A Drug-free World: Reloaded (Sub: ENG, HUN, RUS)
-
0:04 - 0:06A Drug-Free World
-
0:06 - 0:15A Drug Free World: Reloaded
-
0:15 - 0:17The protests outside were great,
-
0:17 - 0:19because it focused attention on the real people.
-
0:19 - 0:24I don't think a lot of the delegates inside have thought about the people that are involved
-
0:24 - 0:26in the words that they're throwing around.
-
0:26 - 0:30And to see people with an alternative point of view,
-
0:30 - 0:32and to see messages that weren't the messages
-
0:32 - 0:34that they were hearing on the inside,
-
0:34 - 1:02is really positive and powerful.
-
1:02 - 1:06One of the most disappointing things at this event,
-
1:06 - 1:08or this conference, this meeting,
-
1:08 - 1:12is hearing the stupidity and the ignorance of some of these people
-
1:12 - 1:16that are speaking for the civilians in their countries.
-
1:16 - 1:17They don't know what they're talking about.
-
1:17 - 1:21The event that brings us here today,
-
1:21 - 1:23as well as next week,
-
1:23 - 1:25is of double historical significance
-
1:25 - 1:29to all of those involved in the fight against illicit drugs.
-
1:29 - 1:30In particular,
-
1:30 - 1:33the group is deeply concerned about the continuance
-
1:33 - 1:36and increase in the consumption of illicit drugs
-
1:36 - 1:45and the deviation for illicit uses of psychotropic substances
-
1:45 - 1:47In this historical gathering,
-
1:47 - 1:52let us all remember that if we do not respond,
-
1:52 - 1:55jointly and consistently to the drug problem,
-
1:55 - 2:00the drug problem will end up knocking at everybody's door.
-
2:00 - 2:11Thank you madame chair.
-
2:11 - 2:14Thank you madame for your statement,
-
2:14 - 2:20the next speaker on my list is...
-
2:20 - 2:24The diplomats are out of touch.
-
2:24 - 2:27They have no contact with people who use drugs,
-
2:27 - 2:29with people in recovery and their families.
-
2:29 - 2:34They are more interested in putting forth their country statement,
-
2:34 - 2:38which often has no bearing on reality.
-
2:38 - 2:41Where people are ill and need support.
-
2:41 - 2:43We are searching for government delegates
-
2:43 - 2:45to ask them what do they think about the meeting.
-
2:45 - 2:47Can I have a few questions with you?
-
2:47 - 2:49-- No, no, no, no
-
2:49 - 2:51Can I have a question, a few questions for you?
-
2:51 - 2:54-- Ah, no. I have no time, excuse me.
-
2:54 - 2:56-- I'm not sure that I have time.
-
2:56 - 3:00--Thank you, but the only one is Ambassador _ who is allowed to give any kind of digression.
-
3:00 - 3:03Thank you.
-
3:03 - 3:06Sir, excuse me, may I have a few questions to you?
-
3:06 - 3:10How do you consider the past ten years of the global drug control system?
-
3:10 - 3:16-- Ah well, I should say that it has some very good plus points.
-
3:16 - 3:23It may not be 100% human but at least 60% is human
-
3:23 - 3:24We are on a good track?
-
3:24 - 3:25--Definitely yes.
-
3:25 - 3:27We are on a good track. Well thank you very much
-
3:27 - 3:31--Thank you.
Have a nice conference. -
3:31 - 3:37--The fact that harm reduction is missing from this conference is very frustrating,
-
3:37 - 3:41because it is the main progress made these past three years.
-
3:41 - 3:45Do people know about this conference in Cyprus?
-
3:45 - 3:47--No, not especially
-
3:47 - 3:49Media writes about it?
-
3:49 - 3:52--We read about it, I'm from the anti-drugs council,
-
3:52 - 3:56but the general public doesn't know about it.
-
3:56 - 3:57Thank you.
--Thank you. -
3:57 - 4:01I think over time the change in the administration in the U.S.
-
4:01 - 4:05and the change in the direction is going to make a big difference for UN policies.
-
4:05 - 4:10I think, unfortunately, that the timing of this meeting was wrong.
-
4:10 - 4:14If it had been in a year, even six or eight months,
-
4:14 - 4:16it would have had a different result than what we have now.
-
4:16 - 4:20The U.S. delegation has been friendly to U.S. NGO's.
-
4:20 - 4:24This is quite a change from the past eight years.
-
4:24 - 4:311998 UNGASS adopted a political declaration with the aim of eliminating or significantly reducing the demand and supply of illicit drugs within 10 years
-
4:31 - 4:35After 10 years, it is obvious that the UN has failed to achieve this goal.
-
4:35 - 4:41When the review of the UNGASS process, the 1998 UNGASS process,
-
4:41 - 4:46began to be discussed back in 2006, 2005-2006,
-
4:46 - 4:49the EU decided that it wanted a proper evaluation
-
4:49 - 4:49before we would accept a new declaration in 2008-2009.
-
4:49 - 4:56
-
4:56 - 5:00Insofar as the evidence and the data suggests,
-
5:00 - 5:06things have changed but things haven't really improved very much since 1998.
-
5:06 - 5:10Is there any evidence that policy can make a difference?
-
5:10 - 5:13And here we concluded that
-
5:13 - 5:19there is very little that suggests that tougher enforcement can reduce drug use.
