HUMAN RIGHTS Documentation and Advocacy - Open Society

116 Pages·2009·0.28 MB·English

H A R M R E D U C T I O N F I E L D G U I D E (cid:2) 1 2 3 4
HUMAN RIGHTS
Documentation
and Advocacy
A GUIDE FOR ORGANIZATIONS
OF PEOPLE WHO USE DRUGS
INTERNATIONAL HARM REDUCTION DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

H A R M R E D U C T I O N F I E L D G U I D E (cid:2) 1
HUMAN RIGHTS
Documentation
a n d A d v o c a c y
A GUIDE FOR ORGANIZATIONS
OF PEOPLE WHO USE DRUGS
by Karyn Kaplan
Copyright © 2009 by the Open Society Institute
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof
in any form.
Published by
Open Society Institute
400 West 59th Street
New York, NY 10019 USA
www.soros.org
For more information, contact:
International Harm Reduction Development Program
Open Society Institute
www.soros.org/harm-reduction
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
Writing and Editing by: Karyn Kaplan, Matt Curtis, Paul Silva, Robin Lee, and
Tamar Ezer.
Design and Layout by: Judit Kovacs, Createch Ltd.
This project was undertaken with the financial support of the International
Harm Reduction Development Program of the Open Society Institute and the
Government of Canada provided through the Canadian International Development
Agency (CIDA)
Projet réalisé avec l’appui financier du Programme International du Développement
de la Réduction des Méfaits de l’Open Society Institute et du gouvernement du
Canada agissant par l’entremise de l’Agence canadienne de développement inter-
national (ACDI)
The views expressed herein are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect
the views of the Open Society Institute or CIDA.
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Acknowledgments
This guide was researched and written by Karyn Kaplan, whose
years of involvement in drug user advocacy and human rights issues
have enabled her to skillfully synthesize these complex issues into
a clear report. We would also like to acknowledge Tamar Ezer of the
Open Society Institute’s Law and Health Initiative for her guidance,
and to thank the following people and organizations for permission
granted to reproduce or adapt their excellent source material for the
development of this guidebook:
The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission
(IGLHRC), for Introduction to Human Rights Principles and Advocacy
and Documenting Human Rights Violations, (2002).
Amnesty International, for Making Rights a Reality: Campaigning
to Stop Violence Against Women, (2004).
Open Society Institute/Equitas, for Health and Human Rights:
A Resource Guide for the Open Society Institute and Soros Foundations
Network, (June 2007).
Human Rights Educator’s Network of Amnesty International for
Human Rights Here and Now: Celebrating the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (edited by Nancy Flowers, 1998).
Several of the case examples were prepared by Jane Buchanan
following interviews with Rumen Donski, Bob Monkhouse, Nikolai
Rachev, Alik Zaripov, and Kostyantin Zverkov. Thanks to them all.

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Contents
1. Introduction 7
Who should use this guidebook? 10
What will this guidebook do for you? 11
2. Human Rights and Drug Use 13
How is drug use a human rights issue? 15
What are human rights? 20
3. Documenting Human Rights Abuses 25
Starting human rights documentation 28
Guidelines for documenting human rights violations
committed against people who use drugs 31
Guidelines for conducting interviews 40
Monitoring legal systems 50
4. Turning Documentation into Advocacy 53
After the investigation 54
Pushing for accountability 58
How Can I Find Additional Resources on
Harm Reduction and Human Rights? 63
6 HUMAN RIGHTS DOCUMENTATION AND ADVOCACY
Appendices
Appendix A: Classes of International Rights 69
Appendix B: UN Committees and Treaties 75
Appendix C: History of Human Rights 83
Appendix D: Which Are the Most Relevant
International and Regional Human Rights
Standards Related to Harm Reduction? 89
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1. Introduction
If a tree falls in the forest, and nobody is around to hear it,
does it make a sound?
People who use illicit drugs face daily harassment, discrimination,
and abuse—often living these experiences in isolation. Most
incidents go unreported, due to fears of reprisal and other harmful
physical, mental, social, or legal consequences. Investigations into
violations of rights against people who use drugs or efforts to bring
perpetrators to justice are rare. Often law enforcement and the
society-at-large do not recognize the basic rights of people who use
drugs, and blame the victim for any abuse that stems from drug use.
Moreover, some government laws and policies directly violate the
rights of people who use drugs or create the conditions for violations
to occur. Traditional approaches to drug control in many countries
include punitive mandatory minimum drug sentences, physical and
psychological violence by police, forced drug “rehabilitation” in quasi-
prison settings whose programs lack therapeutic rationale or benefit,
compulsory HIV testing, and the denial of health care services,
employment, and social benefits. In extreme cases, repressive laws
and “war on drugs” campaigns have led to extrajudicial killings.
8 HUMAN RIGHTS DOCUMENTATION AND ADVOCACY
This guidebook aims to help activists recognize human rights
abuses that are systematically conducted and condoned by state
and non-state actors and silently suffered by people who use drugs.
This book focuses on providing activists with the tools necessary to
develop a human rights advocacy plan, particularly by documenting
abuses against people who use drugs. Documentation of abuse—
whether it be testimonials from victims, official police records, or
video footage of the abuse—is pivotal to establishing evidence that
will be necessary to ensure that perpetrators are held accountable.
Ultimately, we hope this guidebook will raise awareness of the link
between drug use and human rights.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the seminal
document of the United Nations, states that the “recognition
of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of
all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom,
justice and peace in the world.” The declaration was signed by all
UN member nations on December 10, 1948, International Human
Rights Day. As this guidebook will show, since the signing of the
declaration many mechanisms have been put in place for resolving
human rights violations and punishing those responsible for
abuses.
Human rights work comes in many shapes and sizes, ranging from
short term advocacy projects to documentation campaigns that span
several years. But there is one constant theme that appears in every
successful campaign: commitment to taking action. Action=Life,
Silence=Death. These slogans from ACT UP, the AIDS Coalition to
Unleash Power, one of the most successful activist movements in
the face of the global AIDS pandemic, are more than just words. By
staying silent, we allow the current state of affairs to go unchallenged.
But by mobilizing our communities, we can confront the status quo
and affirm that people who use drugs are entitled to the same basic
rights as other members of society. In order to better equip activists,
this guidebook outlines common human rights mechanisms and
explains how to use them, identifies potential avenues for advocacy,
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