‘Narco-Terror: Conflating the Wars on Drugs and Terror’, P. Gallahue, Essex Human Rights Review, Vol. 8 No. 1, October 2011

The following article is a fascinating insight into the increasing conflation of the wars on drugs and terror and the implications for human rights.

It appears in the current special edition of the Essex Human Rights Review, which focuses on ‘Balancing Counter-Terrorism Efforts with Human Rights a Decade After 9/11′

All article are free to read online.

Abstract

Following 11 September 2001, the United States found itself at war with the Taliban, an enemy that heavily exploits the drug trade, narrowing the divide between the war on drugs and the war on terror  in both rhetoric and tactics, with dangerous implications for human rights. This paper discusses the implications of including drug offenders in the war on terror on fair trial norms, the right to liberty and security of person and the right to life, among other human rights protections. Even before the 2001 attacks on the United States, drug-related offences in countries such as Malaysia and Egypt had been included in emergency legislation meant to deal with threats to the State. Counter-terrorism legislation introduced since launching the  war on terror further blurs the distinction between drug-related offences and terrorism, thus leading to the diminution of human rights protections. The war on terror has presented many challenges to international human rights law. Conflating terrorism with new subjects such as drugs therefore has the potential to do further damage to recognised human rights norms.

Read the full article

State University, Tbilisi, Georgia, 21 October

The International Centre on Human Rights and Drug Policy will be holding a lectures for law students atthe State University, Tbilisi, Georgia on Friday, 21 October.  The lecture will take place in the Criminal Law Library at 7pm.

Tbilisi poster

State University, Tbilisi, Georgia, 21 October

The International Centre on Human Rights and Drug Policy will be holding a lecture for law students at the State University, Tbilisi, Georgia on Friday, 21 October at 6pm. The lecture will be held in the Criminal Law Library.

Tbilisi poster

Call for Submissions: International Journal on Human Rights and Drug Policy, volume 2

The International Centre on Human Rights and Drug Policy is currently seeking submissions for the second edition of the International Journal on Human Rights and Drug Policy. The Journal is the first and only international peer reviewed law journal focusing exclusively on human rights and drug policy issues.

Established in 2009, the International Centre on Human Rights and Drug Policy is dedicated to developing and promoting innovative and high quality legal and human rights scholarship on issues related to drug laws, policy and enforcement. It pursues this mandate by publishing original, peer reviewed research on drug issues as they relate to international human rights law, international humanitarian law, international criminal law and public international law.

Submissions will be considered under the following categories.

1. Original articles – research and analysis on drug policy issues as they intersect with international human rights law, international humanitarian law, international criminal law and/or public international law.
2. Opinion/Commentary – these submissions are designed to allow author(s) a forum to explore new and innovative thinking, promote debate and highlight emerging areas of interest.
3. Case summaries – these are intended to highlight and summarise new court decisions and other jurisprudence related to the Centre’s mandate.
4. Responses - these are short comments on previously published papers.

Author’s guidelines, as well as volume 1 of the Journal, may be found at www.humanrightsanddrugs.org

For more information email info@humanrightsanddrugs.org

*** Deadline for the second edition is 15 November 2011 ****

Vancouver safe injection facility, Insite, wins historic Supreme Court case

In its third successive court win against Government efforts to shut it down, Insite, North America’s only safe injection facility, has been allowed to remain open.

In a 9-0 unanimous verdict the Supreme Court ordered Canada’s Minister of Health to grant Insite the necessary exemption to the country’s drug laws to allow it to remain open.

The Court also set out criteria which should be considered in future such decisions, and stated that when a facility brings the kinds of benefits that Insite has displayed while not generating harms to public security, such exemptions should generally be given.

A case commentary from the lower courts appeared in the first volume of the International Journal on Human Rights and Drug Policy. A case commentary on this decision will appear in volume II.

The full decision may be read online at http://scc.lexum.org/en/2011/2011scc44/2011scc44.html

CBC News in Canada also has detailed coverage http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/09/29/bc-insite-supreme-court-ruling-advancer.html