Global Commission on Drug Policy

Commissioner Kgalema Motlanthe took part in an #OHCHR roundtable on racial discrimination in drug policy, highlighting the disproportionate impact of punitive approaches on people of African descent and the need for human rights- and evidence-based reform.

#DrugPolicy #PublicHealth

Op-ed: Why Europe should avoid the trap of repressive drug policy The Commission's new EU Drugs Strategy retreats from decades of progressive approaches, embracing a punitive stance that has proved disastrous glob...

Europe faces a choice on drug policy: build on decades of evidence and public health progress, or revert to punitive approaches that have failed.

Read the op-ed by Commissioner Aleksander Kwaśniewski in Parliament Magazine:
🔗 tinyurl.com/8ympbr6m

#DrugPolicy #PublicHealth #EU

Vybraní adiktologové pějí ódy na Pavla Béma. Což překvapuje - zdravezpravy.cz Vybraní adiktologové podporují Pavla Béma [ODS] jako nového národního protidrogového koordinátora. Což překvapuje.

Proud to announce that Commissioner Pavel Bém, a valued member of the Global Commission, has been appointed National Drug Coordinator of the Czech Republic. His expertise in psychiatry and substance use disorder will help advance scientific, evidence-based drug policy.

🔗 tinyurl.com/ycxuf83m

@politico.com: "The EU’s new drugs strategy could reverse decades of evidence-based policy in Europe in favor of a failed punitive approach, former New Zealand Prime Minister @HelenClarkNZ has warned.

Read the article: pro.politico.eu/news/209583

Punitive drug policies continue to drive discrimination, violence and preventable deaths.

On Human Rights Day, the Global Commission reaffirms the need for drug laws that uphold dignity, health and human rights — policies that save lives and strengthen communities.

#HumanRightsDay #DrugPolicy

WHO upholds coca leaf ban, defying evidence and ignoring Indigenous rights Despite clear evidence and contravening Indigenous rights, WHO recommends the harshest scheduling for the coca leaf, upholding racist and colonial underpinnings of its ban.

IDPC is deeply dismayed at this outcome, stands in solidarity with affected communities, and calls for mobilisation to denounce this injustice.

📄Read & share our full statement: https://f.mtr.cool/cdnxsqxtsw

(3/3)

Development dimensions of drug policy: Assessing new challenges, uncovering opportunities, and addressing emerging issues UNDP charts a rights- and development-centred turn in drug policy, prioritising decriminalisation, harm reduction, equity-led transitions, and practical pathways to responsibly regulate some drug markets.

⚠️ UNDP shows punitive drug policies worsen poverty, exclusion and gendered harms — deeply affecting women who use drugs.

🌱 Development must centre rights, gender equality and harm reduction, not punishment.

#EVAWUD2025

On #WorldChildrensDay, we affirm that children’s rights must guide all public policies, including drug policy. Punitive laws harm children & youth through family separation, exclusion from education, & barriers to support. Rights- and health-based approaches aligned with the #UNCRC are essential.

U.S. Lethal Strikes in Caribbean Expose the Failures of Punitive Drug War - Global Commission on Drug Policy

The #GCDP expresses grave concern over recent lethal airstrikes authorized by the United States on boats in the vicinity of Latin America and the Caribbean, which are allegedly linked to drug trafficking.

Read our full statement: globalcommissionondrugs.org/u-s-lethal-s...

#DrugPolicy

Drug policy reform: A powerful tool to prevent serious human rights violations The event will explore how drug policy reform can prevent serious human rights violations, broaden discussions beyond health, and highlight pathways toward decriminalisation, the abolition of the death penalty, and international cooperation.

🚫 For too long, global drug control has ignored the human cost.

At #HRC60, w @globalcdp.bsky.social, we called for drug policies that ensure human rights compliance at every level.

WATCH:

If disruption is the goal, why execute me? A final letter from death row Scheduled for execution on 15 October 2025, Hamzah bin Ibrahim accepts responsibility but questions the justice of his sentence. He cooperated with authorities, received a Certificate of Substantive A...

(1/3) Hamzah bin Ibrahim is scheduled to be hanged in Singapore tomorrow for a non-violent drug offence, despite giving substantive assistance to investigating authorities: www.theonlinecitizen.com/2025/10/13/i...

