| slu@action.encod.org 2006-02-25, 8:30 pm |
| ENCODs press release on the EU Conference on "Civil Society and Drugs,
26/27 January 2006
Drugs and drug problems are among the issues that concern EU citizens
most. Not only because they relate to public health and safety, but
also because until now, citizens have had no possibility whatsoever to
be consulted in the elaboration of drug policies.
Due to the fact that in 1961, a UN Single Convention on Drugs has
prohibited a number of plants and related substances with mind altering
effects, millions of citizens around the world have been killed,
tortured, imprisoned, stigmatised and/or ruined for growing, trading or
consuming them.
EU governments started to work out the concept of a European drug
policy in 1990. Since then, several official commitments have been made
to involve civil society in the design and implementation of drug
policies. Yet these commitments have never been put into practice.
On Thursday 26 and Friday 27 January 2006, the European Commission has
invited a limited number of EU civil society organisations to a
Conference in Brussels, to discuss how civil society can contribute to
the implementation of the present EU Action Plan on Drugs (2005-2008).
This plan was designed and adopted (in July 2005) without any serious
consultation of civil society.
According to ENCOD (European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug
Policies), a platform of 120 Civil Society Organisations from 24
European countries, the Conference means two days to build Rome.
ENCOD will present a statement to the Conference that calls for an
independent body to supervise a dialogue process with equal conditions
for civil society and authorities. ENCODs coordinator, Joep Oomen,
says: "Until today, EU authorities have been trying to close the box of
Pandora that has been created with the prohibition of drugs. By keeping
the citizens away from the decision-making forums, they thought they
could hide the truth about the war on drugs: that is a costly, failing
and counter-productive affair."
According to Oomen, it remains still to be seen whether the Conference
will mark the start of a sincere dialogue between citizens and
authorities on drug policies. "It is now well understood by a growing
number of EU citizens that legal regulation of the drugs market would
improve the living standards of millions of people, while significantly
diminishing one of the world's major criminal income sources. These
ideas could start to challenge traditional ways of thinking drug
policies at a European level, and it is not sure that EU authorities
are willing to cope with this".
In December 2004, the European Parliament approved the Catania report,
a set of recommendations towards future EU drug policy. This report
proposes a radical change in EU drug policy and advocates harm
reduction and a scientific and balanced approach in stead of
maintaining drug prohibition. However, the report was completely
ignored in both the EU Drug Strategy for 2005-2012, designed by the
European Council of Ministers, and the EU Action Plan for 2005-2008,
designed by the European Commission.
Since March 2005, ENCOD, that is funded entirely by the contributions
of its members, organised a petition among EU citizens in favour of the
integration of the Catania report in the Action Plan. In a few months,
the petition collected more than 60.000 signatures.
"The two day Conference will be enough to get a clear indication if the
EU Commission is serious about its commitments this time", says Oomen.
"Citizens allover Europe are organising themselves to get rid of this
absurd regime. At a time where the European Union has huge difficulties
to bridge the democratic deficit with its citizens, its current drug
policies are an extremely negative example of what kind of democracy
the European Union pretends to be."
For more information, see Is Anybody There? or please contact us at
European Coalition for Just & Effective Drug Policies (ENCOD)
Lange Lozanastraat 14
2018 Antwerpen
Belgium
Tel. + 32 (0)3 237 7436 (Joep)
Mobile: + 33 6 148 156 79 (Farid Ghehioueche)
Fax. +32 (0)3 237 0225
encod@glo.be
SIGN THE PETITION TO REFORM EU DRUG POLICIES NOW:
http://action.encod.org/
|