Short course Geneva Course on Drug Policy, Public Health and Diplomacy 2025
The course is highly participatory, drawing on the national and international experiences of participants through a multi-disciplinary learning process. It includes lectures by internationally-renowned experts and negotiators, case studies, working groups, and a negotiation simulation exercise.
Information
Period
27 January 2025 - 30 January 20252 ECTS credits
3 ECTS credits (micro-credential)
2 ECTS (optional) for 3 days cours presence and 40 hours of preparation (MOOC). Micro-certification: 3 ECTS (optional) for 3 days cours presence, full
preparation and written and evaluated paper (30 additional hours)
Language
EnglishFormat
Blended learningRegistration
Registration deadline
20 December 2024
Applicants should send a short CV and a motivation letter to Kamila Guseinova ().
Fees:
- CHF 1,700: Full in-presence course with supervision of a written evaluation paper (Micro-credential included)
- CHF 1,400: Full in-presence course (without site visits on Day 4)
- CHF 1,600: Full in-presence course with pre-arranged site visits on Day 4
- CHF 800.- for online participation
A limited number of scholarships will be available for qualified participants. Contact for more details.
Contribution to the SDGs
Audience
Professionals working in policymaking, public health, and human rights including: government representatives from ministries of health, foreign affairs, justice, interior and drug control agencies; representatives from international and regional institutions; representatives from non-governmental organisations; health attachés and diplomats with a portfolio linked to health or drug policy; professionals in academia; parliamentarians.
Learning outcomes
- Gain insight into the key concepts and current issues related to the international drug control regime and its intersection with public health and human rights
- Negotiate and influence the design and the implementation of drug policies nationally and internationally
- Identify the stakeholders of the current drug policy debate and international processes
- Prioritise public health-based approaches to drug policy at national level
Programme
3 modules:
- Drugs, Drug Use, and the International Drug Control Regime
- Drug Policies, UN, and Multilateral Diplomacy
- Drug Policy, Health and Human Rights
Optional site visits
Director(s)
Prof. Michel KAZATCHKINE, Geneva Graduate Institute, Prof. Barabara BROERS, Geneva University Hospitals, and Prof. Alexandra CALMY, Faculty of Medicine, Unviersity of Geneva
Coordinator(s)
Kamila GUSEINOVA, University of Geneva
This short course will address the following topics: the international Drug Control Regime; drug control, public health, harm reduction and human rights; current issues surrounding cannabis, the opioid and epidemics challenges in access to controlled essential medicines; perspectives for drug policy reform and the current global diplomatic context.
Date(s)
27 January 2025
Planning
- 09:00 – 9:30 Welcome and introductions
- Michel Kazatchkine, Barbara Broers, Alexandra Calmy
- 09:30 – 10:30 Setting the scene
- Ann Fordham, International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), UK
- 10:30 – 11:00 Coffee Break
- 11.00- 11.30 Drug policy: driving forces and barriers, group brainstorming session
- 11.30- 13.00 The International Drug Control System
- Martin Jelsma, Transnational Institute (TNI), Netherlands
- 13.00-14.00 Lunch Break
- 14.00-16.00 Law enforcement and criminal justice
- Christian Schneider, Police Department, Zürich, Switzerland: The Economics of Prohibition
- Neil Woods, Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), UK: Reflections on Police Field Work
- “Fair and just prosecution”, USA (TBC)
- 16.00-16.30 Coffee Break
- 16.30-18.00 Lessons learned from the North American opioid crisis
- Dorothy Apollonio, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Graduate Institute, Geneva, Switzerland
Date(s)
28 January 2025
Planning
- 09:00 – 10:30 Should drug use and possession be decriminalized?
