Starts in Colombia the most important meeting on drug policies of the region.

The IV Latin American Conference on Drug Policy will be held on 5 and 6 December in the city of Bogotá in a time when all eyes of the world are on the advances of debate in Latin America. We will work on issues such as drugs and public health, human rights, violence and security. Prestigious officials and experts will speak at the highlight on the subject.

The event counts with the adhesion of the Pan American Health Organization, and has been convened by two civil society organizations: ATS from Colombia and Intercambios from Argentina. There will be simultaneous translation in three languages (Spanish, Portuguese and Spanish), and people may follow the event on twitter at @ confedrogas and in hashtag # confedrogas. You may see the full program on: http://conferenciadrogas.com/2012/programa/programa

Buenos Aires, November 2012.- Representatives of governments and UN agencies, NGOs and experts from different countries will gather on 5 and 6 December in the IV Latin American Conference on Drug Policy, to be held in the Auditorium Huitaca at the Town Hall of the city of Bogotá. This is the most important event in the region in drug policies and arrives at a time when the Colombian government, like others in the region, shows the need for alternatives to the repressive and prohibitionist current strategies. In Colombia totaling over four million of displaced victims of the situation. Is one of the countries that has been historically on the agenda of drug-related issues.

During the opening ceremony shall speak the Minister of Health and Social Protection of Colombia, Alejandro Gaviria Uribe, the Mayor of Bogotá, Gustavo Petro, and Vice minister of Criminal Policy and Restorative Justice of the Ministry of Justice and Law in Colombia, Farid Samir Benavides Vanegas.

“Just as previous editions held in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Mexico City helped to make clear positions in key situations of each country on this occasion we got to Colombia at a time when the country faces in local, regional and global levels, the need to replace the paradigm of the drug war for friendly policies on human rights and based on scientific evidence, “said Graciela Touzé, president of Intercambios Civil Association, one of the organizers of the event.

Meanwhile, Julian Andres Quintero, executive director of the Technical-Social Action Corporation (ATS), said that “the discussions and conclusions that may be reached during the conference will be very valuable in a context in which the governments of the region have begun to seek an alternative to repressive policies which have so far attempted to address the problems associated with drugs. “

As every year, experts will present various fields related to this problem. Among them are the Vice Minister of Education and Culture of the Republic of Uruguay, Oscar Gomez; Professor of Law at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Rio de Janeiro and Avaaz campaign director, Pedro Vieira Abramovay; Ambassador of Guatemala in special Mission for the Reform of Drug Policy, Edgar Gutierrez Giron, and the Vice Minister of the Presidency in Security Affairs and National Antidrug Commissioner of Costa Rica and President of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), Mauricio Boraschi, among other prestigious personalities.

The event will cover topics that relate Drugs with socioeconomic development, public health, human rights, legal and regulatory frameworks, violence, security and social inclusion. Drug policies in local settings will be discussed. Also there will be promoted spaces that encourage the exchange of direct intervention experiences with drug users conducted in various countries of the world.

On December 4th, a day before the beginning of the Conference, will be held the “Drug Policy in Latin America” Seminar for Journalists organized by the Intercambios Civil Association, with the sponsorship of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Red Salud and the Foundation for Press Freedom; supported by The Open Society Foundation.

The Fourth Latin American Conference on Drug Policies is sponsored by the Office of the Major of Bogotá, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Republic of Colombia, the Ministry of Justice and Law of the Republic of Colombia, the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Adhere to the event: the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV / AIDS (UNAIDS), the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU), Open Society Foundations (OSF), the Global Commission on Drug Policy (CGPD), the Latin American Network of people Who Use Drugs (LANPUD), Harm Reduction Coalition (HRC), Harm Reduction International (HRI), Transnational Institute (TNI), and Drug policy Alliance (DPA), among other prestigious organizations.

Organizers

Intercambios

Intercambios, Civil Association for the study and treatment of drug-related problems, is a nongovernmental organization established in the city of Buenos Aires in 1995. The institutional mission intends to provide, within the framework of human rights, to the construction and application of knowledge of drug-related problems.

Intercambios is a key organization in Latin America on harm reduction and drug policies issues. Develops political advocacy actions, research, information sharing and empowerment, in partnership with other regional actors, in order to influence government and multilateral Drug policies .

Corporación Acción Técnica Social ATS

The Technical- Social Action Corporation ATS is a nonprofit entity created in April 2008, consists of an outstanding group of experts and professionals in the areas of population research, design, development of public policies and social programs, who through their contribution models seek to implement better and more opportunities for vulnerable population groups in Colombia.
Their vision is to guide institutional improvement of the quality of life of different populations, through actions and interventions in communities and territories according to their particular conditions.

Press Contacts

for Colombia
Acción Técnica Social -ATS
Marcela Gómez Ardila
Teléfono: +(57) 3002720146

For other countries
Intercambios Civil Association: +54 11 4954 7272
Sol Wasylyk: 0057 3044500653 (en Colombia) +54 9 11 15 5863 3790 (in Argentina)
Horacio Torres: +54 9 11 15 6794 6315
Pablo Cymerman +54 9 11 15 6100 3000

http://www.conferenciadrogas.com – prensa@conferenciadrogas.com – lista@intercambios.org.ar

Twitter: @confedrogas