-
5:19 - 5:22And the way that’s supposed to happen is primarily that
-
5:22 - 5:25you make drugs more expensive and less available,
-
5:25 - 5:28and there's simply no evidence, indeed quite to the contrary,
-
5:28 - 5:34drug prices in the West have generally been declining and declining quite sharply.
-
5:34 - 5:38Prevention is a fine idea,
-
5:38 - 5:41and someday no doubt we will work out how to do it,
-
5:41 - 5:42but that’s some time off.
-
5:42 - 5:47It's clear that many programs that are being implemented in schools
-
5:47 - 5:51are fundamentally flawed and they're badly implemented.
-
5:51 - 5:56So prevention doesn't seem to play a major role in drugs at the moment.
-
5:56 - 6:02The one program area where there is evidence that it makes a difference is treatment.
-
6:02 - 6:06But it's important to notice what treatment does.
-
6:06 - 6:10Treatment can reduce the amount the drug users use,
-
6:10 - 6:12it doesn't cut down on the number of drug users.
-
6:12 - 6:17The only way to seriously affect the supply and demand for drugs
-
6:17 - 6:20is to raise the conditions that people are living in.
-
6:20 - 6:25To remove poverty, to empower people in society,
-
6:25 - 6:28to give people a purpose in their lives.
-
6:28 - 6:33Those are all things that will help people find a different relationship with drug taking.
-
6:33 - 6:34We also have to ask:
-
6:34 - 6:38is it really an objective to stop human beings taking mind altering substances?
-
6:38 - 6:42Just down the corridor, we have a special room set aside for delegates
-
6:42 - 6:44that allows them to smoke cigarettes,
-
6:44 - 6:49in a room that protects the rest of the conference from the harms associated with smoking.
-
6:49 - 6:53So already this conference is recognizing the need for harm reduction in its own behavior.
-
6:53 - 6:55What we need to work towards
-
6:55 - 6:59is helping them understand that we should all be applying those policies all around the world.
-
6:59 - 7:01So yeah, we need to move forward.
-
7:01 - 7:041998, Did they learn the lesson?
-
7:04 - 7:07No. Not at all
-
7:07 - 7:14The 2009 UNGASS adopted a political declaration with the aim of eliminating or significantly reducing the demand and supply of illicit drugs within 10 years.
-
7:14 - 7:19The goals, the targets, the aspirations from the old political declaration have been repeated.
-
7:19 - 7:23There have been months of negotiation saying:
-
7:23 - 7:27we need to be more honest, we haven't met these targets, and in fact,
-
7:27 - 7:32we've ignored the fact that drug use and drug harm is increasing in developing countries.
-
7:32 - 7:34So you can't talk about containment,
-
7:34 - 7:37you can't say we've been successful,
-
7:37 - 7:41and so to repeat, those targets and those aspirations.
-
7:41 - 7:43Is foolish.
-
7:43 - 7:47Any government and any authority likes to claim success for its policies,
-
7:47 - 7:50and it is difficult, I know from my experience,
-
7:50 - 7:52to openly acknowledge failure,
-
7:52 - 7:55you're political enemies make capital out of it.
-
7:55 - 7:58But this was such clear situation that
-
7:58 - 8:02that the ten year objectives had not been met.
-
8:02 - 8:06Any statesmen like organization would be expected to acknowledge this clearly
-
8:06 - 8:10and review the range of strategies available to respond.
-
8:10 - 8:14What the CND did primarily was pretend there was some success,
-
8:14 - 8:16and there was none to report,
-
8:16 - 8:20and try to say that if we carry on doing the same things
-
8:20 - 8:22then further success is around the corner.
-
8:22 - 8:25This is not responsible policy making in my view.
-
8:25 - 8:29The formal declaration is like the emperor’s new clothes,
-
8:29 - 8:30It’s an illusion.
-
8:30 - 8:33We say "within ten years we will eradicate drug taking,
-
8:33 - 8:38we are really on the way to sorting out the drug problems."
-
8:38 - 8:40In reality the drug problems get worse,
-
8:40 - 8:42they effect more people, they do more harm.
-
8:42 - 8:46Maybe the vision should be more along the lines of peace.
-
8:46 - 8:50We've couched what we've done for drugs in terms as a war,
-
8:50 - 8:53a war against criminals,
-
8:53 - 8:55a war against plants, a war against people,
-
8:55 - 8:59a war against people who use drugs.
-
8:59 - 9:21Maybe we should think in terms of the peace vision.
-
9:21 -Transcribing: Anna Fischer, Subtitles: Hunter Holliman
- Title:
- A Drug-free World: Reloaded (Sub: ENG, HUN, RUS)
- Description:
-
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/drugreporter
WEB: http://www.drugreporter.netWitness from the inside what is happening at the 2009 UN meeting on drugs. 10 years ago they decided to create a drug free world by 2008. They failed to reach their target, but instead of learning from their mistakes they committed themselves to a drug-free world again. Only the deadline changed: it's 2019. Watch country delegates run away from answering and sleep through drug war mantra.
For more info visit: http://drogriporter.hu/en/reloadedShare it with your friends!
Post it on Facebook! - Video Language:
- English
- Duration:
- 09:40
Amara Bot edited English subtitles for A Drug-free World: Reloaded (Sub: ENG, HUN, RUS) | ||
Amara Bot added a translation |