UN Secretary-General calls on Asian governments to amend outdated laws criminalizing injecting drug
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on March 26 for increased health and human rights protections for people living with HIV, sex workers, men who have sex with men, and young people who inject drugs.
“I look to Asian Governments to amend outdated laws criminalizing the most vulnerable sections of society, and take all the measures needed to ensure they live in dignity,” the Secretary-General said in response to a report by an independent Commission on AIDS in Asia entitled “Redefining AIDS in Asia: Crafting an Effective Response.” The report urges governments to provide a comprehensive package of harm reduction, including needle exchange programs and opiate substitution treatment, and says governments should abandon counterproductive “war on drugs” programs.
For Ban Ki-moon’s statement, see http://data.unaids.org/pub/PressRelease/2008/20080326_pr_asiacommissionreport_en.pdf.
The report is available at http://data.unaids.org/pub/Report/2008/20080326_report_commission_aids_en.pdf.
