Geneva drug policy week: When local and international actors meet in Geneva

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Geneva drug policy week: When local and international actors meet in Geneva

12 July 2019
Geneva Platform on Human Rights, Health and Psychoactive Substances

The Geneva Drug Policy, the first of its kind, took place between the 24th and 28th of June 2019. The Week was organised by the Geneva Platform on Human Rights, Health and Psychoactive Substances, supported by the Groupement Romand d’Etudes des Addictions (GREA) and the Institute of Global Health of the University of Geneva.

The main objective of the Week was to bring together relevant local and international actors working in the field of drug policy: permanent missions to the United Nations, United Nations agencies, academia, networks of people who use drugs, civil society and people from the field in Geneva, in order to talk about current local and international drug policies and share their experiences and work. In doing so, the Geneva Drug Policy Week contributed to consolidating Geneva’s position as a key player in the international drug policy world.

In total, fifteen events, in the form of conferences, debates, round tables, film screenings, site visits and cultural events, were offered, free of charge to the general public in places across Geneva, such as the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies; the University of Geneva (UniMail and Campus Biotech), Quai 9 and the CAAP Arve. The topics that were covered included health, conflicts, human rights, access to medicines, and others.

The University of Geneva Summer School entitled “Drugs, Health and Human Rights” constituted the “academic” part of the Week and was organised by the Institute of Global Health and partners. The Geneva Platform on Human Rights, Health and Psychoactive Substances would like to thank the Swiss Confederation and the Republic and Canton of Geneva for their support to the Geneva Platform and this Week in particular. It would also like to thank all the organisations and actors that participated in the Week and made its content so substantive.