Transforming Drug Policy: A Focus on Children and Youth

The discussion will focus on the often overlooked impacts of drug policies on children and young people, including how punitive approaches and criminalization can affect their rights, health, well-being and families, and how child rights-based approaches can strengthen prevention, protection, public health and justice responses.

The event will bring together Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and Chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy; Zeinab Hijazi (UNICEF); Ruby Lawlor (Youth RISE); and Maria Camila Cuellar (Tiempo de Juego), moderated by Mandeep Dhaliwal (UNDP).

The discussion follows the launch of the Global Commission’s new policy brief, Making Children and Young People Visible in Drug Policy: A Child Rights-Based Agenda for Reform. The brief examines how children and young people are affected by drug policy across health, criminal justice and social systems, and calls for their rights and perspectives to be more meaningfully reflected in policy responses. The policy brief and a child- and youth-friendly version are available in six languages here: https://globalcommissionondrugs.org/policy-briefs/

Given the Alliance’s work bringing civil society perspectives into discussions on crime prevention and criminal justice, we would be very pleased to have members of your network join the event. We would also be very grateful if you could circulate the details among relevant members, partners and colleagues who may be in New York during High-Level Week.

As space is limited, we are hoping to finalise registrations by 15 September.

RSVP:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeLw3ryieAnCelSClCGvo9M54xU_OPltC5HxJmZvdX3Xle71w/viewform

Many thanks for considering, and we very much hope members of the Alliance will be able to join us.