Pubdate: Wed, 14 May 2003 Source: Vancouver Courier (CN BC) Copyright: 2003 Vancouver Courier Contact: http://www.vancourier.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/474 Author: Mike Howell MAYOR TO MEET HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP Former foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy has agreed to facilitate a meeting next month between Mayor Larry Campbell and a New York-based human rights group that delivered a damning report last week on the police department's drug crackdown in the Downtown Eastside. Campbell asked the members of Human Rights Watch to return to Vancouver after he criticized their report for reflecting "only a partial understanding of the issues at work" and casting a pall over the four-pillar drug strategy and the city's reputation. "I'm not poo-pooing the report, but I certainly don't think that we have a human rights problem here in the city," said Campbell, who sent a letter to Human Rights Watch Thursday, requesting their return. On Monday, he spoke to Axworthy after learning the former minister was a member of the Human Rights Watch board. Axworthy agreed to facilitate a meeting in Vancouver on June 10. Campbell said he hopes members of Human Rights Watch will bring details of the allegations made against the police department. Titled "Abusing the User: Police Misconduct, Harm Reduction and HIV/AIDS in Vancouver," the report alleges instances of police "beating and otherwise mistreating drug users in custody, conducting public strip searches and using petty allegations such as jaywalking to justify stops and searches." The report also documents a significant reduction in the use of needle exchange programs and other life-saving services related to fear of police abuse and harassment among drug addicts. The information was gathered by Human Rights Watch researchers Joanne Csete and Jonathan Cohen, who said from New York that their group welcomed the opportunity to meet with the mayor. "We have a reputation for doing very even-handed reporting and by no means was the intention to foreclose the possibility of dialogue with the mayor's office, which is why we're very happy to meet with him," Cohen said. Campbell, a former Mountie and current chair of the police board, said he was disappointed Human Rights Watch members didn't contact his office during their visit. However, councillors Tim Louis and Ellen Woodsworth were interviewed. "Councillors Woodsworth and Louis have really nothing to do with policing... I'm not suggesting that I'm the expert on the Downtown Eastside. I'm simply saying, you know, as the chair of the police board and as the mayor, they could have come to me." The Vancouver Police Department, meanwhile, says it has not received any written complaints against its officers since the crackdown on drug dealers began April 7. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth