| We don't want a Russian UN drug czar! |
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The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) will be appointing a new head at the end of July. The current candidate is Yuri Fedotov from Russia, a country that openly ignores the evidence on successful drug policy and pushes drug users to the farest margins of Russian society through punitive policies. For more info see http://drogriporter.hu/en/fedotov We don't want a Russian UN drug czar. Please click 'Read more' to view the letter CSSDP Board of Director Priya Shah wrote to Mr. Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, to urge him to find a candidate that supports and encourages successful harm reduction strategies, that acknowdges the evidence on OST and other treatment programs, and that treats drugs and drug users primarily as a health issue, not a criminal issue.
Mr Ban Ki Moon
Dear Mr. Secretary General! I am writing to you because I am disappointed and dismayed that you have decided to appoint Yuri Fedotov, a Russian diplomat, as the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). I strongly oppose a candidate from Russia, a country with one of the worst records on drug policy and human rights. If you are not aware, Russia is experiencing the most rapid increase in HIV infections on earth: there are more than 1 million people living with HIV and 2 in 3 new infections are in fact related to the sharing of injecting equipment by drug users. Evidently, the Russian government has given complete disregard to scientific evidence, effectively perpetuating the epidemic by banning opiate substitution treatment and not providing funding for needle and syringe programs; programs which could greatly reduce the risk of contracting HIV. In addition to the lack of funding for treatment and harm reduction programs, the condition of Russian prisons, also known as the hotbeds of the HIV and Tuberculosis epidemics, are appalling. The way that human rights are disrespected in Russian prisons is horrific; prisoners with HIV and TB are often denied life saving treatment and instead are tortured and left to die! On behalf of Canadian Students for a Sensible Drug Policy (CSSDP), I urge you to reconsider the appointment of Yuri Fedotov as the Executive Director of UNODC. At this critical time in global efforts to create evidence-based drug strategies Mr. Fedetov's appointment as Executive Director could result in the UNODC conforming to the Russian government’s position on drugs and human rights policies, which continue to be out of step with contemporary approaches to drug problems. I ask you to reconsider your decision and appoint someone to this position who can lead UNODC in the fight against HIV and AIDS, as well as someone who respects scientific evidence and human rights.
With urgency, Priya Shah |
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