The Limits of Equivalence: Ethical Dilemmas in Providing Care in Drug Detention Centers, R. Saucier et al, International Journal of Prisoner Health, 2010

International Journal of Prisoner Health 6(2):37-43, 2010

Abstract

This article considers the phenomenon of detention centers as a purported means of drug treatment, common throughout much of Asia. It describes the growth of the drug detention center model over the past decade – a system where people suspected of using drugs are rounded up on suspicion of drug use or a positive urine screening, and sent to closed settings without due process or means of appeal. Inside, detainees receive no effective drug treatment, little medical care, and insufficient food. Indeed, they are more likely to face what amounts to torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment. In some countries, they are forced to work or face severe punishment. This article explores the ethical dilemmas inherent in providing care within an abusive system. For organizations offering health education, food, or even lifesaving medical care inside drug detention centers, what are the limits of providing ethical care, without risking legitimizing the system or building its capacity to detain more people? We explore how organizations might weigh the risks and benefits of their engagement.

Available for download via the Open Society Institute

Amnesty International cautions Rio police as death toll mounts in latest operation against drug gangs

In a week that has now seen almost 50 people killed amidst the latest violence between police and drug gangs in Rio, Amnesty International has called for an end to short term repressive measures by police and a focus on longer term structural and criminal justice reform.

Acknowledging the “unacceptable” violence inflicted on communities by the gangs, Amnesty said that the police response had put communities at risk. The orgnisation called for proportionate responses that respect the rule of law. So far this year police in Rio have killed 500 people.

Amnesty’s full statement is reproduced below.

Brazil: Violence in Rio De Janeiro Condemned

26 November 2010

Amnesty International today urged the Brazilian authorities to act proportionately and within the law in their response to the wave of criminal gang violence that has swept Rio de Janeiro over the last week.

A wave of criminal violence has seen attacks on police posts, intimidation of residents and the burning of almost 100 vehicles.

More than thirty people have died during military and civil police operations against gang members, including a 14-year-old student hit by a stray bullet in her home in the community of Vila Cruzeiro.

“This violence is totally unacceptable but the police response has put communities at risk. The authorities must ensure that the security and well-being of the broader population comes first and foremost in any operation carried out in residential areas,” said Patrick Wilcken, Amnesty International’s Brazil researcher.

According to the Municipal Education Secretary, 17 schools and 12 creches have been closed in Rio this week, leaving more than 12,000 children without education. Thousands across the north zone of the city have been unable to go to work and large numbers of residents have been left without water or electricity.

“The current wave of criminal violence is symptomatic of wider failures throughout the criminal justice system,” said Patrick Wilcken.

“This week’s attacks are a wake up call for the incoming Federal and State administrations.”

Media reports suggest that the current wave of attacks was ordered by a gang leader incarcerated in a federal prison in Rôndonia, exposing weaknesses within the federal prison system.

Amnesty International fears that the current security operation being mounted around a group of communities known as the Complexo do Alemão will lead to further bloodshed. Residents are now confined to their homes, businesses have closed and gunfire is being reported.

In a similar 2007 “mega-operation” in Complexo do Alemão, 19 people were killed by police. Despite subsequent allegations from the state human rights commission of summary executions, the killings were never adequately investigated. The operation had no long-term positive impact on the security of the community, which has continued to be dominated by the Comando Vermelho drug faction.

Other than specialised Police Pacification Units (Unidade Polícia Pacificadora, UPP), which have significantly reduced violence in some dozen communities, policing in Rio de Janeiro continues to depend on repressive methods.

Rio police have killed over 500 people so far this year in so-called “acts of resistance”. Large swathes of the city continue to be dominated by paramilitary police groups.

Amnesty International calls on president-elect Dilma Rousseff to stand by her promise to make public security a priority during her forthcoming term in office.

The organisation also urges the Rio authorities to abandon short term repressive approaches and focus on long-term, structural reform of the criminal justice system, and guaranteeing security with policing based on violence-reduction and respect for human rights

Colombia: Drug war myopia and the human rights lens. Presentation delivered at the Irish Centre for Human Rights

Damon Barrett of the International Centre on Human Rights and Drug Policy delivered a seminar for Phd and masters students at the Irish Centre for Human Rights, focusing on human rights and drug control in Colombia.

The presentation looked at Colombia as a case study in analysing the justifications, means and ends of drug control policies through a human rights framework.

It is available for download.

Drugs and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: Unpacking article 33

Damon Barrett, a Project Director at the International Centre on Human Rights and Drug Policy today gave a presentation at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogota, Colombia, as part of a seminar co-sponsored by the university, the international centre and Human Rights Watch.

The presentation entitled “Drugs and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: Unpacking article 33″ sets out the simplistic messages that surround article 33 of the CRC (the only provision in any of the UN human rights treaties to refer to drugs) that tend to limit the article to prevention and to visions of a ‘drug free world’. It goes on to analyse the article itself part by part, critiquing those simplistic messages, and explaining how the CRC has far more to offer as a lens for alanysing drug policies.

The presentation is available for download.