EYOND 2008 Showing Leadership on Beyond 2008 Throughout its 20-year history, CCSA has worked with bodies such as the World Health Organization, the International Labour Organization, the United Nations and the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) to fulfill its legislated mandate to promote increased awareness among Canadians of the nature and extent of international alcohol and drug abuse efforts and (support) Canada s participation in those efforts. The Centre s most ambitious project to date has been the Beyond 2008 international NGO forum that took place in Vienna in July 2008.
CCSA: Showing Leadership on Beyond 2008 The United Nations declared the 1990s the UN Decade Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in an effort to draw attention to the growth of serious drug-related problems around the world, including the rise of narco-terrorism, money laundering, and the emerging widespread use of amphetamine-type stimulants. In June 1998, the UN convened the first-ever United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Illicit Drugs (UNGASS) to assess the international drug problem and to develop a forward-looking strategy for the 21st century, centred on the basic principle of a balanced approach between supply and demand reduction. UNGASS culminated in the adoption of a Political Declaration and Action Plan committing some 150 member states to the achievement of significant and measurable results in reducing illicit drug supply and demand by the year 2008. It was thought that through the concerted actions of member states, the world could be drug-free by 2008. UNGASS also sought reaffirmation by member states of the international drug control system and the three international drug control Conventions that underpin that system. The three Conventions form a global framework around which drug control is enacted by UN member states. The Single Convention of 1961 and the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 had the dual purpose of ensuring availability of narcotic drugs and limiting their use to medical and scientific applications. The Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988 was intended to reinforce the 1961 and 1971 Conventions, and to counter the extent and magnitude of illicit traffic and its consequences. Overseeing the application of the drug Conventions is the responsibility of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), the UN s principal policy-making body on drug control, which also recommends changes to international drug control machinery and drafts new conventions. Fifty-four member states are elected to the CND by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for a three-year term. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) functions as a secretariat to the CND, as well as to the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, and the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). The INCB is responsible for ensuring day-to-day compliance with the Conventions. (See Diagram 1 showing the United Nations organizational structure as it relates to drug policy) Beyond 2008 Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse 1
Diagram 1: United Nations organizational structure UN General Assembly 192 Heads of State Economic and Social Peace & Security Human Rights Council (ECOSOC) Humanitarian Affairs International Law 54 Members Elected by GA CCSA has consultative status with ECOSOC, CND, WHO and ILO. International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) 13 Individuals - Elected by ECOSOC Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) Meets Annually March 54 Government Members Elected by ECOSOC Commission on Crime Prevention & Criminal Justice Independent quasi-judicial control and monitoring body for international drug conventions. UN Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC) UNODC is Secretariat to CND, Commission on Crime Prevention & Criminal Justice and INCB. It is technical agency responsible to provide reports to CND on progress towards UNGASS goals. Among its other historic actions, UNGASS gave demand reduction unprecedented profile in international drug control policy when it adopted a landmark resolution on Guiding Principles of Demand Reduction. Despite language in the Conventions relating to prevention, education, treatment and rehabilitation, and very explicit references to diversion from the criminal justice system and ensuring adequate provision of services for people who use drugs, demand reduction had nonetheless always been the poor cousin of supply reduction and prohibition within the UN drug control system. Through adoption of the Guiding Principles of Demand Reduction, UNGASS was signalling to member states that illicit drug use must be dealt with as a health matter, and that demand reduction is a fundamental principle of the Conventions and member states must engage in it. Apart from member states commitments and pledges, adopted on June 10, 1998, the General Assembly also called on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and governments to work together to assess the drug problem, identify viable solutions and implement appropriate policies and programs. This unprecedented appeal was a clear acknowledgment that NGOs are key partners in raising awareness around illicit drugs, and in facilitating prevention, education, treatment, rehabilitation, social reintegration and other forms of demand reduction. What was also becoming evident was that NGOs, as providers of demand reduction and other services at the local level, are in a good position to assess the impact of the drug Conventions, both intended and unintended, on individuals and their communities. The Commission on Narcotic Drugs sets highlevel, global policy recommendations and resolutions, but there is limited insight as to their actual application on the ground. National governments pledge to develop domestic drug laws and policies, such as Canada s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA), that respect the Conventions and policy directions set by the CND; however, it often falls to those who work in the field to interpret the consequences of those national laws and policies on citizens whose lives and actions are shaped by them. UNGASS clearly set the stage for a more prominent role for NGOs and civil society at the UN and for greater NGO participation in the drug policy-making and implementation process. No formal mechanism had existed for bringing the 2 Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse Beyond 2008
