Asociación UNAD-La Red de Atención a las Adicciones
UNAD
UNAD fue constituida en 1985 y es una organización no gubernamental, sin ánimo de lucro, que interviene en el ámbito de las adicciones con y sin sustancia y de los problemas que derivan de ellas.
ID: 471737023211-38
Lobbying Activity
Response to Revision of the mandate of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction
20 Apr 2022
UNAD, founded in 1985, is an umbrella organization integrated by 207 ngos from Spain that work in the field of drug demand reduction, Including prevention, early detection and, intervention, risk and harm reduction, treatment, social reintegration and recovery of drug users and its families.
UNAD welcomes a renewed mandate for the EMCDDA, as it plays a critical role in supporting evidence-based drug policies across the EU, and more broadly globally. A stronger, well-funded agency is therefore to be applauded.
We also welcome several innovations brought forward in the proposal, including:
- The enhanced role the EMCDDA in monitoring national drug policies, as well as its ability to evaluate and accredit national drug programmes.
- The EMCDDA’s new mandate to review and certify the national focal points that comprise the Reitox network, to ensure that national-level data is reliable.
- Finally, the new mandate would enable the EMCDDA to engage more intensively in international data monitoring and cooperation. There has been much criticism on the quality and level of data collection at the UN with regards to drugs and drug policy. The EMCDDA has a critical role to play in both sharing data and analysis from EU member states, and in building the capacity of other agencies and bodies.
There are other aspects in which we would like to contribute:
- We would reinforce the drug demand reduction side as the role of the EMCDDA in highlighting evidence-based policies relating to drug demand and health is critical across and beyond the EU. The balance between drug demand reduction and drug supply reduction is at the very core of the EU Drug Strategy for 2021-2025.
- We would reinforce the area of harm reduction (drug demand reduction side).
- We find necessary to introduce the area of social reintegration and recovery as it is not mentioned at all.
- We believe it is very important to develop profoundly the basis for Human Rights approach.
- We would find interesting to review article 55 in order to create a mechanism for the participation of civil society. This mechanism would be usefull for the EMCDDA, it could work as a consultative body.
- During the COVID 19 crisis, the EMCDDA was an important support for UNAD. We believe that this European agency is very useful for European citizens. However, this usefulness would be greater if the EMCDDA could carry out qualitative studies in the field of drugs and addictions. The EMCDDA has the capacity to promote qualitative research around Europe. That allows us to better understand what happens to EU citizens and how to design the best services to address drug use problems and also prevention.
Read full response