TO: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime FROM: Transform Drug Policy Foundation Drug conventions should not be interpreted and implemented outside of other international laws When it comes to fighting the war against drugs it has come to our attention that for more than fifty years since the war on drugs was declared, the other international laws like those of human rights and public health have been continuously absent and are viewed as irritative by many UN agencies and governments (War on drugs report 2011). Human rights abuses associated with drug control policies present in different countries are not just perpetrated by the individual governments but by the drug control system itself (Joanne Csete p.1). The drug control system by its aims, current operation, interpretation and implementation of the policies makes the abuses more likely to happen. It is evident that the system focus their energy and every other resources on illicit manufacture or production etc. while intentionally avoiding to combat important but controversial issues just to preserve their international consensus. Therefore, it is right to say that human rights abuses associated with drug control policies are systematic in its nature, that is the drug control system itself is the one that is causing the abuse of other international laws and if a stop is to be made to these abuses, there must be an immediate attempt to resolve the institutional weaknesses and gaps in the international drug control regime itself (Barret Damon). The debate; whether the Drug Control System / conventions needs to be reinterpreted. The drug control system one could say that it has had some of the successful drug control efforts, with the tens of thousands displaced by... ... middle of paper ... ...ould fund that project. Finally what they can do is to develop an impact assessment of human rights for the upcoming projects. Conclusion This paper has outlined some of the human rights abuses associated with the drug control efforts. It has shown that the abuses though not written down in the conventions, are present because of the current drug control efforts or system. The different institutions under the UN drug control system has the duty not to enforce the drug control measures outside the other international laws, this paper has set out some of the measures that can be taken by the different stakeholders of the UN drug control to ensure that human rights are not abused. Real change will also be seen in the drug control system when the governments and different organizations e.g donors starts pressurizing the international institutions about this issue.
Human Rights Watch. (2000, May). United States Punishment and Prejudice: Racial Disparities in the War on Drugs (Vol.12, No.2 (G)). New York: Human Rights Watch. Retrieved April 12, 2005, from Human Rights Watch Web site: http://www.hrw.org/reports/2000/usa/Rcedrg00-01.htm
There have been many humanitarians that strive to help countries suffering with human right abuses. People think that the help from IGOs and NGOs will be enough to stop human rights violations. However, it hasn’t been effective. Every day, more and more human rights violations happen. The problem is escalating. People, including children, are still being forced to work to death, innocent civilians are still suffering the consequences of war, and families are struggling to stay firm together. Despite the efforts from the people, IGOs, and NGOs, In the year 2100, human rights abuse will not end.
America's War on Drugs: Policy and Problems. In this paper I will evaluate America's War on Drugs. More specifically, I will outline our nation's general drug history and look critically at how Congress has influenced our current ineffective drug policy. Through this analysis, I hope to show that drug prohibition policies in the United States, for the most part, have failed.
in the International Drug Policy Debate - Drug Law Reform in Latin America N p n d Web 30 Jan 2014
Concerned authorities have focused essentially on criminalization and punishment, to find remedies to the ever-increasing prevalent drug problem. In the name of drug reducing policies, authorities endorse more corrective and expensive drug control methods and officials approve stricter new drug war policies, violating numerous human rights. Regardless of or perhaps because of these efforts, UN agencies estimate the annual revenue generated by the illegal drug industry at $US400 billion, or the equivalent of roughly eight per cent of total international trade (Riley 1998). This trade has increased organized/unorganized crime, corrupted authorities and police officials, raised violence, disrupted economic markets, increased risk of diseases an...
Kids start being introduced to drugs at a very young age because the first interaction with them is being told not to do any of them. Most kids have no idea what drugs are until this program is introduced in elementary schools telling kids not to do drugs. In “There’s No Justice in the War on Drugs”, Milton Friedman talks about the injustice of drugs and the harsh reality of being addicted to drugs, and the causes or side effects that come along with them. The author clearly argues the “war on drugs” and uses analysis and data to prove his argument. The author agrees that the use of government to keep kids away from drugs should be enforced, but the use of government to keep adults away from drugs, should not be enforced. The author has a clear side of his argument and the audience can clearly see that. He argues against the “war on drugs” claim that President Richard M. Nixon made twenty-five years ago, he adds ethos, logos, and pathos to defend his argument, and uses a toulmin
A “drug-free society” has never existed, and probably will never exist, regardless of the many drug laws in place. Over the past 100 years, the government has made numerous efforts to control access to certain drugs that are too dangerous or too likely to produce dependence. Many refer to the development of drug laws as a “war on drugs,” because of the vast growth of expenditures and wide range of drugs now controlled. The concept of a “war on drugs” reflects the perspective that some drugs are evil and war must be conducted against the substances
Drug use has been an ongoing problem in our country for decades. The use of drugs has been the topic of many political controversies throughout many years. There has been arguments that are for legalizing drugs and the benefits associated with legalization. Also, there are some who are opposed to legalizing drugs and fear that it will create more problems than solve them. Conservatives and liberals often have different opinions for controversial topics such as “the war on drugs,” but it is necessary to analyze both sides in order to gain a full understanding of their beliefs and to decide in a change in policy is in order.
The Web. The Web. 10 Apr. 2014. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. http://www.drugwarfacts.org/. Miron, Jeffrey A. & Co.
The National Drug Control Strategy was issued two years ago to reduce drug use among teenagers and adults. The success of the President’s drug policy can be measured by its results. The student drug testing approach has reduced drug use and discouraged first time users significantly. Communities have been more actively involved in anti-drug programs for youth and adults. The increase in budget for law enforcement will enhance their effectiveness in detaining drug lords and cartels.
The war on drugs and the violence that comes with it has always brought around a hot debate about drug legalization. The amount of violence that is associated with drugs is a result from harsher drug laws and prohibition.
The Transnational Institute, The Bolivian Documentation and Information Center, and Inforpress Centroamericana Guatemala. Democracy, Human Rights, and Militarism in the War on Drugs in Latin America. April 1997. Web. Feb. 2013.
Wolf, M. (2011, June 4). We should declare an end to our disastrous war on drugs. Financial Times. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy.consortiumlibrary.org/docview/870200965?accountid=14473
In the early 1980s, policymakers and law enforcement officials stepped up efforts to combat the trafficking and use of illicit drugs. This was the popular “war on drugs,” hailed by conservatives and liberals alike as a means to restore order and hope to communities and families plagued by anti-social or self-destructive pathologies. By reducing illicit drug use, many claimed, the drug war would significantly reduce the rate of serious nondrug crimes - robbery, assault, rape, homicide and the like. Has the drug war succeeded in doing so?
Nearly the entire world has been waging an unsuccessful war on drugs for the majority of the last century. The war on drugs has many victims, from those who are dead due to gang related violence, those who have been killed by law enforcement for being on the wrong side, and those who are locked up for possession. The war on drugs desperately needs to move away from the costly and failed actions being taken under status quo policies. Thankfully, there are some countries who have already made this move and there is much we can learn from them.