5th World Forum Against Drugs Vienna, Austria, March 12-13, 2016
The aim of the Forum was twofold; to share the knowledge and experience of the members with each other and bring in new knowledge and experience in form of research; and to gather the best practices to also be put forward to the member states at the CND meeting. We also aim to invite some of the member states involved in the UNGASS process to participate at the Forum.
The development of the capacity to protect children from illicit drugs in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (article 33) is assessed as one of the key areas to focus on by the board of WFAD.
“States Parties shall take all appropriate measures, including legislative, administrative, social and educational measures, to protect children from the illicit use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances as defined in the relevant international treaties, and to prevent the use of children in the illicit production and trafficking of such substances.”
The best way to protect children is to make sure that they grow up in an environment free from illicit drugs. There is a need to expand the drug free zones as well as improving strategies to implement early interventions.
WFAD strongly believes that prevention should be the first priority in drug policy, both from a local, national and international perspective. Environmental strategies and programs that discourage the use of drugs and reduce the availability of drugs are central to any drugs policy. Environmental strategies should be supplemented by education and evidence based prevention, as well as more targeted interventions that reach high risk groups and problem drug users. Community based strategies that promote drug-free environments and supportive social norms, are shown to reduce the use of both legal and illegal substances.
The focus areas for the Forum was therefore be:
I. The protection of the rights of the child from the illicit use of drugs
II. Prevention strategies
The Congress also discussed the action plan and decided that WFAD will focus on these five main areas during the upcoming years:
- To arrange the 6th World Forum Against Drugs,May 2018 in Stockholm Sweden. The 6th Forum will focus on providing input on the development of the Global Action plan for 2019-2029;
- To develop regional networks and to continue to host regional meetings together with member organizations;
- To participate in the global drug policy debate through promotion and encouragement of the members of WFAD;
- To develop and carry out Projects together with our members with the main aim of strengthening the capacity of member organizations;
- To work on the sustainability of WFAD.
More: http://wfad.se/forum-information/the-5th-forum
