The Meaningful Participation of ‘Stakeholders’ in Global Drug Policy Debates—A Policy Comment
This policy comment seeks to address three key questions relating to the participation of civil society in international drug policymaking. Firstly, who are the relevant ‘stakeholders’ and what options do they have to participate in drug policy discussions at the United Nations level? Secondly, have...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Institut de Hautes Études Internationales et du Développement
2020-09-01
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| Series: | Revue Internationale de Politique de Développement |
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| Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/poldev/3861 |
| _version_ | 1818603158677487616 |
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| author | Ann Fordham |
| author_facet | Ann Fordham |
| author_sort | Ann Fordham |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This policy comment seeks to address three key questions relating to the participation of civil society in international drug policymaking. Firstly, who are the relevant ‘stakeholders’ and what options do they have to participate in drug policy discussions at the United Nations level? Secondly, have certain ‘stakeholders’ been able to positively influence the direction of global drug policies? And thirdly, who are the ‘most affected’ communities and what could be done to improve their meaningful engagement in the definition of drug policies that directly impact their lives? Unpacking the terminology around civil society, stakeholders, and most affected communities, the chapter argues for a clearer distinction between ‘rights-holders’ and ‘duty-bearers’. Masking the inherent power imbalances between the different stakeholders risks underplaying the rights of affected communities and legitimising a place at the table for corporations as ‘equal actors’ in spite of fundamentally different interests. The commentary concludes that the increased involvement over the past decade of civil society as well as other United Nations entities around the 2016 United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem (UNGASS) has markedly influenced the global drug policy debate by shifting more attention towards health, human rights and development concerns. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T13:18:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a364076861af479faec388e2d93a9cbb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1663-9375 1663-9391 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T13:18:44Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | Institut de Hautes Études Internationales et du Développement |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Revue Internationale de Politique de Développement |
| spelling | doaj.art-a364076861af479faec388e2d93a9cbb2022-12-21T22:30:24ZengInstitut de Hautes Études Internationales et du DéveloppementRevue Internationale de Politique de Développement1663-93751663-93912020-09-011210.4000/poldev.3861The Meaningful Participation of ‘Stakeholders’ in Global Drug Policy Debates—A Policy CommentAnn FordhamThis policy comment seeks to address three key questions relating to the participation of civil society in international drug policymaking. Firstly, who are the relevant ‘stakeholders’ and what options do they have to participate in drug policy discussions at the United Nations level? Secondly, have certain ‘stakeholders’ been able to positively influence the direction of global drug policies? And thirdly, who are the ‘most affected’ communities and what could be done to improve their meaningful engagement in the definition of drug policies that directly impact their lives? Unpacking the terminology around civil society, stakeholders, and most affected communities, the chapter argues for a clearer distinction between ‘rights-holders’ and ‘duty-bearers’. Masking the inherent power imbalances between the different stakeholders risks underplaying the rights of affected communities and legitimising a place at the table for corporations as ‘equal actors’ in spite of fundamentally different interests. The commentary concludes that the increased involvement over the past decade of civil society as well as other United Nations entities around the 2016 United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem (UNGASS) has markedly influenced the global drug policy debate by shifting more attention towards health, human rights and development concerns.http://journals.openedition.org/poldev/3861drug policiesdrug control strategiesalternative development policiessustainable developmenthuman rightsgovernance |
| spellingShingle | Ann Fordham The Meaningful Participation of ‘Stakeholders’ in Global Drug Policy Debates—A Policy Comment Revue Internationale de Politique de Développement drug policies drug control strategies alternative development policies sustainable development human rights governance |
| title | The Meaningful Participation of ‘Stakeholders’ in Global Drug Policy Debates—A Policy Comment |
| title_full | The Meaningful Participation of ‘Stakeholders’ in Global Drug Policy Debates—A Policy Comment |
| title_fullStr | The Meaningful Participation of ‘Stakeholders’ in Global Drug Policy Debates—A Policy Comment |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Meaningful Participation of ‘Stakeholders’ in Global Drug Policy Debates—A Policy Comment |
| title_short | The Meaningful Participation of ‘Stakeholders’ in Global Drug Policy Debates—A Policy Comment |
| title_sort | meaningful participation of stakeholders in global drug policy debates a policy comment |
| topic | drug policies drug control strategies alternative development policies sustainable development human rights governance |
| url | http://journals.openedition.org/poldev/3861 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT annfordham themeaningfulparticipationofstakeholdersinglobaldrugpolicydebatesapolicycomment AT annfordham meaningfulparticipationofstakeholdersinglobaldrugpolicydebatesapolicycomment |