The Consensus The Signatories Events
  > The Consensus

THE ROME CONSENSUS FOR A HUMANITARIAN DRUG POLICY - 2007 DECLARATION


The participants of the High Level International Think Tank on Drug Policy, “1922-2007: 85 years fighting discrimination, isolation and stigmatization”, Rome, March 22-24, 2007, organized by the Italian Red Cross and The International Council On Security and Development (ICOS):



  • Reaffirming the commitment in the Founding Text of the Rome Consensus for a Humanitarian Drug Policy to raise the profile of drug policy to the forefront of social concerns,
  • Remembering all the decisions of the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement concerning problems related to drug use since Bangkok 1922 and especially those adopted by the International Conference in 1969 (decision 30) and in 1986 (decision 29) and the decision 39 of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies General Assembly of 1985,
  • Fully aware that drugs have caused a man-made catastrophe, affecting more than 200 million people today, and the need for a new humanitarian, realistic, public health and socially-based drug policy with the objective of responding to the challenges posed by widespread drug use and production: especially as it links to poverty, security and human suffering,
  • Welcoming the creation of a special Health Commission Working Group on Substance Abuse, noting that this is a direct result of the 2005 Rome Consensus for a Humanitarian Drug Policy: agree that all National Societies should provide inputs to the Commission’s work, which is essential to the future prioritization of substance abuse work and drug policy in its own context as well as within the Federation’s HIV and AIDS priority,
  • Realizing that this is the opportunity to establish a new commitment to a humanitarian drug policy based on reason and compassion that generates action, free from ideology, force, stigmatization and discrimination,
  • Committing the strength of the Red Cross\Red Crescent Movement provided by its auxiliary role to national governments on humanitarian assistance, to actively encourage the formulation and implementation of a humanitarian drug policy that saves lives and alleviates human suffering,
  • Emphasizing that public health, comprehensive harm reduction, which includes substitution treatment, and humanitarian approaches are key elements of drug policy, and can provide the optimal way of achieving the goals of alleviating suffering and reaching-out to vulnerable people, and recognizing that involving peers, including drug users and people living with HIV and AIDS, is vital to this process,
  • Integrating and encouraging young people in their National Societies to play a leading advocacy role in all stages of drug program design, implementation and monitoring,
  • Bringing NS experiences as a contribution to the Federation’s input to the 2008/09 events marking the tenth anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Narcotic Drugs and encouraging all National Societies to engage with their National governments,
  • Asking the Italian Red Cross and the participant National Societies in Rome to collect and share examples of evidence-based, good practices such as peer-to-peer prevention programmes, to continue the work together with other Federation Commissions in order to generate a global support for this initiative and to present the report of this meeting in the different fora of the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement with the goal of submitting a proposal to the governing board of the Federation later this year and after that to the General Assembly and the International Conference,


Propose the creation of a Rome Consensus Leaders Group led by the Italian Red Cross supported by The International Council On Security and Development (ICOS) with regional leaders to give the follow up of this Think Tank 2007 in Rome (the group will be integrated by geographical and language representatives of the National Societies). Cooperation and partnerships will also be encouraged with non-government organizations as well as governments and international organizations. All efforts shall be made to make available and to mobilize the resources to follow up on the Consensus.


Home