Why the world needs an international network of activists who use drugs. We are people from around the world who use drugs. We are people who have been marginalized and discriminated against; we have been killed, harmed unnecessarily, put in jail, depicted as evil, and stereotyped as dangerous and disposable . Now it is time to raise our voices as citizens, establish our rights and reclaim the right to be our own spokespersons striving for self-representation and self-empowerment:
To enable and empower people who use drugs legal or deemed illegal worldwide to survive, thrive and exert our voices as human beings to have meaningful input into all decisions that affect our own lives. To promote a better understanding of the experiences of people who use illegal drugs, and particularly of the destructive impact of current drug policies affecting drug users, as well as our non-using fellow-citizens: this is as an important element in the local, national, regional and international development of these social policies.
To use our own skills and knowledge to train and educate others, particularly our peers and any other fellow-citizens concerned with drugs in our communities.
To advocate for universal access to all the tools available to reduce the harm that people who use drugs face in their day-to-day lives, including, i) drug treatment, appropriate medical care for substance use , ii) regulated access to the pharmaceutical quality drugs we need ii) availability of safer consumption equipment, including syringes and pipes as well as iii) facilities for their safe disposal, iv) peer outreach and honest up-to-date information about drugs and all of their uses, including v) safe consumption facilities that are necessary for many of us.
To establish our right to evidence-based and objective information about drugs, and how to protect ourselves against the potential negative impacts of drug use through universal access to equitable and comprehensive health and social services, safe, affordable, supportive housing and employment opportunities. To provide support to established local, national, regional, and international networks of people living with HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis and other harm reduction groups, making sure that active drug users are included at every level of decision-making, and specifically that we are able to serve on the boards (of directors) of such organizations and be fairly reimbursed for our expenses, time and skills.
To challenge the national legislation and international lconventions that currently disable most of us from living safe, secure and healthy lives.
Well aware of the potential challenges of building such a network, we strive for :
Value and respect diversity and recognize each other's different backgrounds, knowledge, skills and capabilities, and cultivate a safe and supportive environment within the network regardless of which drugs we use or how we use them.
Spread information about our work in order to support and encourage development of user organizations in communities/countries where there are no such organizations.
Promote tolerance, cooperation and collaboration, fostering a culture of inclusion and active participation. Democratic principles and creating a structure that promotes maximum participation in decision making,Maximum inclusion with special focus to those who are disproportionately vulnerable to oppression on the basis of their gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religion, etc..
To ensure that people who use drugs are not incarcerated and that those who are incarcerated have an equal right to healthy and respectful conditions and treatment, including drug treatment and access to health-promoting supplies such as syringes and condoms and medical treatment or at least equal to that they would receive outside.
To challenge execution and other inhuman treatment of people who use drugs worldwide. Ultimately, the most profound need to establish such a network arises from the fact that no group of oppressed people ever attained liberation without the involvement of those directly affected by this oppression. Through collective action, we will fight to change existing local, national, regional and international drug laws and formulate an evidence-based drug policy that respects people's human rights and dignity instead of one fuelled on moralism, stereotypes and lies.
The International Activists who use drugs,
30 April, 2006, Vancouver, Canada
Deaths go unreported
This person would have been saved if there was an ambulance on call. He was burnt severely and all that is left is a little patch of his underwear, when the local help came. The shirt and the blue bottom is actually brought by the local users. He died after 12 hours. There was no ambulance for many hours. he was pulled to the shade and waited for hours for the ambulance to come. Finally an ambulance belonging to a private hospital owned by a user came to the rescue.
Fire accidents to people who use drugs are very common and not noticed or documented earlier. One user burnt his arm so badly that he needed a skin graft. Many users burn candles during the fixing of heroin. They cant get up and save themselves as they cant move immediatly.
IVDU.
“Nothing About Us Without Us”: A manifesto by people who use illegal drugs
“Nothing About Us Without Us”:
A manifesto by people who use illegal drugs
This manifesto was made by people who use drugs who participated in the consultations of the international version of the project on greater involvement of people who use drugs. It is based on a similar manifesto developed in Canada, as part of work undertaken by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, which is gratefully acknowledged. Participants in the project expressed their hope that people who use drugs around the world will either adopt this manifesto, or use it as the basis for creating their own manifesto.
We are among the most vilified and demonized groups in society. Simply because we use illegal drugs, people and governments often deny us our rights and dignity.
We are the “junkies” of the popular media.
We are tagged as “undeserving troublemakers” even among some of those charged with our care.
We have been hard hit by the epidemics of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C.
We are regularly excluded from the decisions that affect our lives and those of our brothers and sisters.
We are your sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters.
Today, we demand to have a say. We demand that governments and citizens see our humanity. We, too, deserve respect!
We have the right to become involved in activities that affect our health and well-being.
We have the right to be able to make informed decisions about our health, including what we do or do not put into our bodies.
We have unique expertise and experiences and have a vital role to play in defining the health, social, legal, and research policies that affect us.
We have the capacity to:
· educate and to be educated
· form organizations
· manage funding
· represent our community
· serve on government consultative committees; and
· be employed in a variety of roles as people who inject/use drugs.
