UN rights body: End global war on drugs

MANILA, Philippines — United Nations human rights experts called for an end to the global “war on drugs,” saying its impact has been greatest on those who live in poverty.

Ahead of the 2023 International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking observed annually on June 26, the UN experts said the international community must replace punishment with support, and promote policies that respect, protect and fulfill the rights of all.

The experts called for transformative change in the international approach to drugs, focusing on health and other human rights.

“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, and it frequently overlaps with discrimination directed at marginalized groups, minorities and indigenous peoples,” the experts said in a statement.

In their reporting and experience, the experts have found that such discriminatory impact is a common element across drug policies with regard to the widest range of human rights, including the right to personal liberty, freedom from torture, fair trial rights, the right to health including access to essential medicines, palliative care, comprehensive drug prevention and education, drug treatment and harm reduction.

Around the world, the experts said women who use drugs face significant stigma and discrimination in accessing harm reduction programs, drug dependence treatment and basic health care.

Although one in three people who use drugs are women, women constitute only one in five people in treatment. Women are also disproportionately affected by criminalization and incarceration, with 35 percent of women in prison worldwide having been convicted of a drug-related offense compared to 19 percent of men.

Leading human rights organizations reported as many as 30,000 extrajudicial killings have occurred in the Philippines since former president Rodrigo Duterte launched his violent “war on drugs” following his election in 2016.

“We call on Member States and all UN agencies to ground their drug policy responses in international human rights law and standards,” the experts said.

They noted that states and international bodies that provide financial or technical assistance on drug policy should ensure that these policies are gender-responsive while upholding and actively seeking to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms.

“We urge Member States and international bodies to supersede their current drug policies with ones grounded in the principles of the application of a comprehensive, restorative and reintegrative justice approach,” the experts said. “Effective, community-based, inclusive, and preventive measures are equally important.”

The international community, the experts said, must replace punishment with support and promote policies that respect, protect and fulfill the rights of all.