Pompidou Group Co-operation Group to Combat Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in Drugs

Strasbourg,  17 October 2003                                                                 P-PG/Minconf (2003) 4

WORK PROGRAMME

2004 - 2006

Introduction

The Work programme proposed for 2004-2006 represents a rather radical departure from its predecessors both in terms of its focus and its main working methods. In this, it responds to the review undertaken of the role and functioning of the Pompidou Group. In particular, it seeks to address the core tasks and activities set out in the Statement on the Structure and Working Methods of the Pompidou Group (P-PG/Minconf (2003) 6).

Specific activities have been selected taking full account of work undertaken on other international bodies and because they can lead to concrete outcomes. The core activities represent items which can be managed within resource constraints: other items will only be undertaken if additional resources become available. However, some flexibility has been left in the core budget to allow the group both to take account of ongoing discussions with EMCDDA about collaborative projects and to address any new priorities aring in the course of the programme.

Evaluation will be an integrated concern in all activities, but, more fundamentally, there will be constant monitoring by the Permanent Correspondents assisted by the Bureau of the working of the new structures and a full interim evaluation will be carried out in Spring 2005 both to make any necessary adjustments for the second half of the programme and to inform a full debate at the 2006 ministerial session .

DRAFT WORK PROGRAMME PG 2004-2006

MISSION

·         To organise discussions and facilitate the exchange of experience and the transfer of knowledge as a bridging role between policy and practice and research in the area of drug misuse and drug trafficking.

AIMS

·         To promote evidence-based policy and practice including regular evaluation

·         To promote cross-sectoral cooperation and concerted action in drug intervention

·         To promote multi-disciplinary approaches in intervention and research

·         To promote common standards for good practice, including ethical standards

FOCUS

·         Day to day practice

·         Local level policy and practice

INSTRUMENTS

·         Platforms of policy-makers, professionals in the field and other experts

·         Programme of specific activities

·         Secretariat to facilitate the PG and its platforms and the programme of activities

·         General budget

·         Budget of voluntary contributions of Member States

STRUCTURE

PLATFORMS

The platforms are the main instrument to implement the mission of the Pompidou Group. Their orientation is the day-to-day policy and practice as response to the drug situation, not the drug situation itself as today other organisations, in particular the EMCDDA, are better equipped to do this.

Each platform has the general objectives to signal what’s going on in its field as well as to promote and develop common standards for good practice and to identify needs and priorities.

Platform [1]	General objectives
Expert Forum on Prevention	@	To signal and evaluate developments in the field; To promote and develop standards for good practice; To identify priorities and needs.
Expert Forum on Treatment
Expert Forum on Criminal Justice and regulatory aspects
Expert Committee on Research	To signal developments in the use of data and research in policy and practice; To identify priorities and needs and to develop strategies for research.
Expert Committee on Ethics	To signal developments about ethics in practice and research; To promote and develop standards on ethics for practice and research.
Cooperation Group on Airports and general aviation	To signal developments at airports and in general aviation related drug trafficking; To promote and develop standards for practical and operational cooperation between European airports.

Working principles

·         The platforms are based on the principle of open discourse.

·         Discussions in the platforms will be structured and prepared by the Secretariat in accordance with the decisions of the Permanent Correspondents or by external consultants on its behalf.

·         Platforms can invite external experts or organisations as informants on topics relevant for the platforms’ objectives and discussions.

·         Platforms undertake specific activities of the PG Work Programme, including seminars and conferences on specific issues.

Output

·         Reports of the discussion sessions, including signals about current affairs and recommendations for future action.

·         Proceedings of seminars, workshops and conferences initiated by the platforms.

·         Reports on other specific projects and activities.

 

Participation

·         Members of the Platforms are Permanent Correspondents (PC’s) or other experts of acknowledged expertise and profile nominated by the PCs.

·         For the sake of continuity members should be appointed for the duration of the PG Work Programme.

·         The chairperson of each Platform is a member of the Bureau of Permanent Correspondents.

