Comments on HR2 - Harm Reduction & Human Rights: HIV? Human Rights Abuses?...The INCB Has More Pres...

Singapore is also a tiny city state under a secret...

2008-03-10T22:44:00.000Z

Singapore is also a tiny city state under a secretive and borderline totalitarian regime. It is not a useful comparator, even if we did have a data with which to compare.

Chewing gum is illegal in Singapore.

Peter. I hope you will join IHRA and the UN (including I read today the UNODC) in condemning the use of the death penalty for drug offenses in line with international law, and human rights abuses more broadly where ever they may occur.

We do not differentiate between drug users and dru...

2008-03-07T15:51:00.000Z

We do not differentiate between drug users and drug traffickers when it comes to capital punishment because there is no differentiation in international law. Execution in either circumstance violates international human rights law. See our recent report on the death penalty for drug offences (www.ihra.net/uploads/downloads/NewsItems/DeathPenaltyforDrugOffences.pdf) for an explanation of the law in this regard.

In terms of the "success" of Sweden in reducing drug related harms, we refer people to our submission to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights that outlines our concerns about Sweden's failure to meet their obligations under Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (the right to health) at www.ihra.net/uploads/downloads/NewsItems/IHRASDUUSubmission2007.pdf

See also the concerns raised about Sweden's lack of harm reduction measures by the UN Special Rapporteur on Health in his report of his 2007 Mission to Sweden www2.essex.ac.uk/human_rights_centre/rth/docs/sweden.pdf

In terms of Singapore, Amnesty International notes that the state has possibly the highest rate of executions per capita of any country in the world, the vast majority of these for drug offences, and therefore in contravention of international human rights law as described above.

Is this harsh approach "successful" even in its own terms? Well, as described in 2000 by Prof Michael Hor of the Faculty of Law at the National University of Singapore:

"One might have expected that if the death penalty is being imposed on drug offences in order to deter or incapacitate, the government would be keenly interested in statistical and other studies to find out if, in fact, the increased penalties are working. But such studies, if they exist, are seldom revealed. Statistical data are not provided in any consistent or meaningful way by the government. One can only speculate why."

Yes I realise that, but there is an obvious and co...

2008-03-07T15:13:00.000Z

Yes I realise that, but there is an obvious and considerable difference between users and traffickers. So why not differentiate?

It is interesting that you have not chosen to comment on either Sweden or Singapore's tremendous success in reducing total harms.

yeah right, absolutely true

2008-03-07T13:29:00.000Z

yeah right, absolutely true

Singapore has a mandatory death sentence for drug ...

2008-03-06T13:35:00.000Z

Singapore has a mandatory death sentence for drug trafficking and actively carries out executions.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/asia-and-pacific/south-east-asia/singapore

Our report on the death penalty does not distinguish between users and traffickers, it states unambiguously that the application of the death penalty for any drug offence is a violation of international human rights law.

Yes indeed they do have pressing concerns such as ...

2008-03-06T13:16:00.000Z

Yes indeed they do have pressing concerns such as reducing and preventing drug use, especially among young people. Given that Sweden has successfully achieved this so can other countries including the UK.

To do that we need to change our education strategy on drugs, focusing more on the total harms they cause, as compared with the present ineffective rubbish, which almost encourages experimentation.

We could also learn a great deal about reducing drug use, thereby reducing total harms by studying countries like Singapore, which contrary to implied suggestion does not execute drug users.

First time drug offenders do not even attract a criminal conviction, but they are entered into a programme to assist them in becoming drug free, followed by continous aftercare to ensure that continues.

The drug treatment strategy is so successful, that of those convicted for drug offences in 2006/7, only 23 per cent were re-offenders; now that is realy reducing total harms.