Program 2025
Geneva Course on Drug Policy, Public Health and Diplomacy
27 January 2025 - 30 January 2025
27 January 2025 - Module 1 - Drugs, drug use and the international drug control regime
Planning
- 09:00 – 9:30 Welcome and introductions
- Michel Kazatchkine, Barbara Broers, Alexandra Calmy
- 09:30 – 10:30 Setting the scene
- Ann Fordham, International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), UK
- 10:30 – 11:00 Coffee Break
- 11.00- 11.30 Drug policy: driving forces and barriers, group brainstorming session
- 11.30- 13.00 The International Drug Control System
- Martin Jelsma, Transnational Institute (TNI), Netherlands
- 13.00-14.00 Lunch Break
- 14.00-16.00 Law enforcement and criminal justice
- Christian Schneider, Police Department, Zürich, Switzerland: The Economics of Prohibition
- Neil Woods, Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), UK: Reflections on Police Field Work
- “Fair and just prosecution”, USA (TBC)
- 16.00-16.30 Coffee Break
- 16.30-18.00 Lessons learned from the North American opioid crisis
- Dorothy Apollonio, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Graduate Institute, Geneva, Switzerland
28 January 2025 - Module 2 - Drug Policies, the UN, and multilateral diplomacy
Planning
- 09:00 – 10:30 Should drug use and possession be decriminalized?
- Niamh Eastwood, Release, UK
- Evidence (videos) from Oregon, Czech Republic, Portugal
- 10:30 – 11:00 Coffee Break
- 11:00 – 12:30 Evolving cannabis policies
- Barbara Broers, University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland
- Jörg Pietsch, Office of the Commissioner of the Federal Government for Drug and Addiction Policy, Germany
- 12:30 – 13:30 Lunch Break
- 13:30 – 14:00 The Human Rights Council and drug policy reform
- Zaved Mahmood, Office of the High Commissioner of the Human Rights (HCHR), Geneva, Switzerland
- 14:00 – 14:45 Preparing for a negotiation at the Human Rights Council
- Carole Lanteri, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Principality of Monaco to the United Nations in and International Organizations in Geneva
- 14:45–16:30 Negotiation exercise, part 1: Introduction to the exercise and preparatory work by participants
- Jean-Marc Flückiger, Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the OSCE, the UN and other international organizations in Vienna
- Omar Bielma Velazquez, Permanent Mission of Mexico in Geneva
- 16.30 18.30 Negotiation exercise, part 2: Negotiation of a drug-related resolution at the Human Rights Council
- Jean-Marc Flückiger
- Omar Bielma Velazquez
29 January 2025 - Module 3 - Drug Policy, health and human rights
Planning
- 09:00 – 10:15 Harm Reduction
- Colleen Daniels, Harm Reduction International (HRI), UK
- Annette Verster, World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland
- Dr Jennifer Hasselgard-Rowe, Lecturer, University of Geneva and “Première Ligne”, Geneva
- 10:15 – 11:00 Drugs in detention settings
- Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Monash University, Malaysia
- 11:00 – 11:30 Coffee Break
- 11:30 – 12:45 Access to controlled medicines
- Brainstorming on why controlled medicines are not accessible
- Dilkushi Poovendardan, World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland
- Sophie Pautex, Palliative Care Unit, University of Geneva and University Hospitals of Geneva, Switzerland
- International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) (TBC)
- 12:45 – 13:45 Lunch Break
- 13:45 – 15:00 Perspective from Producing Countries; the Example of Cocaine
- Diego Garcia Davis, Open Society Foundations, Colombia
- Laura Gil, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations in Vienna
- 15:00 – 15:30 Coffee Break
- 15:30 – 17:00 Perspectives for drug policy reform: a panel discussion
- Ruth Dreifuss, Former Chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, Former President of Switzerland
- Anne Levy, Director of the Federal Office of Public Health of Switzerland
- Laura Gil, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations in Vienna
- 17:00-17:45 Closing remarks and discussion between participants and faculty
- Michel Kazatchkine, Barbara Broers, Antoine Flahault, Alexandra Calmy, Thomas Zeltner
30 Januray 2025 - Site visits (optional)
Planning
Participants who register for this optional programme will be able to select 2 among the following options:
- Safe consumption site at Quai 9
- Opioid agonist treatment centre (methadone, long-acting morphine, diacetylmorphine)
- Global Commission on Drug Policy
- WHO
- Global Fund
Intervenant-es
- Ann Fordham, International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), UK
- Martin Jelsma, Transnational Institute (TNI), Netherlands
- Christian Schneider, Police Department, Zürich, Switzerland: The Economics of Prohibition
- Neil Woods, Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), UK: Reflections on Police Field Work
- Amy Fettig, Fair and just prosecution, USA
- Dorothy Apollonio, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Graduate Institute, Geneva, Switzerland
- Niamh Eastwood, Release, UK
- Jörg Pietsch, Office of the Commissioner of the Federal Government for Drug and Addiction Policy, Germany
- Zaved Mahmood, Office of the High Commissioner of the Human Rights (HCHR), Geneva, Switzerland
- Carole Lanteri, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Principality of Monaco to the United Nations in and International Organizations in Geneva
- Jean-Marc Flükiger, Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the OSCE, the UN and other international organizations in Vienna
- Omar Bielma Velázquez, Permanent Mission of Mexico in Geneva
- Colleen Daniels, Harm Reduction International (HRI), UK
- Annette Verster, World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland
- Dr Jennifer Hasselgard-Rowe, Lecturer, University of Geneva and “Première Ligne”, Geneva
- Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Monash University, Malaysia
- Dilkushi Poovendran, World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland
- Sophie Pautex, Palliative Care Unit, University of Geneva and University Hospitals of Geneva, Switzerland
- Diego Garcia Devis, Open Society Foundations, Colombia
- Laura Gil, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations in Vienna
- Ruth Dreifuss, Former Chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, Former President of Switzerland
- Anne Lévy, Director of the Federal Office of Public Health of Switzerland
- Ricardo Baptista Leite, President of UNITE Parliamentarians Network for Global Health
- Judy Chang, Executive Director, International Network of People Who Use Drugs (INPUD)