Watch this space to see it the new Thai drug war follows the same trajectory as the old one.
[him] moderator
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Thai Civil Society Calls For Restraint in New Drug Control Policy
31 March 2008
Chiang Mai, Thailand – Thai civil society representatives called on the Thai government to exercise restraint and engage in international best practice in countering the drug problem in the country at a NGO Monthly Forum held recently in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand. The Forum brought representatives from local NGOs, regional and international NGOs, UN and research institutes.
The meeting came in the wake of Thai government Interior Minister, Chalerm Yubamrung’s announcement in February of the resumption of the war on drugs. Minister Chalerm was reported in the Thai media strongly stating that he will follow former Prime Minister Thaksin’s hard-line approach to drug control.
When it was first launched in 2003 under then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the war on drugs policy, which resulted in over 2,800 extrajudicial killings of suspected drug users, was heavily criticized by civil society both locally and internationally.
There are fears among civil society representatives that the new drug control strategy will drive drugs users further underground, away from services that can save their lives, and that additional lives may be lost in the name of drug control. The incoming government has announced the launch of the new national drug control policy for 2 April 2008.
“Drug suppression is nothing new. It has been happening for decades, but only recently have a growing number of drug user organizations and NGOs started paying attention. It is critical to monitor what is happening and get the government to address the problem humanely and comprehensively,” said Karyn Kaplan, Policy and Development Director of Thai AIDS Treatment Action Group (TTAG).
“Previously, no one gave much attention to the lives of drug users. Almost 50% of injecting drug users are living with HIV and the number has not decreased in the past two decades. Yet, the government failed to respond to the issue,” she added. This situation among IDUs thus calls for a serious reflection on Thailand’s leadership record in effectively responding to the epidemic.
Although Thailand’s efforts to respond to HIV and AIDS have received worldwide recognition, injecting drug users (IDUs) can not access appropriate health and social care or services. They still face high rates of HIV transmission, including in prison where rates of HIV among IDUs can be twice that among IDUs never incarcerated.
“The current narcotic control policy makes the future look worrisome. But we are thankful that there are many organizations getting involved and informed of the situation. But I am reluctant to think of the future, and am not certain whether it will turn out positive or negative” said Sakda Puekchai, chairperson of Thai Drug Users’ Network of Thailand.
“If the war on drugs starts again, there is no doubt that our members will be forced to go underground, and will therefore not be reached by public health services, giving rise to new HIV cases,” he said. Sakda added that research should be undertaken to fully understand the needs of drug users.
“The community of drug users needs to be effectively engaged in addressing the problem of drug use. The authorities need to get exposed to facts told directly by drug users. At the moment, the voices of affected drug users are not heard, and they have no role in policy making and programming,” he said.
Wiwat Tami, Coordinator of the Network for Health of Ethnic Groups on Highlands highlighted that the Thai government drug policies were informed by stereotypical views of certain groups within Thai society. For instance, Thai ethnic groups are perceived to be potential drug dealers and therefore seen as a threat to national security.
“The war on drugs caused a lot of social disruption within the ethnic community. Many families were affected, some women were widowed and children were orphaned,” said Wiwat. “Widowed women were forced into risky transactional sex in an effort to raise resources to support their families,” he added.
Even though Thai government officials have vowed in the media their intention not to violate human rights or to use violence in the application of the drug control strategy following Minister Chalerm’s announcement, civil society groups are worried for their constituents’ health and safety.
There was consensus during the Forum that an appropriate response to the drug situation requires a balanced multi-sectoral, integrated and comprehensive approach that respects fundamental human rights within the scope of international conventions.
“I am happy that there are many organizations that have come together to mobilize on the issue. This is a good sign for drug users. Drug users themselves find it difficult to mobilize themselves, even though we are the group directly affected by the policy” said Sakda.
Although civil society representatives stressed the need for more dialogue, the following recommendations were made in regards to the new drug control policy:
* The new drug control policy should be balanced and bring in lessons from the HIV and AIDS sector, including how civil society involvement has improved the national response;
* There is a greater balance required between enforcement and health provisions. More resources should be allocated to prevention and treatment.
* The development of effective drug control policies should involve those most affected by the policy, notably people who use drugs;
* Harm reduction services should be a component in the policy to complement supply and demand reduction efforts;
* All stakeholders should invest in developing safe spaces for drug user communities where services and support are available;
* Drug control is everybody’s business – not just law enforcement – and requires multi-sectoral buy-in from health professionals, education specialists and teachers, media, and local communities.
* Government and civil society should work together on developing an evidence-based comprehensive harm reduction roll-out plan in order to reduce the impact of drugs in Thailand while ensuring that appropriate and effective services and support are available.
It is with these recommendations that the participants at this month’s NGO Forum came up with an important message to disseminate:
“As civil society and drug user representatives, we ask that you talk to us, meet with us and listen to us.”
The Chiang Mai NGO Forum was facilitated by Asian Harm Reduction Network (AHRN), Thai Harm Reduction Network (THRN), Thai AIDS Treatment Action Group (TTAG), Health and Development Networks (HDN) and supported by UNAIDS
For further information contact: Duangkamol Donchaum Tel. 66 0 53449 055 Ext: 101 Email: duangkamol@hdnet.org