- Niamh Eastwood, Release, UK
- Evidence (videos) from Oregon, Czech Republic, Portugal
- 10:30 – 11:00 Coffee Break
- 11:00 – 12:30 Evolving cannabis policies
- Barbara Broers, University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland
- Jörg Pietsch, Office of the Commissioner of the Federal Government for Drug and Addiction Policy, Germany
- 12:30 – 13:30 Lunch Break
- 13:30 – 14:00 The Human Rights Council and drug policy reform
- Zaved Mahmood, Office of the High Commissioner of the Human Rights (HCHR), Geneva, Switzerland
- 14:00 – 14:45 Preparing for a negotiation at the Human Rights Council
- Carole Lanteri, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Principality of Monaco to the United Nations in and International Organizations in Geneva
- 14:45–16:30 Negotiation exercise, part 1: Introduction to the exercise and preparatory work by participants
- Jean-Marc Flückiger, Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the OSCE, the UN and other international organizations in Vienna
- Omar Bielma Velazquez, Permanent Mission of Mexico in Geneva
- 16.30 18.30 Negotiation exercise, part 2: Negotiation of a drug-related resolution at the Human Rights Council
- Jean-Marc Flückiger
- Omar Bielma Velazquez
Date(s)
2 January 2025
Planning
- 09:00 – 10:15 Harm Reduction
- Colleen Daniels, Harm Reduction International (HRI), UK
- Annette Verster, World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland
- Dr Jennifer Hasselgard-Rowe, Lecturer, University of Geneva and “Première Ligne”, Geneva
- 10:15 – 11:00 Drugs in detention settings
- Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Monash University, Malaysia
- 11:00 – 11:30 Coffee Break
- 11:30 – 12:45 Access to controlled medicines
- Brainstorming on why controlled medicines are not accessible
- Dilkushi Poovendardan, World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland
- Sophie Pautex, Palliative Care Unit, University of Geneva and University Hospitals of Geneva, Switzerland
- International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) (TBC)
- 12:45 – 13:45 Lunch Break
- 13:45 – 15:00 Perspective from Producing Countries; the Example of Cocaine
- Diego Garcia Davis, Open Society Foundations, Colombia
- Laura Gil, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations in Vienna
- 15:00 – 15:30 Coffee Break
- 15:30 – 17:00 Perspectives for drug policy reform: a panel discussion
- Ruth Dreifuss, Former Chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, Former President of Switzerland
- Anne Levy, Director of the Federal Office of Public Health of Switzerland
- Laura Gil, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations in Vienna
- 17:00-17:45 Closing remarks and discussion between participants and faculty
- Michel Kazatchkine, Barbara Broers, Antoine Flahault, Alexandra Calmy, Thomas Zeltner
Date(s)
30 January 2025
Planning
Participants who register for this optional programme will be able to select 2 among the following options:
- Safe consumption site at Quai 9
- Opioid agonist treatment centre (methadone, long-acting morphine, diacetylmorphine)
- Global Commission on Drug Policy
- WHO
- Global Fund
Steering committee
- Prof. Barbara BROERS, former Head of the Unit for Dependencies, Geneva University Hospitals, Member of the Swiss Federal Commission on Addictions
- Professor Alexandra CALMY, Vice-Dean for International Affairs, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Director of the Clinical Research Centre, University of Geneva and University Hospitals of Geneva
- Prof. Antoine FLAHAULT, Director of the Institute of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva and Director of the Swiss School of Public Health, Zürich
- Prof. Michel KAZATCHKINE, former Executive Director of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, Senior Fellow, Global Health Center, the Geneva Graduate Institute
- Prof. Thomas ZELTNER, former Director of the Federal Office of Public Health of Switzerland
Application File
- CV
- Cover letter
The files will be examined by the programme's Steering committee. The candidate will be informed of the decision.
Number of participants
The number of participants is limited to 30 for pedagogical reasons.
Cancellation Policy
Any withdrawal before the start of the programme will incur a cancellation fee of CHF 400.00. Enrollment fee will be payable in full once the course has begun.
- Ann Fordham, International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), UK
- Martin Jelsma, Transnational Institute (TNI), Netherlands
- Christian Schneider, Police Department, Zürich, Switzerland: The Economics of Prohibition
- Neil Woods, Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), UK: Reflections on Police Field Work
- Amy Fettig, Fair and just prosecution, USA
- Dorothy Apollonio, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Graduate Institute, Geneva, Switzerland
- Niamh Eastwood, Release, UK
- Jörg Pietsch, Office of the Commissioner of the Federal Government for Drug and Addiction Policy, Germany
- Zaved Mahmood, Office of the High Commissioner of the Human Rights (HCHR), Geneva, Switzerland
- Carole Lanteri, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Principality of Monaco to the United Nations in and International Organizations in Geneva
- Jean-Marc Flükiger, Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the OSCE, the UN and other international organizations in Vienna
- Omar Bielma Velázquez, Permanent Mission of Mexico in Geneva
- Colleen Daniels, Harm Reduction International (HRI), UK
- Annette Verster, World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland
- Dr Jennifer Hasselgard-Rowe, Lecturer, University of Geneva and “Première Ligne”, Geneva
- Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Monash University, Malaysia
- Dilkushi Poovendran, World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland
- Sophie Pautex, Palliative Care Unit, University of Geneva and University Hospitals of Geneva, Switzerland
- Diego Garcia Devis, Open Society Foundations, Colombia
- Laura Gil, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations in Vienna
- Ruth Dreifuss, Former Chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, Former President of Switzerland
- Anne Lévy, Director of the Federal Office of Public Health of Switzerland
- Ricardo Baptista Leite, President of UNITE Parliamentarians Network for Global Health
- Judy Chang, Executive Director, International Network of People Who Use Drugs (INPUD)
Contribution to the SDGs