Implementation

·         The platforms on Prevention, Treatment, Criminal Justice and Research do not yet exist. They will be created in the first half of 2004 in accordance with the decisions of the PCs.

·         The Steering Committee on Ethics already exists, but the number of members will be increased and the committee will establish a liaison with the Ethics and Human Rights departments of the Council of Europe and other organisations to ensure a multi-disciplinary approach.

·         The Cooperation Group on Airports and General Aviation already exists and will continue its operations as in the past.

Costs

·         The operational costs of the Platforms are covered by the General Budget of the Pompidou Group. These costs include: support by the staff of the Secretariat, meeting facilities, interpretation, translation, publication of reports. Member States are invited to cover part of these costs by hosting meetings of the Platforms, which is already the common practice for the Cooperation Group on Airports and General Aviation.

·         Within the General Budget each Platform also has an annual budget of € 10,000 for external consultants and key speakers. This provision however is not required for the Cooperation Group on Airports and General Aviation, as in this Platform the experts discuss operational issues which are mainly related to their own practical experiences.

·         As a general principle each PC will cover the costs of active participation, including travel and expenses, of the platforms’ members of his/her country. Participation of experts from non-EU countries however can be covered by funding that is available at present through the Fellowships Scheme that is included in the General Budget (see under Specific Activities below).

PROGRAMME OF SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES

In the period 2004-2006 the Permanent Correspondents have proposed for approval by Ministers a number of specific themes to be addressed by the Platforms in the period 2004-2006, which will be supported by a programme of specific activities.

In principle specific activities will be undertaken by the Platforms, either in the context of their regular meetings or by means of dedicated conferences, seminars, workshops or study projects and supervised by the Permanent Correspondents.

The specific activities are split into planned activities that are covered by the general budget of the Pompidou Group and intended activities that require volontary contributions from Member States or co-financing by other organisations. Intended activities can only be achieved when the necessary budgets have been secured.

The tables below present an overview of the themes for 2004-2006 and the specific activities, their objectives and estimated costs for consultants and external experts. Cost estimates are in Euros for the three-year period 2004-2006.

Detailed work plans and cost estimates for each year 2004, 2005 and 2006 will be made when the platforms have been established.

PLANNED ACTIVITIES COVERED BY THE GENERAL BUDGET

Prevention

Core theme:

·         Involvement of parents and young people in prevention work

Nr.	Topic	Objectives
2.2.4	Involving parents and young people inter-agency co-operation	To develop guidelines about cooperation between parents, young people and institutions on issues related to drug prevention, legal measures and treatment.
2.3.1	Needs-based proliferation of prevention methods	To evaluate the use of the European Handbook on Prevention; to assess the need for future handbooks and manuals on prevention; to investigate the use of prevention materials in outreach work and outreach training; to elaborate innovative forms of disseminating prevention materials.

Treatment

Core themes:

·         Implications of changing patterns of drug use

Nr.	Topic	Objectives
3.1	Adapting treatment to evolving patterns of consumption	To define strategies for adapting service provision to various and changing treatment demands and, where possible, to develop relevant protocols

Criminal justice and regulatory aspects

Core theme:

·         Developments in the response of the criminal justice system to drug using offenders including related regulatory aspects

No specific activities proposed under the General Budget

Research

Core themes:

·         Strategies for future research

·         Research as support for policy and practice at local level

Nr.	Topic	Objectives
1.1	Linking to the Research Community	Facilitating support to the European Society for Social Drug Research (ESSD); To establish a dialogue with the research community in order to keep abreast of developments in European social drug research; to obtain scientific input into PG activities across the programme.
1.2	Definition of a new strategy for the future development of epidemiology (Joint PG/EMCDDA/WHO activity)	Follow-up of strategic conference on epidemiology; to assess the achievements of epidemiological research; to identify and elaborate priorities and strategies for future research

Ethics

Core theme:

* Ethics in day-to-day practice of drug intervention

No specific activities proposed under the General Budget

Airports and aviation

Core theme:

·         Passenger profiling to support anti-drug trafficking measures

Nr.	Topic	Objectives
4.2.2	Operational cooperation projects on airport crime and passenger profiling	To follow-up current airports crime projects; to develop and disseminate methods of passenger profiling.

