THE government is going ahead with plans to create the necessary infrastructure to provide constant support and protection to minors who are drug addicts, President Nicos Anastasiades said on Thursday.
Speaking in Nicosia at an event to mark the anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) by the United Nations General Assembly, Anastasiades said that he was shocked by Thursday’s media reports of a 14-year-old girl who was found unconscious on Wednesday in the centre of Nicosia after drug use.
The girl, who was reportedly an addict and is under the care of the welfare office, was recently discharged from the Makarios hospital’s children’s psychiatric wing where she had been admitted to undergo treatment for her addiction. After her discharge she returned to the children’s shelter where she reportedly began exhibiting behavioural problems and kept running away. She reportedly left the shelter on Tuesday afternoon and was found passed out on Wednesday in a central Nicosia street. Authorities refuse to provide more information as this is a very sensitive issue, they said.
This incident brought to the fore the long standing demand of the Children’s Rights Commissioner, Leda Koursoumba, who has repeatedly called for the creation of closed facilities to offer minors a comprehensive rehabilitation programme.
“We are all shocked by today’s media reports. The government has recorded the need for comprehensively addressing the needs of minors who are addicted to substances and the creation of facilities to provide adequate support and protection to these fragile children,” Anastasiades said.
He added that toward this goal, a treatment centre has been set up at the Nicosia general hospital for minors that present delinquent behaviour, including those using drugs.
In addition, the president said, the recently cabinet approved a legal framework that would allow the health ministry to create dedicated shelter for juvenile drug users, staffed by experienced professionals, who will provide comprehensive support, guidance and protection.
“I am not saying that we have managed to completely address issues or fully achieve the goal; the bottom line is that policies are being promoted on the basis of both the Commissioner’s observations and the protection of human rights in general, as defined and developed by the UN Convention,” he said.
Koursoumba, however, said that disagreements between state officials hinder the creation of closed facilities for underage drug users, despite her office’s constant efforts.
“We are still unable as a state to provide the necessary help to underage drug users, and we end up having such incidents,” Koursoumba said. She added that there had been similar incidents in the past concerning other children.
“We have suggested a closed facility where children are admitted obligatorily for their own protection and to ensure their best interest,” she said.
Koursoumba said that no minor, “in most cases we are talking about children under 14”, can truly stick to a rehab programme unless they are made to remain in such a closed facility.
The state mental health services object to that suggestion, she said, opposing the obligatory admission to such a facility. At the same time however, she said, “they provide no solution to this issue”.
Koursoumba argues that a closed rehabilitation centre for children that are dependent on substances is the best solution as they would be in a safe environment, be able to continue their education and be involved in activities appropriate for their age.
The anti-drugs council announced that it has already submitted plans for the creation of a hostel for juvenile drug users which is expected to be materialised with the cooperation of all ministries concerned. It, too, said that weakness have been recorded in cases when minors live in an unsuitable environment which could aggravate the problem, and called on everyone to back this effort.
At the moment, the council said, there are two treatment centres for underage users run by the mental health services – Perseas and Promitheas – that offer programmes tailored for experimental, occasional and systematic users for youths and their families.