unique expertise and perspectives of NGOs into the UN arena and it was now becoming evident that lawmakers and bodies such as the Commission on Narcotic Drugs could benefit greatly from this knowledge. The period leading up to the scheduled 10-year review of UNGASS in 2008 seemed to provide an ideal opportunity to make this case, but as 2008 approached it was not clear who was going to take up the challenge and speak on behalf of NGOs. That situation began to change significantly around 2006 as a direct result of the intervention of Canada, the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse and its Chief Executive Officer Michel Perron. Mr. Perron approached the Canadian government to ask what Canada was planning to do as part of the UNGASS review. Canada had played an important role in laying the groundwork for UNGASS in 1998, and he argued that the government should look seriously at taking a leadership stand relating to UNGASS 2008. CCSA s Chief Executive Officer Michel Perron. As Vice-Chair of the Vienna NGO Committee on Narcotic Drugs (VNGOC), Mr. Perron proposed the creation of Beyond 2008, an international NGO forum that would bring together all ideological perspectives under one tent for the purpose of collecting and mining global NGO knowledge as the Commission on Narcotic Drugs prepared its review of UNGASS. He was well placed to lead this effort, but the VNGOC itself had no money or infrastructure to contribute to it. Mr Perron therefore approached the UN and asked that a project be created within the UN Office on Drugs and Crime system that would allow member states to earmark some of the project money they contribute annually to the UNODC specifically to Beyond 2008. The UNODC accepted willingly, viewing this as a valuable opportunity to engage with civil society. The task then became to sell the project to potential funders, so in the summer of 2007, a number of NGOs started knocking on government doors looking for contributions. CCSA and the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC) had already primed the pump with contributions of 40,000 Euros each. CCSA also committed to the financial management of the project, a task that proved a significant amount of work for the organization. Other NGOs such as the Senlis Council and the Salvation Army also contributed to early funding. A huge turning point came when the European Union agreed to contribute $400,000 to the project. Then other governments began to respond, including Canada (which put money in twice) and the United Kingdom. With these commitments in place, the UNODC then signed the first-ever financial agreement with the Vienna NGO Committee, designating CCSA as the financial agent to receive all fund transfers directly from the UNODC. Such a move had never before occurred in this area and not only showed the confidence UNODC placed in CCSA, but also spoke to the role, liability and risks that CCSA was assuming. The EU contribution also changed the nature and scope of the project. The EU wanted consultations in six of the underrepresented regions of the world leading up to the global forum. That meant that instead of being a one-time, threeday event in Vienna attended by 300 people, Beyond 2008 was now turning into a global consultation process a process that eventually grew to involve 13 cities in all nine regions of the world in gathering input from hundreds of members of civil society representing millions of citizens. Meeting the EU demand for six regional consultations was a huge logistical challenge. Mr. Perron created a Beyond 2008 Steering Committee, which he chaired, and a Program Committee chaired by David Turner of the NGO Centro Italiano di Solidarietà. The Vienna NGO Committee brought people together to provide guidance on how to organize the regional consultations. Three regional lead organizations were chosen by the Steering Committee in each of the six regions after extensive consultation with NGOs around the globe, member states and the UNODC office in Vienna and their regional offices. A portion of project money was dedicated to each of the regions to fund the consultations. The unfunded regions, North America, Australasia and Western Europe, were eager to participate and organized themselves in a manner to fund their own consultations. The only stipulation was that they had to strictly adhere to the processes and questions all other consultations were using. A key priority in choosing the 18 regional lead organizations in under-represented regions was to ensure a democratic and transparent consultation process that would give equal voice to NGOs of all ideological stripes. This was accomplished by choosing one regional lead organization that would appear to most outsiders as more liberal in its approaches to drug laws, another that would be viewed as more restrictive, and a third that could bring youth groups together. So, for example, in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region, organizers approached the Eastern European Harm Reduction Network and asked them to lead the regional consultation in partnership with the European Cities Against Drugs, an organization known for its conservative interpretation of drug policy and opposition to harm reduction. Beyond 2008 Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse 3
