How to screw your relation with civil society (a European case study)

Joergen (Danish Users Union), Matt (IHRD),
Milena (INPUD, Belgium/Bulgaria), Luiz (Psycotropicus, Brazil), Stijn (INPUD Belgium)

and Berne's back side (Swedisch Users Union;)

DU Activists Organizing

Dear Friends,

People who use drugs from all over Europe participated in the 2-year process for the involvement of civil society in EU drugs policies, organized by the EU Commission.

The end of this process - and the beginning of the involvement - is the organization of the first European Civil Society Forum On Drugs in December 2007.

Despite our constant and constructive participation in the preparation of this civil society involvement in EU drugs policies, the European Commission didn't take into account European Drug User Organizations' applications for membership in the European Civil Society Forum On Drugs. The European Commission excludes people who use drugs from the forum about people who use drugs.

We'll not let this pass by easily. INPUD and allies are teaming up together to push for change and greater involvement.

I hereby present to you:

How to screw your relation with civil society

The Story Of The EC's Civil Society Forum On Drugs

January 2006 – December 2007

• European DU were present at, and participated in the European Conference "Civil Society and Drugs in Europe" (Click to read: Conference conclusions).

• The EU Commission then released the Green Paper on the role of Civil Society in Drugs Policy in the European Union and organized an open consultation on this document. 23 European DU and DU organizations together wrote a reply to the EU's Green Paper.

• The EU Commission released the Results of the open consultation on The Green Paper on April 18, 2007 and called for civil society organizations to apply for member ship in the European Civil Society Forum On Drugs, to be held in the end of the year 2007.

• Finally, on October 31 2007 , the EU Commission released the list with accepted applicants.

• European DU organizations and INPUD where excluded from the forum, so we wrote a letter to the EC's MR. Carel Edwards and asked who where the people responsible for this.

• Mr. Edwards replied to our letter and confirmed the exclusion of people who use drugs, but he did not answer to our pertinent questions.

• So INPUD wrote a second letter to make sure that the EC would understand the position they maneuvered themselves into.

• Meanwhile, The International Harm Reduction Association (IHRA) and DrugScope (UK) refused the invitation to take part in the Civil Society forum on drugs because of the poor and amateuristic organization of the forum by Mr. Edwards staff. The crappy organization was named “an insult for civil society” by Professor Gerry Stimson. (Among other things, the London based IHRA Director received an air ticket Finland – Brussels to attend the forum (!!))
  
  
  

• ENCOD, IHRA and DrugScope released a statement on December 12, one day before the forum.

• Despite the European Commissions exclusion policy, Eurasian Harm Reduction Network enabled European DU to participate in the forum. European DU Activist Milena Naydenova will speak in the EC's forum on behalf of INPUD and European DU.

It's an ongoing story, ...
We'll keep you closely informed

Stijn Goossens
Executive Director

International Network Of People Who Use Drugs

INPUD vzw
GuldensporenStraat 88/2
2140 Borgerhout
Belgium

Phone: +32 3 297 8451
Mobile: +32 479 982 271

email: Stijn@INPUD.org
website: www.INPUD.org

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