A Russian’s right to essential medicines goes before the Court
What could be a landmark case for people who use drugs in Russia and in many other countries.
22 Mar 2016It is almost unbelievable that Russia, the country that put the first man in space, appears to ignore the scientific-evidence when it comes to tackling their escalating HIV epidemic.
Russia bans the use of several medicines, particularly methadone, which the World Health Organization (“WHO”) considers essential and instead relies largely on faith and abstinence-based interventions for the treatment of addiction.
This ban has been challenged in the European Court of Human Rights (“ECHR”) with the plaintiff’s believing that banning the use of Opioid Substitution Therapy (“OST”) goes beyond the discretion of the Russian authorities.
European Court of Human Rights
International Doctors for Healthier Drug Policies (“IDHDP”) is proud to have joined the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia; Human Rights Watch and four other organisations in providing statements for the court, putting forward overwhelming evidence for the need to remove the ban on OST, based on international guidelines as well as the norms and principles of human rights.
In what could be a landmark case for people who use drugs in Russia and many other countries, IDHDP hopes the Court will name a date to review the case as soon as possible.
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