INTENDED ACTIVITIES, DEPENDING ON VOLUNTARY BUDGETS

Prevention

Nr.	Topic		Objectives
2.1.1	Prevention Prize		To award the best drug prevention programmes in Europe that involve young people in an active participating way.
2.1.2	European Consultative Forum on Drug Prevention		To generate proposals and ideas for prevention programmes and projects that can more effectively target young people and make them stakeholders in the field of prevention.
2.1.3	Youth workshops		To involve young people in prevention activities; to identify good practice; to nominate programmes for the Prevention Award
2.2.1	Mobilizing parenting skills for drug prevention		Training seminars for the Caucasian countries; to empower and support parents to better use their parenting skills as a tool for drug prevention.
2.2.2	Creating on-line support for parents networks		To develop IT programmes to facilitate information exchange, networking and on-line support and training in prevention work involving parents.
2.2.3	Communicating prevention knowledge to parents		To develop non-formal training approaches and artistic forms of expression to facilitate effective drug prevention work involving parents.
2.3.2		Funding and implementation of prevention programmes		To elaborate guidelines on fundraising methods, programme implementation forms, needs assessment, programme monitoring and evaluation.
2.3.3		Evidence-based input to political decision making on drugs		To develop guidelines about evidence-based prevention policies for bridging the gap between evidence-based concepts and concepts based on political approaches.

Treatment

Nr.	Topic	Objectives
3.2	Comparison of treatment outcomes	To investigate treatment outcome studies to assess the effectiveness of various modalities in specific situations and in respect of different client profiles.
3.3	Seminars on treatment modalities	Training seminars for the Caucasian countries; To transfer knowledge about treatment modalities, in particular substitution treatment

Criminal justice

Nr.	Topic	Objectives
4.3.1	Narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances (Joint PG/INCB activity)	To review control issues related to implementation of the UN conventions; to elaborate proposals for detailed work on specific issues.
4.3.2	Examination of specific control issues	To follow-up previous activities with regard to methylphenidate; to evaluate the implementation of the CND resolution on the appropriate use of Benzodiazepines.
4.1.2	Prison training programmes	Training programme for Montenegro; To train prison staff in drug prevention and drug treatment; to develop general training modules on the topic.
6.2	Drug abuse and road safety	To follow-up previous activities with regard to drug abuse and road safety; to assess related developments and initiatives.

Research

Nr.	Topic	Objectives
1.3	Local Monitoring	To promote integrated evidence-based drug policies and inter-sectoral cooperation; to develop guidelines for the implementation of local monitoring systems to support policy and practice; to develop guidelines for the use of information in day-to-day practice.
1.4	ESPAD	Facilitating support to the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs (ESPAD); To support the coordination of the next wave of the ESPAD survey in 2006; to improve analysis and utilisation of ESPAD data in support of policy and practice.
1.5	Data analysis to identify youth at risk	To assess and interpret risk factors for alcohol, tobacco and drug use among young people; to develop analytical tools for examine ESPAD data.
1.6	Impact of Treatment Demand Data on Policy and Practice	To review how treatment demand data have been used to influence policy formulation and practice; to identify examples of success; to develop a process of better using TD data to support evidence-based policies.
1.7	Mediterranean Network	To develop a network on drug issues in the Middle-Eastern and North-African countries of the Mediterranean region; to develop capacities for data collection and monitoring; to promote the ESPAD methodology for school surveys.

Ethics

Nr.	Topic	Objectives
5.2	Human rights and preventive drug testing in schools	To assess human rights issues related to preventive drug testing in schools
5.3	Professional ethics and human rights issues in police prevention	To identify human rights issues related to the engagement of police forces in drug prevention work; to develop ethical guidelines for police officers involved in drug prevention work.