On March 13th 2024, together with the Open Society Foundations, the Global Commission on Drug Policy, UNITE Parlamentarians Network for Global Health and the Research Group on Drugs, CEU’s Shattuck Center for Human Rights at the Department of Public Policy co-hosted a panel discussion on “Bridging the gap: Reassessing Drug Policy through a Human Rights Lens”.
The event was organized in light of the 67th session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in Vienna, which will be preceded by a High-Level Segment during which Member States and UN agencies will assess the progress made in implementing all international drug policy commitments as set forth in the 2019 Ministerial Declaration.
Moderated by CEU PhD candidate Rebeca Marques Rocha and in front of a packed CEU Auditorium, a fascinating panel of UN representatives, politicians, and activists discussed current challenges and opportunities of a sustainable drug policy aligned with human rights.
Hon. Ruth Dreifuss, founding member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy and former President of the Swiss Confederation, Hon. Lynn Ruane, Independent Senator in Ireland and member of UNITE Parliamentarians Network for Global Health, Jean-Luc Lemahieu, Director of the Division for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Zaved Mahmood, Human Rights Officer at the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and Boyan Konstantinov, Policy Specialist, HIV, Health and Development, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) debated the current state of drug policy strategies and how punitive approaches contradict scientific evidence and lessons learned from innovative, compassionate and successful practices that seek to maintain individual human dignity.
The panel had opening remarks by CEU's Pro-Rector Agnes Batory, which highlighted the university's role in engaging in such debates and promoting the values of an open society. Prof. Martin Kahanec, Director of the Shattuck Center for Human Rights, followed presenting the vision of the Shattuck center and its commitment to the topic and to nurturing and empowering talents also through events like this. In the end, Kasia Malinowska, Director of Drugs Policy at the Open Society Foundations (OSF), provided inspiring closing remarks, calling on policymakers to make bold policy decisions to change the status quo and promote comprehensive, evidence-based, and human rights-aligned reforms.
Prof. Kahanec highlighted the importance of academia promoting an open space and engaging in such conversations. "We are happy that CEU and the Shattuck Center can provide a platform for debates between academia, political practitioners, and activists". At the end, PhD candidate Rebeca Marques Rocha emphasized "we hope that the discussions from this panel event will spark further connections and continue long into the future."
The Shattuck Center for Human Rights | Department of Public Policy
Foto: Robert Puteanu