Main issues:

  • The Viennna 2008 Campaign*

encod1In 2008, the United Nations are supposed to produce the results of their 10-year strategy to ‘eliminate or significantly reduce the supply and demand of illicit drugs’, agreed upon during the Special Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGASS) in New York in 1998. For this purpose, a meeting of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs will be held in March 2008 in Vienna, Austria. On this meeting, delegates from approx. 60 countries as well as UN bureaucrats will have to come up with a credible explanation for the fact that their strategy has completely failed and is based on the wrong assumptions. Obviously, they will do everything to reduce public attention to the meeting, as this will undoubtedly lead to more debate about the need to change their policies.

In short: Vienna 2008 is the perfect opportunity for those citizens opposed to the global war on drugs to join forces and make a common effort to show the world there is much more to fear from prohibition than from a tolerant alternative.

We are considering to plan a 3 day programme (from Friday to Sunday) in which hundreds, perhaps thousands of activists from all over the world can participate. It will be a combination of both information, interaction and entertainment. In April 2003, ENCOD organised a similar march towards the UN headquarters in Vienna <http://www.vienna2003.org> that drew a total number of 3.000 participants.

  • The dialogue with the European Union.*

Drugs and drug problems are among the issues that concern EU citizens most. Not only because they relate to public health and safety, but also because until now, citizens have had no possibility whatsoever to be consulted in the elaboration of drug policies. EU governments started to work out the concept of a European drug policy in 1990. Since then, several official commitments have been made to involve civil society in the design and implementation of drug policies. Yet these commitments have never been put into practice. EU Strategies and Action Plans on Drugs have always been designed and adopted without any serious consultation of civil society.

In June 2006, the European Commission issued a Green Paper (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/com/2006/com2006_0316en01.pdf) which is a reflection on the role of civil society in drug policy in Europe. European citizens were invited to give their comments to this Green Paper before 30 september 2006. In September 2006, ENCOD (European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies), a platform of 150 Civil Society Organisations from 24 European countries, presented its Green Pepper, (http://www.encod.org/info/IMG/pdf/GPENCOD-2.pdf), containing its comments to the Green Paper and a historical overview of the role of civil society in EU drug policy in the past 20 years.

encod4The process of involving civil society in European drug policy can become a testcase for transparency in the European Union. But it remains to be seen whether the current process will mark the start of a sincere dialogue between citizens and authorities on drug policies. Not only have EU authorities yet been unable to establish a sincere dialogue with civil society on drug policy. Also the outcome of the evaluations of earlier strategies as well as the recommendations of the European Parliament that were pointing in the direction of a fundamental change in drug policies have been completely ignored.

  • The ENCOD-website*

Our new website offers possibilities for local ENCOD Members to participate. We will organise a workshop for those interested in collaborating with this site.


**** ENCOD GENERAL ASSEMBLIES ARE OPEN TO ANYONE, THOUGH NON-MEMBERS ARE IN PRINCIPLE ONLY OBSERVERS.

We hope to hear from you soon!

Joep Oomen, ENCOD coordinator E-mail: joep@encod.org

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EUROPEAN COALITION FOR JUST AND EFFECTIVE DRUG POLICIES

Lange Lozanastraat 14 – 2018 Antwerpen - Belgium

Tel. + 32 (0)3 293 0886 – Mob. + 32 (0)495 122644

E-mail: info@encod.org <mailto:info@encod.org> / www.encod.org <http://www.encod.org>