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Drug Users Driven Away From Effective HIV Programs

http://hrw.org/reports/2007/thailand1107/

(Bangkok, November 29, 2007) - Thailand's failure to address the HIV epidemic
in the hardest-hit population, drug users, is jeopardizing its record as a leader in
the global fight against AIDS, Human Rights Watch and the Thai AIDS Treatment
Action Group said today in a report <http://hrw.org/reports/2007/thailand1107/>
released in advance of World AIDS Day.

In violation of its constitutional and international human rights obligations, the Thai
government has systematically failed to prevent and treat HIV infection among
drug users. The Thai government estimates that 40 to 50 percent of injection drug
users are living with HIV in Thailand - virtually unchanged over the past two
decades.

The 57-page report, "Deadly Denial: Barriers to HIV/AIDS Treatment for People
Who Use Drugs in Thailand" <http://hrw.org/reports/2007/thailand1107/> ,
found that routine police harassment and arrest - as well as the lasting effects of
former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's 2003 drug war - keeps drug users
from receiving lifesaving HIV information and services that Thailand has
pledged to provide. The report also documents how drug users face
discrimination from health care workers, who continue to deny antiretroviral
treatment to people who need it based on their status as drug users.

"Thailand wants to be seen as a success story in the fight against AIDS, yet it is
failing to address the epidemic among the population hit hardest by HIV," said
Rebecca Schleifer, advocate advocate with the HIV/AIDS and Human Rights
Program at Human Rights Watch. "The Thai government has recognized that the
HIV infection rate is 'unacceptably high,' and it has the expertise to address this
public health emergency."

Thailand has been lauded as a global leader among developing countries for
its aggressive HIV prevention programs and its efforts to provide universal
access to HIV treatment. Yet Thailand never reached out with prevention
programs to injection drug users.

In 2003 the government of former Prime Minister Thaksin launched a
repressive "war on drugs" that resulted in the extrajudicial killings of at least
2,275 drug users or dealers. A lasting consequence of this campaign has been
to drive many drug users away from effective HIV/AIDS prevention and
treatment, out of fear of arrest and police violence.

In response to drug users' advocacy, the Thai government has taken some
steps to reduce some of the barriers for drug users to HIV services. In 2004,
Thailand rescinded a national policy that explicitly permitted the exclusion of
injection drug users from antiretroviral treatment programs.

But drug users still face serious obstacles in accessing needed health care.
Many health care providers do not know or do not follow HIV/AIDS treatment
guidelines, and continue to deny antiretroviral treatment to drug users, even
those in methadone treatment programs.

"An HIV diagnosis is still a death sentence for most drug users in Thailand," said
Paisan Suwannawong, director of the Thai AIDS Treatment Action
Group. "Thailand must stop discrimination against drug users seeking health
care services, or it will never meet its promise to ensure access to AIDS
treatment to all who need it."

Out of fear of reprisal, drug users who do receive antiretroviral treatment are
unlikely to tell their physicians about their drug use, or to seek information about
drug dependence treatment from their antiretroviral treatment provider. This fear
is not unfounded: the report confirms that many public hospitals and clinics share
information about drug use with law enforcement, both as a matter of policy and
practice. Some clinicians operated a "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward drug
users, refusing to inquire about patients' drug use or drug treatment history, in
some cases despite knowledge or suspicion of current drug use or methadone
treatment.

The government's failure to ensure conditions in which safe exchange of
information is possible compromises drug users' access to adequate HIV and
other health care services. As a result, drug users face harmful drug interactions
without health care workers to consult about the dangerous potential
consequences for their health and, ultimately, their lives.

The Thai authorities have provided minimal support for harm-reduction services
for drug users, notwithstanding their proven effectiveness. These limited harm-
reduction programs are seriously undermined by the government's ongoing,
repressive anti-drug campaigns. Police regularly interfere with drug users' efforts
to seek health care by harassing clients outside of drug treatment centers. Police
also use possession of sterile syringes, or presence at a methadone clinic, as a
basis for drug-related criminal charges.

"The Thai government pays lip service to its official policy, which is to treat drug
users as patients rather than criminals," said Suwannawong. "In reality, police
collect information about drug users from health clinics, and arrest peer outreach
workers outside drug treatment clinics. Drug users risk criminal charges if they
seek health care services which are theirs by right."

The report also found that incarcerated drug users have an even harder time
obtaining needed HIV prevention, care and treatment services. Antiretroviral
therapy is available only on an extremely limited basis to prisoners. Many Thai
drug users spend time in pre-trial detention or prison, often cycling in and out of
government detention facilities. The government has also failed to take
measures to ensure that fundamental services (antiretroviral treatment and other
HIV-related medical care, harm reduction, drug-dependence treatment, and
psychosocial services) are coordinated in the general community, or with
services provided on entry to or exit from prison.

