Letter from The Global Drug Policy Program, Open Society Institute

Dear all,

Negotiations over the Political Declaration to be adopted next week at the UN High Level Meeting in Vienna are coming to an end. We are saddened that a number of countries, including the United States, Russia, Japan, the Vatican, Italy, Sweden, Cuba and Colombia, have rejected all mention of harm reduction and human rights of drug users.

Taking into account the global HIV epidemic - increasingly fuelled by injecting drug use - this stance is extremely short-sighted and irresponsible. The last ten years of international drug policy have also led to an increase in the production of illicit drugs, high levels of incarceration, and countless human rights violations.

Should you wish to protest to your government, please contact your National AIDS Program, Drug Control Program and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

With kind regards,

The Global Drug Policy program, Open Society Institute