Communique

Communique—November 2007

The Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD) is the principal advisory body to the Government on drug policy and plays a critical role in ensuring the voice of the community is heard in relation to drug related policies and strategies.

At the request of the Australian Government in 2003 the ANCD has increased its links throughout the Asia-Pacific region so it is better able to advise the Federal Government on the most appropriate ways to work with our regional neighbours, as well as to learn from their experiences.

To ensure that the ANCD can provide the Federal Government valuable advice it has recently convened a reconstituted committee that comprises individuals with a broad range of experience and expertise in drug policy in the region.

(Please see membership of the ANCD Asia-Pacific Drug Issues Committee (APDIC))

At its most recent meeting in October 2007 the ANCD Asia-Pacific Drug Issues Committee discussion focused on the following areas:

the important and successful work in the region undertaken by AusAID to reduce HIV rates from drug use, including its partnership approach with local law enforcement agencies;
the important and successful work in the region undertaken by the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Customs Service and the Attorney General’s Department in establishing partnerships with local law enforcement agencies to reduce the supply and transit of illicit drugs;
the future importance of AusAID funded Illicit Drug Initiative (IDI) projects — and the need to provide an opportunity for continuation of successful projects;
the need for regional drug use projects to develop better links and partnerships with affected communities and groups;
the importance of further increasing engagement with law enforcement agencies in region;
acknowledgement on the wide social, political and cultural differences in countries in the Asian and Pacific Regions which can complicate regional approaches;
recognition that the drug users often remain marginalised across the region, making sustained contact and assistance difficult but the importance of encouraging the inclusion of drug users perspectives in the design and implementation of policies and programs;
recognition that various interpretations on the meaning of human rights issues are often problematic and potentially damaging to establishing effective drug and HIV reduction policies in the region;
the importance of the Federal Government continuing to receive a wide range of expert and independent advice to on how best to address drug issues in the region.

The ANCD Asia-Pacific Drug Issues Committee also defined that in the future its work program will focus on achieving the following goals, including those outlined below.

In collaboration with strategic partners, providing support for an international seminar on drug use and development issues targeting the donor community in the Asia-Pacific region.
Potential policy themes for the seminar include:
- Drugs and development
- Drug policy
- Gap between policy and practice
- Policy impact on the lives of affected people and groups
- Impact of drug policy on governance, poverty and other socio-economic issues
Establishing policy forums on regional drug issues with influential organisations such as the Lowy Institute.
Contributing to the building of an evidence base on addressing drug issues in the region.
Supporting existing networks to improve data quality in the region.
Supporting existing networks to expand data collection capabilities in the region.
Addressing compulsory treatment issues in the region.
Establishing a twinning or friendship program to match Australian and New Zealand drug, alcohol and harm reduction agencies with comparable agencies in the region.

For further Information please contact:

More information on the ANCD Asia-Pacific Drug Issues Committee is available by accessing the ANCD website: www.ancd.org.au or by contacting the ANCD Secretariat:

PO Box 205 Civic Square ACT 2608

P: 02 6166 9600
F: 02 6162 2611

or by contacting:
Mr Gino Vumbaca, ANCD Executive Director on 0408 244 552

Postscript:

The ANCD Asia-Pacific Drug Issues Committee discussions with Australian and regionally based organisations to establish a program* to promote supportive partnerships between locally based drug and alcohol agencies in Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific and South East Asia have been very positive.

As a result a ‘twinning’ program will be formally announced in early 2008 with the following collaborating partners:

Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD)
Burnet Institute Centre for Harm Reduction (CHR)
National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC)
Australian Injecting & Illicit Drug Users League (AIVL)
Australasian Therapeutic Communities Association (ATCA)
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime - Bangkok (UNODC)
Asian Harm Reduction Network (AHRN)
New Zealand Drug Foundation (NZDF)
Pacific Drug & Alcohol Research Network (PDARN)
Asian Federation of Therapeutic Communities (AFTC) — to be confirmed
World Health Organisation — Manila (WHO)
International Federation of Non-Government Organisations (IFNGO)
Yunnan Institute of Drug Abuse (YIDA)

* Individual agencies will be able to register to be ‘twinned’ with a partner agency in another country in the region.

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