Thailand's new National AIDS Plan - launched in 2007 under the current military
government of Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont - recognizes the authorities'
failures in combating HIV and AIDS among drug users and prisoners, and
proposes to scale up efforts to ensure their access to HIV and AIDS prevention,
care, and treatment services. This commitment follows a number of other similar
public undertakings that have remained unfulfilled, however.

"Thailand needs to translate its written commitments on HIV/AIDS into action,"
said Schleifer. "If the authorities don't immediately address the systematic
human rights violations committed against drug users by police and health care
providers, the government will be contributing directly to the continued spread of
HIV."

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Nov 29, 2007

INPUD invites : N-American INPUD meeting during IDPR Conference in New Orleans (USA)

www.INPUD.org

Dear fellow Drug User Activists,

I'm pleased to announce that INPUD holds a N-American INPUD meeting during the International Drug Policy Reform Conference in New Orleans (USA), 5-8 December 2007.

The IDPR Conference organizers provide us with the opportunity to come together with international and North American drug user activists. Many people who use drugs attending the conference will not be familiar with international drug user activism, so it's up to us – the core group of U.S./international activists - to attract DU activists to our meeting, inform them on what's cooking at the international level, and to express our willingness to have more U.S. DU activists to be involved in the development of international drug user activism and INPUD.

The meeting will be held at Saturday December 8, 1:30P - 3:00P , in the Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Here below you can read the program for the meeting. It was put together by International/N-American INPUD Activists in cooperation with our supportive allies Drug Policy Alliance (host), International Harm Reduction Development Network and the Harm Reduction Coalition.

Apart from the INPUD meeting there also is a lot of DU Activists participation in the many sessions during the IDPR Conference.

I hope to meet as many as possible Activist Peers in New Orleans!

All the best,

Stijn Goossens

Executive Director

International Network Of People Who Use Drugs

INPUD

AGENDA DECEMBER 8, 2007

DPA Conference: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA – Astor Crowne Plaza

1:30P - 3:00P

1:30 OPENING REMARKS

Beck Brooks

(INPUD board – North American)

Opening welcome

1.35

DPA

Ethan Nadelmann

DU Activism/DP Activism

1.45

VOCAL, NY

Louis Jones (VOCAL NY),

DU Activism in New York

1.55

HRC – NYC, NY

Allan Clear

Harm Reduction and Advocacy in the US

2.05

INPUD Asia/Indonesia

Yvonne Sibuea

INPUD in Asia/Indonesia

2.15

Q&A on INPUD and American DU Activism, moderated by Matt Curtis (IHRD)

2.30

Moderator Stijn Goossens

Open Discussion: INTERNATIONAL ACTIVISM/ADVOCACY

Action plans, barrier assessment

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The European Commission's reply to our letter 'Citizens request for an answer'

www.INPUD.org

Dear friends and colleagues,

We received a reply to our letter for the European Commission 'Citizens request for an answer' (about the exclusion of people who use drugs in EU drugs policy making) from Mr. Carel Edwards, head of the EC's unit Drugs Policy Coordination. (read EC's reply below this message)

As you can read, Mister Edwards isn't answering to our questions.

We're now preparing a next reply and request for answers.

All the best,

Stijn Goossens
Executive Director

International Network Of People Who Use Drugs

Subject: Citizens request for an answer/INPUD

From: Carel.Edwards@ec.europa.eu

To: Stijn@inpud.org

(ref: DGJLS-C2/TJ/md/D(2007)16758)

Dear Mr Goossens,

Thank you very much for your message addressed to the European Commission and for your interest in the EU Civil Society Forum on Drugs.

As you have noticed, the total number of applicants for this Forum far exceeds the maximum number of participants set in the report on the open consultation on the Commission's Green Paper on the role of civil society in drugs policy in the European Union. Therefore, a selection had to be made, based on the criteria set out in the Green Paper itself and in the subsequent report, from among eligible organisations like yours. Organisations not selected at this point will be kept informed of all the activities of the Forum and may be considered for membership in the future.

As far as your organisation is concerned, we would like, in particular, to draw your attention to the criterion that the organisations participating should have a clear track record of activities and to point out that your organisation has only just been founded, earlier this year.

In response to your specific questions:

1) and 2) Many of the organisations selected represent the views of those "most directly concerned by the drugs problem", including drug users. Many of the organisations are aiming to reduce drug-related harm both to the individual and to society as a whole.

