Protecting the rights of young people in the areas related to drugs and drug policy

On May 15-22 2017, 30 young activists from European civil society organizations working in the field of drugs with young people gathered in Belgrade, Serbia. They discussed how the people we work with are having their basic rights violated in the key areas related to drug use, such as access to healthcare, criminal law and social services. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss the experience of young people affected by drugs in different countries, and the challenges faced by both them and civil society organizations that represent them. Participants also shared the solutions that they already apply in their countries, so that others were able to learn about examples of how particular problems were overcome. One of their priorities was to highlight how existing international laws can be applied to the cases participants see in their everyday work, and to establish what additional tools should be available in order to better support young people in difficult life situations.