The Ana Liffey Drug Project (ALDP) has published a report, Ireland and the human rights of people who use drugs,¹ that discusses the Government’s proposed health diversion approach (HDA) to the possession of drugs for personal use within the context of human rights.

On 13 November 2019, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), in conjunction with Safeguarding Ireland, published Guidance on a human rights-based approach in health and social care services.¹ Its overall purpose is to ‘promote a human rights-based approach to care and support for adults in health and social care services’ (p. 4),¹ including those working in the addiction services. Taking a human rights-based approach to the delivery of care services is a requirement of public body staff and organisations under the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014, where Section 42 of the Act created a ‘public sector duty’ that requires public bodies to take proactive steps to promote equality, protect human rights, and fight discrimination in relation to their functions and powers.² However, practitioners experienced difficulties with translating the principles of human rights into their day-to-day practice and service delivery. HIQA’s guidance aims to bridge that gap.

In November 2019, the Department of Justice and Equality published the National LGBTI+ Inclusion Strategy 2019–2021.¹ As with the National LGBTI+ Youth Strategy 2018–2020,² the new strategy aims to provide a strategic framework for ‘identifying and addressing issues which may prevent LGBTI+ people from enjoying full equality in practice in Irish society’ (p. 3).¹ The strategy provides a structure in which:

• LGBTI+ groups can identify issues that persist in creating an environment of inequality.
• Government, public agencies, business groups, employer and employee representatives, and civil society can work together to resolve these issues.

It is structured around four thematic pillars, under each of which are a set of outcomes to be achieved and a set of associated actions

As this issue of Drugnet Ireland goes to print, we are in the 11th week of the extraordinary measures introduced by the Government in response to the Covid-19 crisis. This global pandemic is affecting most of the world’s population in some way. Many have lost loved ones, are ill themselves, or enduring severe difficulties through loss of income. Most of the citizens of scores of countries across the world are largely confined to their own homes and many face the isolation of quarantine. Our healthcare workers and those in essential services face additional threats to their health every day. The gratitude expressed to them and the countless instances of kindness and care since this emergency began are reassuring signs of decency and a sense of community. These will be essential resources as we face the difficult months ahead.