[REPORT] Law Enforcement and Harm Reduction in Cambodia

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By Greg Denham

I have worked in the law enforcement field for over twenty five years, and a
significant part of my work has been in the drug policy area. I have come to
the conclusion that harm reduction services, particularly needle and syringe
programs, are an essential component of a comprehensive strategy designed to
reduce drug related harm in communities.

This view, however, is not always shared openly by other police. Privately, while many
police officers accept that harm reduction services are important, their attitude
is more likely to condemn than condone.

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[COMMENTARY] End Overcrowding in Indonesian Prisons

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By Ricky Gunawan

 

Up through 2009, Indonesia suffered a tremendous blow from the so-called
“judicial mafia”, the corrupt network that controls the criminal justice
system. Every sector of Indonesia’s legal system has been paralyzed by this
judicial mafia. It is made up of middlemen who, for a fee, can broker deals
between police, prosecutors and judges. In a late response to this dismal
situation, in late 2009 President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono established a task force to “eradicate the
judicial mafia in the first 100 days” of his administration.

 

Last week, the task force conducted a surprise visit to Pondok Bambu
Detention Facility, Jakarta. This visit revealed shocking – yet, to those in
the know, all too predictable — findings. Arthalyta Suryani, a high-class
criminal convicted of bribery, is imprisoned
in luxurious conditions. Her “cell” is an 8×8 meter room with a refrigerator,
flat TV with home theatre, air conditioner, and other facilities such as dining
tables, maids and a Blackberry.

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[COMMENTARY] A Patent Pool: What Are the Risks?

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Today and tomorrow, December 14-15, the executive board of UNITAID will vote on whether to move forward with plans for a patent pool. A patent pool is a consortium of companies that share a license to a particular product or technology. In this case, manufacturers of AIDS drugs would give a limited number of generic manufacturers the right to produce those drugs. Competition between the generic manufacturers would then drive down the price of drugs in countries where many people currently cannot afford AIDS drugs.

Controversy has roiled over the patent pool idea since some have suggested that middle-income countries should be excluded. A lot of those countries are in Asia; see this letter from APN+, the network of people living with HIV in Asia, which clearly lays out the issues.

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[REPORT] Give Everyone the Right to Affordable Medicines

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By Shiwei Ye

The high cost of medicines essential for the prevention, treatment and cure of many diseases makes them inaccessible to millions of patients who need them. The World Health Organization estimates this to include a third of the world’s population. In parts of Asia, the percentage may be even higher.

One of the key factors making medicines unaffordable is the current intellectual property right (IPR) regime and its prominent place in many free trade agreements. There is a dire need to reform the current international trade framework in order to provide correct and adequate incentives that can lead to need-based medical innovations and that can ensure that public health is prioritized over commercial interests.

 

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[REPORT] Asian Drug Users Unite

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An interesting development: drug users from around Asia met last week to formalize the Asian Network of People Who Use Drugs. ANPUD aims to create a network that can advocate for the rights of drug users. They’ll also, hopefully, provide some useful input into national and regional policies on narcotics, treatment, and HIV/AIDS. The full statement from ANPUD follows.

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