Miraculously, the strategy worked, despite initial misgivings on both sides of the ideological divide. NGOs were amazed to find themselves sitting at the same table as those they had previously opposed, and were even more surprised to discover that they could agree on so much and actually work together. The consultation process was a unique achievement, bringing together the views of those who witness and work most closely with the illicit drug problem, from coca farmers and AIDS activists to youth counsellors, prevention experts and faith-based organizations. This kind of cooperation set the tone that informed Beyond 2008 and made it possible to achieve consensus. The process also created a lasting legacy in the shape of a more informed, more collaborative and engaged civil society imbued with a new understanding of their ability to influence their national governments, their regional organizations, and the international community through the UN. Another essential priority for the regional consultations was to ensure that each region addressed the same three questions. These questions were intended to inform three Beyond 2008 objectives: 1. To highlight tangible NGO achievements in the field of drug control, with particular emphasis on contributions to the 1998 UNGASS Action Plan such as achievement in policy, community engagement, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and social reintegration. 2. To review best practices related to collaboration mechanisms among NGOs, governments and UN agencies in various fields, and propose new and/or improved ways of working with the UNODC and CND. 3. To adopt a series of high-order principles, drawn from the Conventions and their commentaries, that would be tabled with UNODC and CND for their consideration and serve as a guide for future deliberations on drug policy matters. The first question/objective focused on what has changed in the lives of NGOs since UNGASS 1998. The response that emerged pointed to tremendous change a far greater number of NGOs working in the field, far more sophistication in the breadth and quality of services they deliver, far more funding opportunities available to NGOs, and far more NGOs working in collaboration with governments. Responses to the second question/objective were not as positive. Despite repeated references to engagement and involvement of civil society at the highest levels within the UN, engagement of NGOs within the UNODC and CND was seen as inadequate: there simply was not a level of actual engagement commensurate with what member states had pledged to do. A key goal for Beyond 2008, therefore, was to make recommendations to improve collaborative working mechanisms around the themes of funding opportunities, organizational change and knowledge-sharing. The third question/objective elicited evidence of the ways that NGOs from around the world have been working to achieve the goals of the Conventions, and also revealed a sense that some aspects of the Conventions had produced unintended consequences and an imbalance between supply and demand reduction strategies. Among high-order principles sought by Beyond 2008 was a greater balance of supply and demand reduction approaches, the use of evidence and researchbased policies, collaboration and consultation of NGOs at all levels of policy making, respect for human rights, and culturally sensitive practices. The Beyond 2008 consultation process created a unique means of linking NGO experience and perspectives to those issues being examined by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, as part of the 10-year UNGASS review, without requiring NGOs to be global drug policy experts. NGOs reacted with overwhelming support and enthusiasm for what they saw as a once-in-alifetime opportunity to be heard. This positive feeling was reinforced when Beyond 2008 got underway in Vienna on July 7, 2008, and 300 NGO delegates found themselves occupying the same seats that UN member states do and engaging in a process very similar to that of the CND. This was the largest and most comprehensive and diverse group of NGOs in the illicit drug field that had ever met at the UN. The spirit of collaboration and breaching of ideological differences that had informed the consultation process now took over at the Forum itself. Delegates participated in three days of negotiation and concession ultimately leading to the adoption by consensus of a Global Declaration and Three Resolutions based on the three objectives that were explored through the consultation process. As the meeting proceeded, the group reached its first challenge over whether to include harm reduction in the resolutions. Reverting to the strategy that had made the consultations a success, organizers brought supporters and opponents face-to-face and 20 minutes later there was agreement on a definition of harm reduction that astounded all participants. The second area of contention arose around whether to include people who use drugs in the policy-making process. There was strong opposition to inclusion from one delegate who stated that drug users are criminals and should not be at the policy-making table. Using his position as Chair, Mr. Perron put that delegate in charge of an informal group 4 Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse Beyond 2008
David Turner, Chair of the Beyond 2008 Program Committee, speaks at the International NGO Forum in Vienna, 2008. tasked with coming up with appropriate language that communicated the essence of what people wanted to hear. After two hours, that delegate returned smiling and giving the thumbs up, signalling a successful resolution of the issue. A third issue arose over language with some delegates preferring to talk about preventing drug use, while others favoured the term drug abuse, and still others arguing for drug misuse and addictions. Mr. Perron asked a colleague at Mentor UK to head a language committee to resolve the impasse. After 10 hours, the group returned with consensus around illicit/ harmful drug use where illicit use describes something that is first and foremost contrary to the Conventions, and harmful use requires intervention and prevention. Everyone agreed and again, a feeling of amazement filled the room a feeling shared by representatives of governments, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, and the International Control Board who sat at the back as observers. There was one final stumbling block at the very end of the proceedings when a delegate representing a youth group from Vancouver called for inclusion of a reference to the disproportionate effect of drug policies on youth. She thought she had agreement from some of the more restrictive NGOs, but 10 minutes before the close of the session, these same groups said no and refused to concede. With