Publication Language: French

UN High-Level Panel Says Trade Agreements Such As TPP Threaten Public Health AND Human Rights

A high-level body of eminent persons advising UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon released its report today declaring that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and similar agreements ratcheting up intellectual property protection and enforcement, endanger countries’ efforts to ensure access to medicines and other health technologies and run counter to their human rights obligations. The High-Level Panel’s report … Read more

Canadian civil society groups call for immediate action to opioid overdose crisis

On International Overdose Awareness Day, over 70 Canadian civil society organizations have endorsed an urgent call to action addressed to all levels of government, urging politicians to immediately implement five recommendations that will serve as initial steps of a nationwide crisis response to reduce opioid overdose fatalities and injuries across the country. Call to Action: ACTION … Read more

ACTION = LIFE: Call for an Immediate Response to National Crisis of Opioid Overdose Deaths

Canada is experiencing an overwhelming opioid overdose crisis. Over the past several years Canada has seen an alarming increase in reported opioid-related fatalities and injuries. Overdose deaths are preventable if the right measures are taken. As we approach International Overdose Awareness Day, held on August 31, the undersigned organizations call on you, as the Prime … Read more

New International Report Calls for “Principled Non-Compliance” with Antiquated UN Drug Control Treaties

As an increasing number of jurisdictions consider whether and how to legalize and regulate access to cannabis, tensions are growing between these initiatives and countries’ obligations under the UN drug control conventions. A groundbreaking new report produced by a coalition of legal and drug policy experts offers strategies for countries exploring regulatory approaches to cannabis … Read more

Canada Can’t Wait: The Time for Prison-Based Needle and Syringe Programs Is Now

“We, the undersigned, represent many different communities and interests. But today we speak with one voice, firmly committed to health and human rights, in support of desperately needed prison-based needle and syringe programs (PNSPs) in Canada. The time for PNSPs is now. In Canada, people in prison face far greater risk of HIV and hepatitis … Read more

Nearly 250 Organizations Across Canada Call for Prison-Based Needle and Syringe Programs

Close to 250 Canadian organizations have signed a statement urging federal and provincial governments to immediately implement prisonbased needle and syringe programs (PNSPs) in institutions across the country. Representing the views of a broad cross-section of Canadian civil society, the statement highlights the overwhelming scientific, empirical and human rights rationale for Canada’s governments to act … Read more

Cannabis Regulation and the UN Drug Treaties: Strategies for reform

As jurisdictions enact reforms creating legal access to cannabis for purposes other than exclusively “medical and scientific,” tensions surrounding the existing UN drug treaties and evolving law and practice in Member States continue to grow. How might governments and the UN system address these growing tensions in ways that acknowledge the policy shifts underway and … Read more

Amnesty International Policy Is Opportunity for Canada to Reform Harmful Laws on Sex Work

The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network applauds Amnesty International’s “State Obligations to Respect, Protect and Fulfil the Human Rights of Sex Workers,” released today, which calls for the removal of all laws and policies that make sex work a criminal offence, including those that prohibit selling, buying or facilitating sex work or living off its proceeds.