Tag: Publication

Publication – Punitive Drug Laws: 10 Years Undermining the Bangkok Rules

For centuries, criminal laws, justice systems, and prisons have been designed for, and by, men. The 2010 United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders, also known as the ‘Bangkok Rules’, break away from this history by establishing the first set of international human rights standards that focus on the specific needs and experiences of women deprived of liberty.

Ten years after the adoption of the Bangkok Rules by the 193 countries represented at the UN General Assembly, states across the world have largely failed to implement them, while the number of women in prison has continued to raise dramatically. By 2020, an estimated 741,000 women were incarcerated worldwide, compared to 636,000 in 2010. The global female prison population is estimated to have increased by about 59% from 2000 to 2020.

This worrying trend has been fuelled by the harshly punitive drug laws adopted at the end of the 20th century. In many countries in Asia and Latin America, drug offences are the main cause for the incarceration of women. In most cases, women are detained for carrying out low-level drug activities, such as transporting drugs, that are characterised by high risk, a high degree of replaceability within illegal drug organisations, and very little financial reward.

Although theoretically ‘gender-blind’, punitive drug policies such as the disproportionate use of pretrial detention, mandatory minimum prison sentences, and the dearth of harm reduction and evidence-based treatment in prisons, have impacted women disproportionately. They have also ignored the causes for women’s involvement in illegal drug activities, which include the intersection of poverty and caretaking responsibilities, and coercion or influence at hands of a male relative or partner. In other words, they have undermined the application of the Bangkok Rules.

For advocates across the world, the 10-year anniversary of the Bangkok Rules is an opportunity to remind states that gender equality policies, criminal justice rights and drug laws are not isolated from each other. If states want to implement a genuine agenda for gender equality, they need to review the laws and policies that undermine it – including drug legislation.

This briefing paper provides analyses the concrete ways in which punitive drug legislation has impacted upon the achievement of the Bangkok Rules, and offers several recommendations on how to translate the commitments set in the Bangkok Rules into drug policy.

To read full this report you can click the link below:
Punitive Drug Laws: 10 Years Undermining the Bangkok Rules

This report was iniative by IDPC and colaborated with LBHM, WOLA, WHRIN, Penal Reform, Dejustitia and CELS

Monitoring dan Dokumentasi – Pilu Pemilu Kelompok LGBTI Dalam Politik Omong Kosong

Tahun 2019 di Indonesia akan dikenang sebagai momentum politik, sebuah periode ketika masyarakat menghadapi pemilihan presiden dan anggota legislatif. Salah satu isu yang mudah dipolitisasi adalah keberadaan kelompok minoritas seksual dan gender. Laporan Human Rights Watch pada tahun 2016 menunjukkan bagaimana ujaran kebencian, pengusiran, pembentukan Peraturan Daerah (Perda) diskriminatif, memberikan keuntungan politik dan finansial bagi sebagian elit. Memosisikan kelompok LGBTI sebagai sesuatu yang perlu diperangi dinilai mampu untuk mendongkrak elektabilitas.

Potensi stigma dan diskriminasi semakin terbuka lebar dengan adanya sokongan media yang menjadi salah satu saluran untuk menyebarkan kebencian terhadap kelompok minoritas seksual dan gender. Selain itu pejabat publik turut serta dalam membuat banyak produk-produk legislasi/kebijakan yang tidak inklusi bahkan mengarah kepada diskriminasi terhadap kelompok LGBTI.

LBHM menemukan data jika pada dua tahun terakhir menunjukkan angka stigma, diskriminasi dan ujaran kebencian tetap tinggi dan diolah untuk kepentingan-kepentingan politik. Simak laporan lengkapnya di sini

Reorienting Drug Policy in Indonesia: Pathways to the Sustainable Development Goals

Indonesia demonstrates a big commitment to achieve Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The goals that are set by the United Nations in 2015 cover numerous areas, including economics, health, education, gender equality, environment, justice and peace. With the motto of ‘leaving no one behind’, the Indonesian government tries to mainstream the goals in its policies and programs across multiple ministerial bodies.

However, the efforts of achieving SDGs walk in parallel with Indonesia’s tough stance on drugs that is obvious in the jargon of ‘the war on drugs’. Supported by academics, many organizations of people who use drugs and human rights groups show how the punitive method as what Indonesia is still applying creates more injustice as it undermines the health aspects and fuel discrimination. The intended and unintended consequences of Indonesian drug policy are counter-productive to the SDGs goal Indonesia so keenly set.

Reprieve and LBHM, with the support of the Embassy of Switzerland in Indonesia, tried to delve further into the intersection between the drug policy and SDGs. Today, 26th June, as the world celebrates the World Drug Day, we publish a report titled “Reorienting Drug Policy in Indonesia: Pathways to the Sustainable Development Goals”. The report aims to open more dialogues about the drug policy that are derived not from blind fears but rather from research-based evidence.

To access the document, please click this link.

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