Civil society
Civil society has an increasingly recognized and present role in public policy-making. We have managed to gain space and make our voices heard meaningfully, until being recognized by the UN as one of the sectors of society that can better channel sustainable development.
We are agents of change. Working on the ground, providing services to people and communities and also lobbying at the political level to improve regulatory frameworks. Two levels of work essential to move towards greater social progress.
Even so, there is no assured achievement: despite progress in the participation of civil society in the public policy-making process, setbacks have been experienced in some countries.
Political advocacy
Political advocacy at the international level is complex. RIOD has designed this guide as a tool to support the work of civil society organizations in this area.
It provides a map of the main international forums and organizations dealing with drug policy, health, human rights, and sustainable development issues at the international level, in Europe and in Latin America. It describes what they are, what they do, how they work and how civil society organizations can interact with them.
Some of the contents you can find in the Guide, will help you on how to work at the UN level; by thematic spaces (drugs, health, Human Rights, among others) and also in regional spaces (EU, Inter-American System, etc.)
Practical guide to improve the participation of NGOs in international decision-making bodies on drug policy, health, human rights and sustainable development.
Regionales - Unión Europea
For work in the EU environment, it is advisable:
The European Union does not have exclusive competence for drug policy, but it does dictate coordinated action in the EU Drugs Strategy and Action Plans. The EU serves as a sort of coordination platform.
In particular, the Commission’s Directorate-General for Migration and Internal Affairs is responsible for leading proposals in this area. The Strategies and Action Plans, as well as other important initiatives, will have to be validated by the European Parliament, mainly by the LIBE Committee (Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs). The final approval must come from the Council of the European Union.
Other interesting enetities
To work in the environment of other entities, it is advisable:
There are numerous NGO platforms working with a thematic and/or regional focus, such as RIOD. From platforms of therapeutic communities, harm reduction networks to organisms that bring together the action of organizations working in the area of prevention in different parts of the world. See the guide for full information..
- Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños (CELAC)
- Plan Colombo
- International Society for Drug Use Professionals (ISSUP)
- World Healt Organization (WHO)
- UNAIDS
- Geneva Global Health Hub(G2H2)
- Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS)
- EU Health Platform
- Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights(OHCHR)
- United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC)
- Inter-American Commission on Human Rights CIDH)
- Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)
- New York NGO Committee on the Status of Women(CSW NGO/NY)
- Instituto Interamericano de Derechos Humanos (IIDH)
- ONU Mujeres – Oficina Regional de América Latina y el Caribe
- Instituto Interamericano del Niño, la Niña y Adolescentes (IIN)
- NGO Major Group (NGO MG)
- Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL)
- Secretaría General Iberoamericana
