Focus

Pompidou Group COVID-19 platform offers actions and practices to protect people’s health and lives

The COVID-19 pandemic is a major challenge for every State and affects every citizen. Today all Pompidou Group member states are facing choices in which the very principles represented by the Council of Europe – democracy, human rights and rule of law – are at stake.

To support its member states in meeting the challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pompidou Group set up an on-line platform for the use of decision makers and practitioners. The platform offers concrete examples of practices that are aimed at mitigating the adverse effects of the COVID-19 crisis and associated restrictions for the people who use drugs as well as those who are in contact with them.

The platform is intended to serve as a pool of practices and a forum for discussion on how to meet the urgent needs of these risk groups. Its purpose is to help deciding on actions aimed at providing harm and risk reduction measures and delivering drug treatment and rehabilitation services both in the community and in detention settings under the current restrictions evoked by the COVID-19 pandemic and with available resources.

Governmental bodies, service providers, experts, civil society organisations, as well as individuals providing lived experience can contribute to the platform. Videos, photos and short summaries presenting practice examples can be submitted and will be displayed in one of the six languages of the platform: English, French, Russian, Italian, German and Spanish.

Are you involved in protecting the health of people with addiction problems or are you part of this risk group?

Share your experience now and get inspired by other’s actions on the platform.

Human rights and people who use drugs in the Mediterranean region

This publication gives a first overview of the human rights situation of people who use drugs in 17 MedNET countries.

Among the topics covered are the consideration of drug use as a disease when developing drug policy, the right of access to care and treatment as a fundamental right for people who use drugs, the implementation of evidence-based prevention practices and health strategies, the fight against stigma and the needed adaptation of the legal framework to integrate a human rights approach.

This publication is the outcome of a first discussion within the MedNET Committee with the objectives of gaining a better understanding of the meaning of human
rights in drug policy and exchanging best practices and ideas on this subject.