IDPC Advocacy Note - Some initial high priorities for Mr. Fedotov, the new Executive Director of UNODC

On 9th July 2010, the United Nations Secretary General appointed Russian Ambassador Yuri Viktorovich Fedotov as the next Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). In welcoming Mr. Fedotov, IDPC outlines in this Advocacy Note the critical challenges that he will face as he takes up office.

There are a number of areas where the new Executive Director should ensure a continuation of the existing commitments and directions made by UNODC and others, and we hope that Mr. Fedotov can bring new impetus and creativity. In its key recommendations, IDPC calls Mr. Fedotov to:

• Promote human rights
• Prioritise HIV prevention
• Support drug dependence treatment
• Facilitate the policy debate
• Update legislation and promote smart law enforcement
• Promote alternative livelihoods
• Ensure access to essential medicines
• Promote civil society engagement.