Charter of Rights for People Affected by Substance Use - Scotland's National Collaborative

The Charter draws from the International Guidelines on Human Rights and Drug Policy which sets out best practice as identified by the UN. It is intended to provide a guide to adopting a human rights-based approach in decision making.

The purpose is to:

• Support people affected by substance use to realise the human rights which belong to them.
• Support service providers to understand how to implement the human rights which belong to people affected by substance use.
• Shift the power and change the culture from criminalisation and stigma towards public health and human rights… the so-called “undeserving” coming to see themselves as “rights-holders” and the service providers better understanding what their role may be as “duty bearers”.

IDPC statement at the launch event