Russia is a country with one of the worst records on drug policy and human rights: it ignores scientific evidence on effective HIV prevention among drug users and its punitive drug laws push drug users to the margins of society. Watch our video to find out more!
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Mr Ban Ki Moon United Nations Secretary-General United Nations Secretariat New York, NY 10017 sg@un.org
Dear Mr. Secretary General!
I am writing to you because you are currently considering the appointment of the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). I was dismayed to learn that the you decided to appoint Yuri Fedotov, a Russian diplomat for this position.
I strongly oppose a candidate from a country with one of the worst records on drug policy and human rights. Russia is experiencing the most rapid increase in HIV infections on earth: there are more than 1 million people living with HIV, 2 in 3 new infections are related to the sharing of injecting equipment by drug users. This perpetuation of the epidemic is directly attributed to the Russian goverments disavowal of simple scientific evidence : it bans opiate substitution treatment and it does not provide funding for life-saving needle and syringe programs.
This situation is exacerbated by the condition of Russian prisons - the hotbeds of the HIV and Tuberculosis epidemics. For drug users, the Gulag is alive and well in these places: prisoners with HIV and TB are often tortured and left to die without life saving treatment!
It is not surprising that Russia consistently seeks to block the inclusion of human rights language from international policies. At the UN commission on narcotic drugs in 2010 Russia stated that the fight against AIDS is ‘not linked to human rights’.
I ask you to reconsider your decision and appoint someone to this position who is independent from governments, who can lead UNODC in the fight against HIV and AIDS, as well as someone who respects scientific evidence and human rights.
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Submitted by Anonymous Activist (not verified) on 15 July, 2010 - 19:14
The UNODC has systematically been removing polite criticism from their Facebook page and group, especially links to this site. The better the criticism and the higher the quality of the links, the higher a chance that it is censored. They have also been shutting critics out of their pages and groups and reporting people that criticse them to Facebook to have their accounts closed.
They have made a set of "house rules" to encourage a "healthy debate environment" - yet they censor and shut out the most polite criticism. They even removed the whole press release about the appointment of Mr. Fedotov after critics posted comments under it. It is clear no me that their "hose rules" are nothing but a thin excuse for blatant censorship.
This is, in my view, against the right to freedom of expression as expressed in the UN charters, and also a very worrying sign. The UN is supposed to promote human rights and open debate, not the opposite.
I encourage everyone to join their Facebook group "World Drug Campaign" and their "UNODC" page and spread the word about this video protesting the appointment of a Russian drugs czar. This way they will know that there are too many of us to keep our voices shut.
Submitted by Tomas Steen (not verified) on 15 July, 2010 - 22:19
Contrary to the belief of some people here, Fedotov is an excellent choice.
Fedotov will guarantee that there will be no input from the legalizers about legalizing drugs, no snake oil marijuana "medicine" or whatever else stupidities the legalizers can come up with.
Of course Fedotov is an excellent choice for the Russian government because he won't criticize them for failing to provide life-saving treatment for hundreds of thousands of drug users. Fedotov is also a good choice for those who have a financial interest in maintaining the current disastrous policies on illicit drugs, like criminal organizations and terrorist groups, or for the law enforcement lobbies that are interested in building prisons and Gulags instead of schools or outpatient treatment centers. Fedotov is an excellent choice for all those who do not put public health and human rights in the center of drug policies, for those who would like to continue the insane global war on people who use drugs.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 17 July, 2010 - 03:37
Will he guarantee that the promises of harm reduction and removal of criminal sanctions against people who are addicted to drugs are kept? I doubt it. Wrong man at the wrong moment, this will only increase frustration with the UNODC not only in the reform movement, but among the countless EU bureaucrats who are far more sensible than most politicians in regards to scientifically proven methods of treatment.
Submitted by Emile (not verified) on 18 July, 2010 - 16:36
I have used cannabis for 20 years now with no evident signs of ill consequences on my health.
I still wonder why I remain so calm and peaceful under the effect of cannabis, while drunk people smash their cars and /or heads against each other usually in a rage of alcohol induced violence.
And what about the 100.000++ of deaths in the UK only just for the use of state sponsored tobacco cigarettes!
I don't need to explain myself to you - because THE UK GOVERNMENT ADMITTED THAT BY ITSELF:
drugequality.org/ico_press_release.htm
bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markeaston/2010/07/tension_at_heart_of_drug_classification.html
drugequality.org/file/Review_of_Drugs_Classification_Consultation_Paper.pdf
Comments
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thank you,
István Takács
HCLU
The UNODC is removing links to this site from their Facebook
Fedotov
excellent choice - for the Russian government...
Of course Fedotov is an excellent choice for the Russian government because he won't criticize them for failing to provide life-saving treatment for hundreds of thousands of drug users. Fedotov is also a good choice for those who have a financial interest in maintaining the current disastrous policies on illicit drugs, like criminal organizations and terrorist groups, or for the law enforcement lobbies that are interested in building prisons and Gulags instead of schools or outpatient treatment centers. Fedotov is an excellent choice for all those who do not put public health and human rights in the center of drug policies, for those who would like to continue the insane global war on people who use drugs.
Will he guarantee that the
For Tomas Steen
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