 | NORML Press Releases: Drug Warriors delete health objective from Vienna Declaration |
 New Zealand should refuse to endorse the Political Declaration prepared
by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, says NORML President Phil Saxby.
NORML has written to Peter Dunne, New Zealand's representative at the UN
Vienna meeting on drug policy, pointing out that harm reduction is a key
part of New Zealand policy but all reference to it has been deleted from
the Political Declaration prepared by the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
A statement by the European Union countries made a strong defence of the
harm reduction principle.
"New Zealand has been a pioneer in harm reduction, in the area of needle
exchange for example. The deletion this health objective for
ideological reasons is unacceptable and this Declaration should not gain
New Zealand support," says Saxby. "Harm reduction is a core element for
any future rational drug control policy".
A consortium of NGO representatives has accused the UN Commission on
Narcotic Drugs (CND) of being "out of touch with reality and with the
rest of the UN system." Its spokesperson, Mike Trace, was in New
Zealand recently for the Healthy Drug Law Symposium in Wellington.
The head of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, Antonio Costa, recently
smeared all critics of the UN Conventions as "pro-drug". "If an accident, he is incompetent. If deliberate, he is clearly biased and unfit to hold his position," says Saxby.
The UN Conventions have been criticised because their effect is to
severely restrict the availability of opiates for medical purposes in
developing countries. "Millions of cancer patients and others needing
pain relief are suffering suffering daily torment, thanks to these Drug
Conventions," says Saxby. "It's another reason why NZ must vote to
restore a health focus to international drug control agreements".
"The Political Declaration is totally inadequate to meet the world's
need for a drug control policy that is cost-effective, humane and fair,"
he says.
For more information, please see:
TNI's UNGASS review site
International Harm Reduction Association's CND Blog
The Beyond 2008 website
The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND)
View the CND live web-cam
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