Eu meeting in Brussels: EU Drug Policy.

[cannabinol]

INVITATION TO ATTEND A PUBLIC HEARING ON EUROPE’s ROLE IN DRUG POLICY REFORM

 

 

4 MARCH 2003

ROOM PHS 4B 01

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT - BRUSSELS

 

 

 

From 8 to 17 April 2003, the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) will convene in Vienna. The CND meeting will include a two day summit of ministers from all UN Member States. The aim of the meeting is to evaluate the impact of current drug policy based on prohibition of production, distribution and consumption of all substances included in the three UN Treaties on Drugs (of 1961, 1971 and 1988). The meeting is also supposed to agree on future guidelines.

 

The International Coalition of NGO’s for Just and Effective Drug Policy (ICN) is not prepared to allow the CND meeting to go unchallenged. Our aim is to prevent future drug policy from causing yet further deterioration in the field of health, human rights, community safety, sustainable development, sound economy and national sovereignty.

 

The UN Drug Treaties are the “legal” basis for the incarceration of millions of people for something they do using their free will. We do not dispute that drug use may become a burden for some, but this should never be a motive to incarcerate and criminalize so many. The UN Drug Treaties are the underlying cause of formidable drug crime, drug misery, political domination and corruption.

 

We feel the time has come for this drug-policy-straightjacket to be broken up, or at least substantially loosened. People who see the “war on drugs” as a cause of more harm than the drugs themselves should openly speak out against this modern form of Inquisition.

 

Therefore, on the 4th of March 2003, we will hold a one day public hearing inside the European Parliament in Brussels. Under the title “VIENNA 2003: A Chance for the World “, important European political, scientific and cultural leaders will speak out against the seemingly cast-iron UN Drug Treaties. Among the audience will be members of national and European Parliaments, representatives of European Governments and EU institutions, and members of the press and of civil society.

 

We believe the current UN Drug Treaties are outdated. We need your help to create the space to develop drug policies that are more consistent with present cultural and economic situations in- and outside Europe. Therefore, we ask you to come to the hearing in Brussels and call upon Parliamentarians and other decision-makers in Europe to modernize the UN Treaties.

 

Access to this hearing is free for everyone, but if you wish to assist, you need to register. Therefore, please send us the reply form by E-mail, fax or normal post before 20 February 2003. Also, please note that in order to enter the European Parliament building, you need to bring a valid identity card or passport.

 

One of the organisations involved in the ICN campaign, Liaison Antiprohibitionniste from Brussels, will organise a public event in the heart of Brussels on Monday 3 March in the afternoon. We appeal to you all to make sure you arrive in Brussels before in order to participate in this event.

 

Likewise, we will organise a meeting for European drug policy activists in Antwerpen on 5 March from 10.00 to 17.00 hs. On this meeting, we will discuss the results of the hearing, prepare future actions in the framework of the campaign for Vienna and eventually, establish a European-wide organisation for drug policy reform. People who attend this meeting may ask for partial reimbursement of their travel and eventual accomodation costs in Belgium during this period.

 

More information on the hearing (programme and speakers) and other ICN initiatives for the Vienna meeting can be found at www.vienna2003.org, section "International Events".

 

Please feel free to spread this invitation to fellow activists as widely as possible.

 

 

REPLY FORM

 

 

YES, I would be willing to attend the hearing in the European Parliament on 4 March 2003

 

Name

E-mail

City

Country

Evt. Telephone /Fax number

YES, I wish to attend the public event in Brussels, please keep me informed on time and place

NO, I do not wish to attend

 

YES, I wish to attend the activist meeting in Antwerpen on 5 March, please keep me informed

 

I do need partial reimbursement of my ticket and accomodation

I do not need this reimbursement

 

NO, I do not wish to attend

 

Please send this form to the European NGO Council on Drugs and Development:

 

E-mail: encod@glo.be

Fax: + 32 237 0225

Normal post: Lange Lozanastraat 14 2018 Antwerpen, Belgium

 

Questions or information? Contact: ENCOD

 

European NGO Council on Drugs and Development

Edited February 14, 2003 by cannabinol