The recent appointment of Yuri Fedotov, the former Russian Ambassador to the UK, as the new Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Crime and Drugs (UNODC) raised big concerns among the leading international AIDS and harm reduction activists.

Over 20 organisations, including EHRN, have addressed in a letter the UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon to caution against the appointment of Russia’s candidate, Yuri Fedotov, a career diplomat of 40 years service and Ambassador to the UK.

Due to Russia’s poor record on human rights and HIV, the appointment of a Russian Government official can potentially severely damage the credibility of the UN drug control agency as the lead within the UN system on HIV related to injecting drug use and prisons.

“Russia’s well known and much criticized neglect of HIV among its most vulnerable populations is illustrated by the country’s refusal to provide access to opioid substitution therapy and harm reduction services, therefore Russian candidate cannot be rewarded with a high profile appointment such as this,” said Daria Ocheret, Chair of the Eurasian Harm Reduction Network.