A New Chairperson for VNGOC

Elena Goti Deputy secretary of VNGOC

3 December 2010 – Mr. Michel Perron, Director General of the Canadian Center on Substance Abuse (CCSA), has been appointed the new Chairperson of the Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs (VNGOC). Mr. Perron is no stranger to the VNOGC, or to the Dianova team in Quebec, whose members have had already the opportunity to work in close partnership with CCSA. Dianova’s  representative, Ms. Elena Goti is appointed Deputy Secretary.

Because of his broad experience with a variety of American and International organizations in the field of drug prevention and control, we know that Mr. Perron will be an effective Chairman, as before, and will promote the role NGOs and civil society play in the field on a daily basis.

 

Moreover, Dianova is proud to continue contributing to the work of the Vienna NGO Committee through Dianova’s representative Ms. Elena Goti, whose tenure as Deputy Secretary of the VNOGC was renewed.

The Vienna NGO Committee is one of the primary NGO partners that UNODC (The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) has designated to assist UN Member States in their fight against illicit drugs, crime and terrorism).
The Vienna NGO Committee represents several million affiliated individuals working on drug-related issues and provides a unique bridge between NGOs, the UN’s Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) and the UNODC.

Michel Perron, President of VNGOCMr. Perron deems the role of NGOs to be essential to the fight against drugs and drug misuse:
“NGOs have clearly demonstrated their meaningful understanding and expertise in these issues through their existing work in the field – in advising and working with national governments, and in advancing the need for those most affected to receive the services and support that they require.

Many of the specific opportunities for collaboration with NGOs in these matters were articulated as part of the UN “Beyond 2008 Declaration”, in addition to other UN resolutions, which continue to serve as specific roadmaps for governments, for the INCB (International Narcotics Control Board) and for the UNODC in working with NGOs on these intractable challenges.

“What are the challenges of communicating messages on the dangers of drugs on the ground, and how are NGOs addressing this question?”

“NGOs represent a rich and diverse array of experts dealing with all facets of the drug problem and their impacts on people across the globe – and this includes active work in the area of drug prevention and education. This is central to the work of many NGO’s, many of whom have highly creative and successful programs and ativities in sharing evidenced based information and strategies to prevent drug abuse.”

“Our role as the VNGOC is to celebrate and highlight this work in order that it may be applied by others. VNGOC will also continue to signal very clearly to governments, UNODC and the INCB that preventing drug abuse is a central priority for many NGOs and must remain so within the work of the CND and other related forums.”

(Excerpt from Interview of Mr. Perron – read complete interview on UNODC web site)