GENEVA - The Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Tlaleng Mofokeng, today welcomed reports of a directive by the South African Police Service to end the unnecessary confiscation of syringes and needles.
"This development supports recommendations I have previously made in my reports with regards to harm reduction policy tools, to include Needle and syringe programmes as an essential component to the right to health and the right to benefit from scientific progress and its applications," Mofokeng said.
The Special Rapporteur encouraged all states to desist from law enforcement practices that hamper the right to health, including the seizure or destruction of injection equipment and the prosecution of healthcare and harm reduction service providers.
"While this is a positive development in South Africa, I want to underline the importance of committing fully to alignment with international human rights norms and standards, harm reduction approaches and the operationalisation of the right to health approach - that services are available, acceptable, accessible and of quality," she said.
"Governments must facilitate drug laws and policies at the domestic level that are centred on people's dignity, public health and human rights, and grounded in the best available evidence, free from conflicts of interest," the expert said.
Mofokeng urged Member States to move expeditiously to end criminalisation, stigmatisation and discrimination, because they represent structural barriers to accessing services and establishing therapeutic relationships, leading to poorer health outcomes.
"It is essential to ensure that people do not have to fear legal consequences when they access services," she said, calling on all Member States to integrate harm reduction within a universal health coverage, to advance public health and contribute to better global health outcomes.
