Open Letter to UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs Demands Science-Based HIV Prevention

In an open letter to the delegates of the upcoming meeting of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), 334 organizations from 56 countries have demanded the Commission reject ideological attempts to undermine effective, science-based HIV prevention methods. The letter was organized particularly in response to recent efforts by the U.S. government to force the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to back away from its support of needle exchange and other harm reduction services.

A second letter—signed by by the International Harm Reduction Association, the Open Society Institute, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, and Human Rights Watch—calls on UNODC to affirm its commitment to promote needle exchange and other measures proven to prevent HIV transmission among people who inject drugs. UNODC is the current chair of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS.

The CND is the UN system's chief policymaking body on issues related to illicit drugs, and serves as the governing board for drug control efforts within UNODC. This year’s annual meeting of the Commission, to be held the week of March 7 in
Vienna, will focus on the intersections between HIV and drug use.