Drug-law alarm bells

via CAAI

Monday, 25 October 2010 22:02 Brooke Lewis and Chhay Channyda

Articles of a draft drug-control law expected to be finalised by the end of this month are consistent with procedures used in Vietnam and China, and could result in drug users being compelled to perform forced labour, Human Rights Watch has warned.

Joe Amon, director of HRW’ s health and human rights division, said both Vietnam and China “ have reportedly offered assistance to Cambodia on drug policy” .

“ There is a real danger that Cambodian centres will follow the Chinese or Vietnamese model – longer periods of detention and detainees forced to labour for private

companies,” he said.

A recent version of the draft law includes an article stipulating that treatment periods at government-run centres can last for up to two years.

Amon said on Sunday that the present law did not specify minimum or maximum periods for rehabilitation, but that “ the current practice is to detain people for three to six months,sometimes a year” .

Rights groups have reported that detention periods for drug users are longer in China and Vietnam, though Amon said this approach had not worked.

Neak Yuthea, director of the department of legislation, education and rehabilitation at the National Authority for Combating Drugs, confirmed that Cambodia had looked to Vietnam while drafting drug-control and rehabilitation policies.

“ We learnt from Vietnam about how they proceed in their centres and how they care for their addicted people so that we will apply it to Cambodia,” he said....

read the full story in Phnom Penh Post or see the updated story online from 3PM UTC/GMT +7 hours.