the fate of the Forum hanging in the balance, the youth delegate agreed to modify her demand, allowing full consensus by the 300 Beyond 2008 delegates. Seated at the front beside Mr. Perron was David Turner who played an extraordinary role as on-the-spot editor working in tandem with the Chair. Words were shaped into text that allowed consensus to emerge in the form of a Declaration and three Resolutions. Beyond 2008 represents a historic achievement, providing a clear and single voice from NGOs around the globe to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs on what civil society sees as critical to the future of global drug policy. A closer look at the Declaration and Resolutions reveals the strength of the document in three broad themes described as follows in the news release issued at the conclusion of the Forum: Shared responsibility and accountability. Governments, at all levels, need to leverage the experience, reach, professionalism and passion of NGOs. In the past five years, NGOs have become more focused, disciplined, inter-connected and organized around how to take on this global problem. NGOs are well placed to contribute but only if their experience, reach, impact and commitment is engaged. As Eva Tongue, then Chairperson of the Vienna NGO Committee on Narcotic Drugs commented in her opening remarks, Money alone is not enough. Governments need to recognize that the fieldwork done by the NGOs is fundamental to success in all aspects of this matter. Beyond 2008 Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse 5
Giving the most affected a voice. This is an issue that has to be addressed at the human level. The Declaration and Resolutions represent many different voices individuals, families, and communities from around the globe. This voice needs to be heard because it brings a fundamental understanding on how to achieve demonstrable progress to reduce illicit/harmful drug use and its adverse health, social and economic consequences. Beyond 2008 Forum has created a call for action. The Declaration and Resolutions are just the start. It is a commitment by all of the participants to build on what was achieved here in Vienna as they return to their work and engage with their governments. Immediately following the Beyond 2008, copies of the Declaration and Resolutions were sent to all Permanent Missions in Vienna. Since then, NGOs have been using what Mr. Perron calls this global calling card to knock on their governments doors to discuss domestic drug policy. NGOs are being invited to cabinet meetings to talk about what they re doing and to share their recommendations. When they meet with governments they are saying, When you go to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, this is what we believe needs to be done. All efforts are now focused on ensuring that the collective conclusions and recommendations flowing out of Beyond 2008 find their way into the work of the CND and, most importantly, into a new Political Declaration and Action Plan that is expected at the conclusion of the CND s High-Level Segment (HLS) in March 2009. In preparation for this important meeting, the CND, at its meeting in March 2008, created five open-ended intergovernmental expert working groups to review UNGASSrelated results, including a Demand Reduction Working Group. In September 2008, Mr. Perron and Mr. Turner presented the Beyond 2008 Declaration and Resolutions to the demand reduction group. The group s report makes specific reference to the work of Beyond 2008 and many of its conclusions parallel Forum recommendations. Congratulations on your commitment and leadership that brought together civil society to speak with one voice on illicit/ harmful drug use. Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of UN Office on Drugs and Crime (from a letter to Michel Perron and David Turner co-chairs for Beyond 2008) In addition, the Chair of the CND, Ms. Ashipala Musavyi, who attended Beyond 2008, tabled a preliminary Chair s draft report attempting to pull together the five working group reports into a single document to stimulate decision making by the CND on what to adopt in March 2009. Her report makes specific reference to Beyond 2008 and calls for a number of recommendations that reflect Beyond 2008 demands. On Nov. 13, 2008, Michel Perron and David Turner had meetings with the Chair of the 52nd Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the Executive Director of UNODC and the President of the International Narcotics Control Board. The purpose of the meetings was to follow up the Declaration and Resolutions adopted by consensus at the Vienna Forum and to review arrangements for NGO participation in the High Level Segment (HLS) and the ordinary session of the 52nd CND. The High Level Segment is scheduled for March 11 and 12, 2009, and the ordinary session of CND will take place on March 16 20, 2009. This was a very useful set of meetings, which confirmed that Beyond 2008 was appreciated as a means of bringing together the NGO community around areas of consensus and in the full understanding that while there were important areas of difference, there was also much agreement. The discussions with UNODC and with INCB demonstrated a definite interest in building improved collaborative mechanisms and work will continue with both organizations to take forward the agreements reached at the Beyond 2008 Forum. Beyond 2008 and its resultant global consensus recommendations are meant to substantively shape and inform the HLS and the future directions of global drug policy. Those decisions and priorities taken will ultimately affect all people around the globe and those living across Canada. The work led by CCSA allowed Canadian NGOs to be a part of this important process, to help shape our own future, and to ensure that governments benefit from our unique expertise. The best is yet to come. Beyond 2008 was initiated and led by Michel Perron, Chief Executive Officer for the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. Mr. Perron continues to play a leadership role, ensuring the consensus recommendations are an integral part of the UNGASS review in March 2009. 6 Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse Beyond 2008