Table 9: Harm reduction and the right to non-discrimination

Table 9: Harm Reduction and the Right to Non-discrimination  Examples of Human Rights Violations A person is denied work, housing, health care, education, or access to goods and services due to actual or suspected drug use. Police disproportionately arrest migrants and racial minorities for drug offenses, such as in the United States. See Bryan Stevenson, “Testimony on Criminal Justice for the UN Special Rapporteur on Racism” (2008), www.eji.org/files/05.28.08%20UNtestimonyonRace.pdf.  People who…

Table 10: Harm reduction and the right to the highest attainable standard of health

Table 10: Harm Reduction and the Right to the Enjoyment of the Highest Attainable Standard of Health Examples of Human Rights Violations Drug users or suspected drug users are turned away from hospitals or treated with stigma and judgmental attitudes in the health care system. Government officials ban needle exchange programs or confiscate syringes from drug users, claiming they promote illegal activity. Government bans substitution therapy with methadone. Human Rights…

Table 11: Harm reduction and the rights of women and children

Table 11: Harm Reduction and the Rights of Women and Children Examples of Human Rights Violations Women are denied access to harm reduction services on an equal basis with men. Pregnant women who use drugs are forced to undergo abortions or sterilization, or are penalized for attempting to injure their child. Children and young people are denied access to objective and accurate information about drugs and are barred from existing…

Example 1: Collecting affidavits to document illegal policing actions

Example 1: Collecting affidavits to document illegal policing actions  Project Type: Advocacy The Organization Pivot Legal Society Vancouver, Canada E-mail:  getinvolved@pivotlegal.org Website:  www.pivotlegal.org Report:  To Serve and Protect: A Report on Policing in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Pivot Legal Society focuses its work on marginalized populations that live in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES). Believing that equality lifts everyone, Pivot employs legal, political and community outreach techniques to promote health and drug policy,…

Example 2: Thai drug users form a network to advocate for harm reduction and human rights

Example 2: Thai drug users form a network to advocate for harm reduction and human rights  Project Type: Advocacy The Organization The Thai Drug Users’ Network (TDN) formed in Bangkok, Thailand in December 2002. The organization focuses on raising awareness of health, human rights and harm reduction principles—especially as those concepts relate to experiences of arbitrary arrest, torture, discrimination in judicial and healthcare settings, and lack of access to health care…

Example 3: Challenging police raids and criminalization of drug use in Hungary through “civil obedience”

Example 3: Challenging police raids and criminalization of drug use in Hungary through “civil obedience” Project Type: Advocacy The Organization  Hungarian Civil Liberties Union Budapest, Hungary E-mail:  tasz@tasz.hu Website:  http://tasz.hu/en Drug Policy Website: www.drogriporter.hu                                                                                …

Example 4: Harm Reduction International’s engagement with human rights mechanisms

Example 4: Harm Reduction International’s engagement with human rights mechanisms  Project Type: Advocacy The Organization Harm Reduction International London, United Kingdom Email: info@ihra.net Website:  http://www.ihra.net/ Harm Reduction International (HRI) advocates for the human rights of drug users and documents the harms associated with drug use. The Problem The total elimination of psychoactive drug use is not a practical goal. Those who are unable or unwilling to end their use of controlled…

Example 5: The right to privacy in the context of drug treatment

Example 5: The right to privacy in the context of drug treatment Project Type: Litigation — MGN Limited v. The United Kingdom, no. 39401/04, ECtHR (January 18, 2011). Organization  This is an example of an individual person that filed a lawsuit to protect her privacy. The Problem The British tabloid The Daily Mirror (formerly known as the Mirror) published several articles in 2001 showing supermodel Naomi Campbell attending Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings.…

Example 6: Contesting hate speech against drug users

Example 6: Contesting hate speech against drug users  Project Type: Advocacy The Organization Harm Reduction International London, England Email: info@ihra.net Website:  http://www.ihra.net/ Irish Needle Exchange Forum Ireland E-mail: info@inef.ie Website:  http://inef.ie/ CityWide Drugs Crisis Campaign Dublin, Ireland E-mail:  info@citywide.ie Website:  http://www.citywide.ie/ Harm Reduction International (HRI), the Irish Needle Exchange Forum, and the CityWide Drugs Crisis Campaign work to provide services for drug users, their families and their communities. They also provide accurate…

Example 7: Challenging the mandatory death penalty for drugs in India

Example 7: Challenging the mandatory death penalty for drugs in India  Project Type: Litigation — Mithu v. State of Punjab, (1983) 2 S.C.C. 277 (India). Organization  Lawyers Collective New Dehli & Mumbai, India E-mail New Dehli: aidslaw1@lawyerscollective.org E-mail Mumbai: aidslaw@lawyerscollective.org Website:  www.lawyerscollective.org This is an example of an individual challenging a government policy by bringing a human rights claim. The Problem An Indian man who was found guilty of a repeated offense…