We need to:
· be treated as equals and respected for our expertise and professionalism in addressing drug use, HIV hepatitis C, and the other health and social issues that affect our lives;
· be recognized for the work we do, often without funding, in addressing HIV, hepatitis C, and other health problems facing people who use drugs;
· be adequately funded and provided with the resources to represent and address our needs, including the needs of those of us who are living with HIV or hepatitis C;
· be supported when demonized and attacked in the media and by the community because of who we are;
· be supported in fighting the fear, shame and stigma that keep us from fully participating in our communities and from accessing health services, and that contribute to health problems like HIV and hepatitis C;
· be supported to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to be good peer educators and advocates and to run professional organizations;
· be meaningfully involved at all levels of the organizations that provide services to us, in particular organizations providing HIV/AIDS and/or HCV-related services or other health or social services;
· be included in consultative processes, as well as in decision-making or policy-making bodies and advisory structures dealing with issues related to HIV/AIDS, HCV, and illegal drugs; and
· be involved in research that affects us, including through community review committees and community consent processes.
As people who use drugs, our organizations have an important role to play in advocating for our rights and for our health and well-being. Our organizations:
· need to work towards being governed, managed and run by people who use illegal drugs, with power and control held by people who use drugs; measurable progress towards control by people who use drugs must be demonstrated;
· are best placed to ensure appropriate representation to governments, non-drug user organizations and other relevant stakeholders;
· need to be recognized as valid and valued participants in any policies and programs dealing with drug use, including those aimed at reducing harms sometimes associated with drug use such as HIV and hepatitis C;
· need to be recognized as participants also in policies and programs dealing with other health and social issues that affect our lives, such as mental health, housing, welfare;
· must be treated with respect and as equals in all partnership arrangements with governments and other organizations;
· have a responsibility to the larger movement of people who use drugs and strive to empower and include people who use drugs;
· are committed to the principles of harm reduction, peer education and support, and community development; and
· fight for the health and human rights of people who use illegal drugs.
We are part of the solution, not part of the problem!
And we stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in other countries who often suffer great abuses of their human rights. We demand that our governments take action in our countries, but also at the international level, so that drug use is treated as a health issue first and foremost, and we are involved in decisions that affect our lives.
Please click here to down load the PDF version : http://www.soros.org/initiatives/health/focus/ihrd/articles_publications/publications/nothingaboutus_20080603/Int%20Nothing%20About%20Us%20%28May%202008%29.pdf
A manifesto by people who use illegal drugs
This manifesto was made by people who use drugs who participated in the consultations of the international version of the project on greater involvement of people who use drugs. It is based on a similar manifesto developed in Canada, as part of work undertaken by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, which is gratefully acknowledged. Participants in the project expressed their hope that people who use drugs around the world will either adopt this manifesto, or use it as the basis for creating their own manifesto.
We are among the most vilified and demonized groups in society. Simply because we use illegal drugs, people and governments often deny us our rights and dignity.
We are the “junkies” of the popular media.
We are tagged as “undeserving troublemakers” even among some of those charged with our care.
We have been hard hit by the epidemics of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C.
We are regularly excluded from the decisions that affect our lives and those of our brothers and sisters.
We are your sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters.
Today, we demand to have a say. We demand that governments and citizens see our humanity. We, too, deserve respect!
We have the right to become involved in activities that affect our health and well-being.
We have the right to be able to make informed decisions about our health, including what we do or do not put into our bodies.
We have unique expertise and experiences and have a vital role to play in defining the health, social, legal, and research policies that affect us.
We have the capacity to:
· educate and to be educated
· form organizations
· manage funding
· represent our community
· serve on government consultative committees; and
· be employed in a variety of roles as people who inject/use drugs.
We need to:
· be treated as equals and respected for our expertise and professionalism in addressing drug use, HIV hepatitis C, and the other health and social issues that affect our lives;
· be recognized for the work we do, often without funding, in addressing HIV, hepatitis C, and other health problems facing people who use drugs;
· be adequately funded and provided with the resources to represent and address our needs, including the needs of those of us who are living with HIV or hepatitis C;
· be supported when demonized and attacked in the media and by the community because of who we are;
· be supported in fighting the fear, shame and stigma that keep us from fully participating in our communities and from accessing health services, and that contribute to health problems like HIV and hepatitis C;
· be supported to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to be good peer educators and advocates and to run professional organizations;
· be meaningfully involved at all levels of the organizations that provide services to us, in particular organizations providing HIV/AIDS and/or HCV-related services or other health or social services;
· be included in consultative processes, as well as in decision-making or policy-making bodies and advisory structures dealing with issues related to HIV/AIDS, HCV, and illegal drugs; and
· be involved in research that affects us, including through community review committees and community consent processes.
As people who use drugs, our organizations have an important role to play in advocating for our rights and for our health and well-being. Our organizations:
· need to work towards being governed, managed and run by people who use illegal drugs, with power and control held by people who use drugs; measurable progress towards control by people who use drugs must be demonstrated;
· are best placed to ensure appropriate representation to governments, non-drug user organizations and other relevant stakeholders;
· need to be recognized as valid and valued participants in any policies and programs dealing with drug use, including those aimed at reducing harms sometimes associated with drug use such as HIV and hepatitis C;
· need to be recognized as participants also in policies and programs dealing with other health and social issues that affect our lives, such as mental health, housing, welfare;
· must be treated with respect and as equals in all partnership arrangements with governments and other organizations;
· have a responsibility to the larger movement of people who use drugs and strive to empower and include people who use drugs;
· are committed to the principles of harm reduction, peer education and support, and community development; and
· fight for the health and human rights of people who use illegal drugs.
We are part of the solution, not part of the problem!
And we stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in other countries who often suffer great abuses of their human rights. We demand that our governments take action in our countries, but also at the international level, so that drug use is treated as a health issue first and foremost, and we are involved in decisions that affect our lives.
Please click here to down load the PDF version : http://www.soros.org/initiatives/health/focus/ihrd/articles_publications/publications/nothingaboutus_20080603/Int%20Nothing%20About%20Us%20%28May%202008%29.pdf
