Reg.: Oct 2008
Location: vienna
Posts: 32

Stop The War On Nature

The European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies (ENCOD) will send a delegation to the UN Ministerial Summit on Drugs that will take place in Vienna between 10 and 13 March.

From Wednesday 11 to Friday 13 March, the following people, citizens affected by drug policies worldwide, will represent ENCOD at the UN Summit in Vienna.

If conditions allow: Chakib Alkhayari, president of the Human Rights Association for the people of the Rif (North Morocco).

Representatives of coca producers from Bolivia.

Fredrick Polak, European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies (ENCOD) , who since one year is trying to start an open conversation with the UNODC Executive Director, Antonio Maria Costa on the evidence that drug prohibition has no impact on drug use levels.

Adriana Rodriguez Salazar, independent researcher from Colombia, spe******ed in the impact of the war on drugs on society and environment in Colombia.

Terry Nelson, of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, United States, an association of mainly (ex-) policemen and judges opposed to the war on drugs.
Programme of activities

Wednesday 11. 3. 2009, from 08.00 - 12.00

STOP THE GLOBAL DRUG WAR!

- demonstration for a sober drug policy

Why to demonstrate and why now?

In 1998, the representatives of governments gathered in New York at the United Nation’s General Assembly’s Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS). The meeting was dominated by the slogan: “A Drug-Free World: We Can Do It”.

After 10 years, we see that the global drug war could not achieve its goal and caused a lot of unintended consequences: massive imprisonment of people, the spread of HIV/AIDS and overdoses, violent crime and corruption, humanitarian crisis in producer countries. High level governmental delegates are gathering on March 11-12 in Vienna to discuss the past 10 years and adopt a new Political Declaration on drugs.

This is time to make our voices heard loud and clear: we need to change international drug control policies and put human rights and harm reduction in the focus instead of criminalization and eradication!

Everybody who agrees with our goals is welcome to join us!

Location: Muhammad Asad Platz in Vienna (near the Kaisermühlen VIC metro station and the entrance of the Vienna International Centre)

Timeline:

From 8:00 AM - gathering at the entrance of the Vienna International Centre

11:00 AM – open air press conference

Speakers: Balázs Dénes (Hungarian Civil Liberties Union);

Frederick Polak (European Colation for Just and Effective Drug Policies);

Kris Krane (Students for a Sensible Drug Policy);

Jude Byrne (International Network of People Who Use Drugs)

For further questions, please contact sarosip@tasz.hu or +36204622494!

Thursday 12. 3. 2009, from 12:30 to 21:30

FREEDOM TO FARM - Peace on Plants Picknick

Governments should protect their citizens, not persecute them.

>open for all artists, performers, people and plants <
Muhammad Asad Platz, Vienna, Austria

STOP THE WAR ON NATURE

For thousands of years, people around the world have been growing cannabis, coca leaves, opium and other plants in order to use them as a medicine for body and mind, or for other useful purposes..

Since 1961, following the dictates of a UN Convention that is applied in almost all countries of the world, these plants are prohibited. People have been killed, tortured, imprisoned, stigmatised and ruined for growing, trading or consuming them. Today, more than 200 million people worldwide continue to use these plants

It is time to initiate new strategies in international drug policy.

Prohibition has caused more problems than solutions.

Non-repressive strategies are needed to deal with the drug issue, strategies that do not criminalise producers nor consumers, that are aimed at reducing risks related to drugs within a legal framework in which human rights are respected.

We ask the UN today to establish the right of every adult citizen of the world to grow and possess natural plants for personal use and non-commercial purposes, using all technical equipment that is available for this. At the same time, individual countries should be allowed to experiment with policies that are not based on a prohibitionist regime.
Friday 13 March, 11.00 hs: Press Conference

We invite the representatives of the media to a press conference with the members of various delegations of NGOs that have participated in the UN Summit.

Place:

Cafe Landtmann, Dr. Karl Lueger-Ring 4, 1010 Wien

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