Side Event at UNGASS: Launch of the Beckley Foundation’s 2016 Public Letter

The Beckley Foundation launched the 2016 Public Letter, ‘Out of UNGASS: A New Approach’, on the final day of UNGASS, in Conference Room A, Conference Building, Level 1B, UN Headquarters, New York City.

The Public Letter is led by Senator Mark Golding, former Minister of Justice of Jamaica, and Amanda Feilding, Director of the Beckley Foundation. It calls for: respect for human rights and national sovereignty; protection of indigenous rights and the freedom of conscience; the right to appropriate medication; ending the obstruction to scientific and medical research into the potential benefits of prohibited plants and compounds; and the rescheduling of these plants and compounds from Schedule I to II.

Out of UNGASS : A New Approach

This letter builds on the success of our seminal Beckley Foundation Public Letter of 2011. We will be asking the signatories of the 2011 letter to sign our current letter as well as many leading politicians, Nobels, scientists and leading public figures. Th letter is an appeal for more effective policies based on health, scientific evidence and human rights.