An announcement from Greg Denham follows:
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.
The Cambodian government is attempting to coerce local NGOs to test an unproven medication on drug users, according to materials obtained by Asia Catalyst. Authorities have threatened to shut down NGOs that refuse to administer the drug, and arrest drug users who refuse to take the test.
by Sara (Meg) Davis, Agus Triwahyuono, and Risa Alexander
from Harm Reduction Journal
In Indonesia, an ongoing government “war on drugs” has resulted in
numerous arrests and anecdotal reports of abuse in detention, but to
date there has been little documentation or analysis of this issue.
JANGKAR (also known in English as the Indonesian Harm Reduction
Network), a nongovernmental organization (NGO) based in Jakarta,
surveyed 1106 injecting drug users in 13 cities about their experiences
of police abuse. Of those interviewed, 667 or 60% reported physical
abuse by police. These findings indicate the importance of continuing
efforts to promote police reform and harm reduction in Indonesia.
We’re delighted that our article on Jangkar’s groundbreaking research has been published in a peer-reviewed journal. For the full article and excerpts from the moving testimony of drug users in Indonesia, please see the Harm Reduction Journal.
[:en]Last week I went to Jakarta with the harm reduction program director for Open Society Institute and met with a half dozen grassroots groups of injection drug users (IDU). In Indonesia, where AIDS is ravaging the country due to the rapidly-escalating use of drugs, young people have responded by starting small nonprofit groups to reach out to drug users on the street. They hand out clean needles, give advice on AIDS prevention, help people get medical care when they need it, and advocate with the local police. And they’re doing some innovative things on the human rights front, too.
