedule to high-risk opioid users. A user must scan their palm on the machine to identify themselves. The machine recognizes each individual by verifying the vein pattern in their hand and then dispenses their prescription.

Made of steel and bolted to the floor, MySafe resembles an ATM or vending machine. It logs every package that is released and sends that information to a web feed that only program administrators can access.

Thousands of Canadians have lost their lives to the opioid crisis. In British Columbia, close to 5,000 people have died from overdoses since the province declared a public health emergency in 2016.

A toxic drug supply, often contaminated by a powerful opioid called fentanyl, is responsible for at least 80 per cent of overdose deaths in B.C. in the past three years, according to the province's coroners service.

"I think the only ethical response in this situation is to at least give people an alternative of a safe pharmaceutical drug that they will not overdose on," said MySafe founder and infectious disease doctor Mark Tyndall.

Tyndall says unlike methadone treatment, which is considered an abstinence-based program and helps addicts only with cravings and withdrawal symptoms, prescribed hydromorphone still gives users a high without the risk of death.

News