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European/international legal instruments and guidelines

One of the main objectives of the CONNECTIONS project is to inform policy development at EU level in the area of drugs and HIV/AIDS (and other drug related infectious diseases) prevention in prison and in the criminal justice system. Within this objective, one of the outputs of the project will be a collation of European and international guidelines and good practices in EU member states in the area of drugs, infections and health promotion within the criminal justice setting.
The information collected will be reviewed by a group of European and international experts in the field and will be available on this web site in its final format at the end of project implementation, in 2010.  In the meantime, in the section European/international guidelines of this web site you will find selected examples of guidelines and evidence papers collected during the course of the project. Should you wish to contribute to this activity by pointing out existing guidelines or proposing evidenced good practices implemented in your country, please do not hesitate to contact the project coordinator, Ms Cinzia Brentari at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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UNODC-WHO Principles of Drug Dependence Treatment

The UNODC-WHO discussion paper published in March 2008 aims to be a tool providing Governments with some key principles - and proposals for actions on how to implement them - in the area of drug dependence treatment services.

The important role of drug dependence prevention and treatment as part of demand reduction and public health has been repeatedly emphasized in international agreements.

Through its 9 principles and related actions this document provides an extremely valuable tool at multiple levels, to promote the development of cost-effective, appropriate and human right based treatment services.

Drug dependence is a preventable and treatable disease, and effective prevention and treatment interventions are available. The best results are achieved when a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach which includes diversified pharmacological and psychosocial interventions is available to respond to different needs.

One specific principle of the document, principle 6, addresses issues related to drug treatment in the criminal justice system, emphasizing the need to develop further alternative measures to imprisonment for drug using offenders, to provide a full range of drug treatment services for those in prison and to concentrate on after care and continuity of care.

The full document can be downloaded at:
http://www.unodc.org/documents/drug-treatment/UNODC-WHO-Principles-of-Drug-Dependence-Treatment-March08.pdf

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Health in prisons. A WHO guide to the essentials in prison health.

This WHO guide outlines some of the steps prison systems should take to reduce the public health risks from compulsory detention in often unhealthy situations, to care for prisoners in need and to promote the health of prisoners and prison staff. It outlines how imprisonment can affect health, what prisoners' health needs are and how evidence-based health services can be provided for everyone needing treatment, care and prevention in prison, including drug and alcohol users. Internationally recommended standards for prison health are to be further disseminated and widely used within the prison setting. Providing professional care with the same adherence to professional ethics as in other health services is also important; and, while seeing individual needs as the central feature of the care provided, promoting a whole-prison approach to care and promoting the health and well-being of people in custody.

The above publication can be downloaded from: http://www.euro.who.int/InformationSources/Publications/Catalogue/20070521_1