This is in line with one of the main conclusions drawn from the Green Paper and the subsequent report, namely that the Forum should represent a wide spectrum of views in a balanced way. As stated in the Green Paper, the objective of the Commission "is not to create a civil society assembly as a platform of various ideologies but to create a practical instrument to support policy formulation and implementation through practical advice".

3) The EU Drugs Strategy (2005-2013) and the EU Action Plan (2005-2008) call for an evidence-based, balanced and integrated approach on drugs. The Commission produces annual progress reports on implementation of the Action Plan and in 2008 it will conduct an evaluation of the current Action Plan with a view to proposing a new Action Plan for 2009-2013. Both the Strategy and the Action Plans fully respect the fundamental rights of EU citizens and the principles of law. Holding a structured dialogue with civil society at European level is one way of ensuring this.

I hope that you find these answers helpful. We look forward to a constructive dialogue with your organisation in the future.

Kind Regards,

Carel Edwards
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
______________________
Head of unit Drugs Policy Coordination
DG Justice, Freedom and Security
Mail: LX 46 01/83, BE 1049 Brussels
tel. + 32 2 295 95 38
__________________________
email: carel.edwards@ec.europa.eu

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Nov 24, 2007

ENCODs' Letter To The EC (About The Exclusive Civil Society Forum On Drugs)

Manuel (ENCOD) and Stijn (INPUD)

in the European Parliament

PUBLIC LETTER TO EUROPEAN COMMISSION

To: Carel Edwards
Head of Drug Coordination Unit
European Commission
DG JLS
B- 1049 Brussels

23 November 2007

Dear Carel Edwards,

Herewith we would like to thank you for your letter of 31 October 2007,
announcing the organisation of the first meeting of the Civil Society
Forum on Drugs in the European Union, on 13 & 14 December 2007.

We note from your letter that 26 organisations have been selected to
participate in this meeting, out of a total of 75 respondents to the
call for applications that expired on 17 August 2007.

Several questions can be raised concerning the selection process for
this forum.

According to the Green Paper on the role of civil society in Drug Policy
in the European Union, published in June 2006, the objective of the
dialogue with civil society is ‘to explore the scope for bringing those
most directly concerned by the drugs problem more closely into the
policy process’ (p.3).

Several important stakeholders in the European drug debate, such as
organisations representing drug consumers, are not (enough) represented
in the current forum. On the other hand, some organisations have been
selected in spite of the fact that they did not participate in the
previous consultation. The same counts for some organisations that, from
a first glance, do not seem to fulfil the eligibility criteria to join
the forum as they were published by the Commission in April this year.

In December 2006, the European Parliament approved a budget increase of
1 million EURO to the 2007 budget for Drugs Prevention and Information.
The specific purpose of this budget increase was to “support dialogue
with civil society on drug policy”. We assume the major part of this
budget increase has yet to be spent, and there ought to be enough margin
in the budget to invite 75 representatives to the two days conference in
Brussels.

In April this year, the European Commission published the key results of
the open consultation with stakeholders that took place through the
Green Paper. One of the six main conclusions of this consultation was:
“The Forum should be inclusive rather than exclusive, with transparent
selection criteria.”

Therefore we wish to make the following enquiries

1. Can the Commission explain what are the reasons for not inviting all
75 organisations that applied to the August 17 deadline to the first
meeting of the Civil Society Forum?

2. Can the Commission indicate, for each organisation that applied to
the August 17 deadline, and for each organisation that ultimately made
it to the selection, the specific reasons for selection and omission
from selection?

We look forward to your responses to these questions, which will help to
ensure the transparency and therefore the legitimacy of the forum.

Best wishes,

ENCOD European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies, Belgium

AKZEPT Bundesverband für akzeptierende Drogenarbeit und humane
Drogenpolitik, Germany

FAUDAS Federación Estatal de Personas Afectadas por la Política de
Drogas, Spain

INPUD International Network of People who Use Drugs, Belgium

LCA Legalise Cannabis Alliance, United Kingdom

PIC Pazienti Impazienti Cannabis, Italy

SDB Stichting Drugsbeleid, Netherlands

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Dec 1, 2007

Drug War Log Novenber 2007

Thailand: Denial of HIV Treatment Erodes Success on AIDS

Nov 29, 2007

INPUD invites : N-American INPUD meeting during IDPR Conference in New Orleans (USA)

The European Commission's reply to our letter 'Citizens request for an answer'

Nov 24, 2007

ENCODs' Letter To The EC (About The Exclusive Civil Society Forum On Drugs)

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