Politics
UN Human Rights Commissioner Calls For Drug Decriminalization, Saying Prohibition Is ‘Failing’ Communities Across The World
In a speech delivered last week at an international harm reduction conference, United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called drug decriminalization “a crucial step toward a more humane and effective drug policy,” saying that prohibition and criminalization “are failing some of the most vulnerable groups in our societies.”
“We need a transformative approach,” the official said. “Instead of punitive measures, we need gender-sensitive and evidence-based drug policies, grounded in public health. Instead of scapegoating, we must ensure inclusive access to voluntary medical care, adequate housing and other social services. Harm reduction measures, which prevent drug overdose related fatalities, are essential.”
Türk’s comments came in an address to the Harm Reduction International Conference, held in Bogotá, Colombia. He said such events are “important and effective,” gathering “leaders, academics, front-line health workers, people who use drugs, people working in the criminal justice system” and others.
“I particularly welcome the participation of people who use drugs, who have historically been marginalised, criminalised, discriminated against and left behind—often stripped of their dignity and their rights.”
“Criminalization and prohibition have failed to reduce drug use and failed to deter drug-related crime.”
The high commissioner emphasized that policies of prohibition and criminalization also contribute to discrimination—”particularly against Indigenous Peoples and people of African descent”—and are having “a large and growing impact on our climate and environment, from water stress to deforestation and the dumping of toxic waste.”
Prohibition should be replaced with “responsible regulation” that “should aim to take control of illegal drug markets, and eliminate profits from illegal trafficking, criminality and violence,” he said.
While Türk acknowledged that there’s “no one-size-fits-all approach to responsible regulation” of drugs, he said that “collaboration is crucial.”
“Civil society plays a crucial role in advocating for and implementing harm reduction policies. Governments must prioritise an open civic space where civil society, people who use drugs and others can express their views without fear, harassment or intimidation,” he said in the speech, which was delivered in Spanish and via video. “The seeds of hope we sow today can advance transformative drug policies that centre on human rights, prioritise health, protect people, and contribute to more just and more equal societies.”
A report last year by Harm Reduction International, which hosted last week’s event, found that nearly $13 billion in U.S. taxpayer money has gone to fund worldwide counternarcotics activities since 2015, often coming at the expense of efforts to end global poverty while at the same time contributing to international human rights violations and environmental harms.
A year earlier, a separate HRI report found that from 2012 to 2021, 30 donor countries spent $974 million in international aid funding on drug control. That included $70 million spent in countries where drug charges can carry the death penalty.
Another group, the International Coalition on Drug Policy Reform and Environmental Justice, wrote in a 2023 report that global drug prohibition has fueled environmental destruction in some of the world’s most critical ecosystems, undermining efforts to address the climate crisis.
As policymakers, governments, NGOs and activists work to craft urgent responses to protect tropical forests, which are some of the largest carbon sinks on the planet, the report says that “their efforts will fail as long as those committed to environmental protection neglect to recognize, and grapple with, the elephant in the room”—namely “the global system of criminalized drug prohibition, popularly known as the ‘war on drugs.’”
Türk, for his part, said late last year that the global war on drugs “has failed, completely and utterly.”
“Criminalisation and prohibition have failed to reduce drug use and failed to deter drug-related crime,” he said on at a conference in Warsaw, making similar points as his comments this week. “These policies are simply not working—and we are failing some of the most vulnerable groups in our societies.”
Türk similarly urged a shift to a more evidence-based, human rights-centered approach to drug policies “prioritising people over punishment.”
Those comments come on the heels of a statement earlier in 2024 from UN special rapporteurs, experts and working groups earlier that asserted the drug war “has resulted in a range of serious human rights violations, as documented by a number of UN human rights experts over the years.”
“We collectively urge Member States and all UN entities to put evidence and communities at the centre of drug policies, by shifting from punishment towards support,” that statement said, “and invest in the full array of evidence-based health interventions for people who use drugs, ranging from prevention to harm reduction, treatment and aftercare, emphasizing the need for a voluntary basis and in full respect of human rights norms and standards.”
The UN experts’ statement also highlighted a number of other UN agency reports, positions, resolutions as well as actions in favor of prioritizing prevention and harm reduction over punishment.
It pointed, for example, to what it called a “landmark report” published by the UN special rapporteur on human rights that encouraged nations to abandon the criminal war on drugs and instead adopt harm-reduction policies—such as decriminalization, supervised consumption sites, drug checking and widespread availability of overdose reversal drugs like naloxone—while also moving toward “alternative regulatory approaches” for currently controlled substances.
That report noted that “over-criminalisation, stigmatisation and discrimination linked to drug use represent structural barriers leading to poorer health outcomes.”
A year ago, a separate UN special rapporteurs report said that “the ‘war on drugs’ may be understood to a significant extent as a war on people.”
“Its impact has been greatest on those who live in poverty,” they said, “and it frequently overlaps with discrimination directed at marginalised groups, minorities and Indigenous Peoples.”
In 2019, the UN Chief Executives Board (CEB), which represents 31 UN agencies including the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), adopted a position stipulating that member states should pursue science-based, health-oriented drug policies—namely decriminalization.
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