DATE / TIME:

2015•09•15    09:00 - 13:00

Location:

New York

About the Panel

In the lead up to the 2016 UN General Assembly special session on the world drug problem (UNGASS 2016), Brookings Senior Fellows Vanda Felbab-Brown and Harold Trinkunas, along with several outside policy experts, have developed a series of policy briefs to evaluate the effectiveness and costs of international counter-narcotics policies in different contexts. The series, entitled “Improving Global Drug Policy: Comparative Perspectives and UNGASS 2016“, is unique in its global scope, and analyzes the threats and harms resulting from drug use, the drug trade, and, at times, anti-drug policies themselves. The briefs examine the impacts on national security, violent crime, political corruption, economic development, public health, and human rights. The panelists, comprising authors from the series, will discuss their findings and consider the implications these findings have for UNGASS 2016.

Speakers:

Afghanistan

Dr Vanda Felbab-Brown, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution; co-director of the Brookings project “Improving Global Drug Policy: Comparative Perspectives and UNGASS 2016”

Mali and Guinea

Dr Lansana Gberie, Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA)

Russia

Dr Mark Galeotti, Professor of Global Affairs, New York University Center for Global Affairs

Colorado and Washington, U.S.A.

Dr Mark Kleiman, Professor of Public Policy, University of California, Los Angeles

Colombia

Dr Daniel Mejia, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Director of the Research Center on Drugs and Security, Universidad de los Andes

UNGASS 2016 in Comparative Perspective: Improving the Prospects for Success

Dr Harold Trinkunas, Senior Fellow and Director, Foreign Policy, Latin America Initiative, The Brookings Institution; co-director of the Brookings project “Improving Global Drug Policy: Comparative Perspectives and UNGASS 2016”

Uruguay

Mr John Walsh, Senior Associate for Drug Policy and the Andes, Washington Office on Latin America

Moderator: Mr James Cockayne, Head of Office at the UN, UN University

Moderated Q&A will follow.

Visit the related files tab to see the panel the panel discussion’s agenda.

Registration

This panel discussion offers a unique opportunity for high-level delegates and practitioners to engage in frank discussion of what comparative approaches to drug policy mean for UNGASS 2016. As seating in Conference Room 5 is limited, we encourage you to RSVP by September 8.  Participants needing a UN grounds pass can pick it up upon entry to the event at the UN visitor’s entrance on 45th Street and 1st Avenue starting at 8:30am.

Please click here or on the REGISTER button above to access the online registration page.

This event will also be webcast on UNTV.