Mr. President,
We are a small grassroots association trying to promote an act of enlightenment in the history of mankind: The setting up of United Nations, and the respect for international law, including human rights.
In practice we are working with assisting refugee childrens integration in Sweden, and to promote the rule of law and respect for human rights in international relations, with particular emphasis on The Convention on the Rights of the Child.
We are on this background stunned by your decision – when you last week decided to de facto legalize cannabis in the United States – to ignore United States international obligations vis-a-vis the three UN Narcotics Conventions.
Not only is your action a breech of international law in general.
The three international Narcotics Conventions obliges all ratifying States, including US, to criminalize all illicit production, trafficking, and possession for personal use of drugs. This includes cannabis.
You have now unilaterally undone this internationally binding legal obligation – ratified by over 180 States and in force since 100 years, latest updated 1988 – inside your country.
It is also an explicit breech of human rights.
Your de facto legalization of cannabis is an explicit breech against the minimum standard set out in the most ratified human rights instrument of all – the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) – ratified by all countries in the world except for two.
United States is a signatory to this Convention.
CRCs Article 33 – the only Article on drugs in any human human rights instrument – obliges all states in the world to protect children from any exposure to drug use/production/trafficking. This Article is also referencing the UN Narcotics Conventions.
Your de facto legalization is a breech against what UNICEF is calling ”the obligation to create a protective environment for children” – as your decision is facilitating an acceptance of drug use as something normal in society. It is henceforth nobodys business if parents and their friends are smoking drugs in front of theirs or others children. A stoned parent or teacher is now a normal adult. It is henceforth no stigma towards portraying drug use on film as something normal. It is henceforth no issue if role models or politicians are using drugs – It is legal. An environment is being created where it is far more difficult for every child to say no to drugs – By your decision.
Several billionaires, including your sponsor George Soros, have camapigned for drug legalization during the last decade. Tycoon Richard Branson have proudly proclaimed in front of reporters that he taught his son how to smoke cannabis. This is the shocking new reality which you have decided to endorse.
Your decision is a cultural shift away from protecting children towards facilitating, accomodating, and accepting adult drug use.
What could possibly be the rationale why an adults drug users interest to take drugs should take precedence over a childs right to a drug free environment ?
Article 3 in the Convention on the Rights of the Child is clearly setting the priorities in different order.
Your decision leaves a long term global social contract shredded by the United States.
Your action unsettles international law overall.
If United States is unconcerned about their obligations, why should anyone else be concerned about theirs ?
When you a few days ago spoke on the chemical weapons attack on i.a. children in Syria you were concerned that ”non-action is making a mockery of the global prohibition of the use of chemical weapons”.
Is this not exactly what you have done with regard to the Narcotics Conventions and human rights?
When you are now visiting Sweden we call on you to recall this blatant breech of human rights and of international law.
Swedish United Nations Association in Haparanda