Comm'rs @helenclarknz.bsky.social & Michel Kazatchkine met w/ @bdb-offiziell.bsky.social, German Federal Government Commissioner for Drug & Addiction Policy, to discuss nat'l reforms, European developments, & global cooperation on health- & evidence- based #DrugPolicy.
📸 @bdb-offiziell.bsky.social

Beyond punishment: From criminal justice responses to drug policy reform - Global Commission on Drug Policy

On #WorldDayAgainstTheDeathPenalty, we reaffirm: capital punishment for drug offenses violates international law, fuels inequality, and fails to deter use or trafficking.

Drug policies must protect life, dignity, and human rights.

👉Read our latest report:
tinyurl.com/2v6aep9f

Commissioner Ruth Dreifuss met with Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director of @un-habitat.bsky.social, to exchange ideas on promoting cities that prioritize health, inclusion & resilience.

Collaboration is essential for people-centered urban development.

#UrbanHealth #ForumOfMayors #SDGs

Comm'r Ruth Dreifuss, official spokesperson at the 5th meeting of the UN #ForumOfMayors, highlighted how cities are on the front line of public health. By addressing inequalities, protecting human rights & supporting community-led responses, mayors can build healthier, stronger cities.
#UrbanHealth

During #HRC60, Commissioner Ruth Dreifuss met w/ Pakistan’s Minister of State for Law and Justice, Barrister Aqeel Malik, to discuss aligning drug policies w/ human rights principles, promoting evidence- and rights-based reforms, & strengthening int'l cooperation.

#DrugPolicy #HumanRights #GCDP

🧵 3/3 Read the #UNDP discussion paper: www.undp.org/publications...

🧵 2/3 Keynote speaker Commissioner Ernesto Zedillo highlighted the human, social, and economic costs of punitive drug prohibition, stressing the urgent need to move beyond the old conventions and adopt approaches centered on health, rights, and sustainable development.

🧵 1/3 At #UNGA80, the #GCDP co-hosted a side event launching @UNDP's third discussion paper on drug policy & development.

Our CEO and President, Mary-Ann Etiebet, M.D., met with former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, on the sidelines of the #UNGA to discuss NCDs and the critical role of leadership in addressing the present challenges and opportunities facing public health.

The #GCDP Secretariat delivered, on behalf of Comm'r Anand Grover, the keynote at a roundtable during #HRC60. The discussion focused on accountability & remedies for human rights violations linked to drug control, guided by the International Guidelines on Human Rights & Drug Policy.

#HumanRights

Beyond punishment: From criminal justice responses to drug policy reform - Global Commission on Drug Policy

🧵 4/4: Explore our report to learn more about how drug policy reforms can prevent systemic human rights violations and promote health, dignity and equity.

📖 Read here: globalcommissionondrugs.org/gcdp-reports...

#DrugPolicy #HumanRights #HRC60

🧵 3/4: The event brought together @inpud.bsky.social, #OHCHR, Marta Machado (National Secretary for Drug Policy, Brazil), H.E. Ambassador Gustavo Gallón (Permanent Mission of Colombia to the UN) and Charity Monareng (Students for Sensible Drug Policy International (SSDP Intl).

🧵 2/4: Commissioner Ruth Dreifuss delivered the keynote, sharing findings from the Global Commission’s 2024 report on the impacts of criminal justice responses to drugs.

🧵 1/4: At #HRC60, the #GCDP and @idpc.net co-organized a side event on how drug policy reform can prevent serious human rights violations.

The discussion emphasized abolition of the death penalty, international cooperation, and decriminalization as key pathways.

Drug policy reform: A powerful tool to prevent serious human rights violations The event will explore how drug policy reform can prevent serious human rights violations, broaden discussions beyond health, and highlight pathways toward decriminalisation, the abolition of the death penalty, and international cooperation.

🚨 STARTING NOW! At #HRC60: 'Drug policy reform: A powerful tool to prevent serious human rights violations' w/ @globalcdp.bsky.social

📍 Palais des Nations, Geneva | Concordia 5 + Access:

Drug policy reform: A powerful tool to prevent serious human rights violations The event will explore how drug policy reform can prevent serious human rights violations, broaden discussions beyond health, and highlight pathways toward decriminalisation, the abolition of the death penalty, and international cooperation.

The Human Rights Council could break new ground by adopting a resolution on drug policy under its own authority. 

Our #HRC60 side event will explore reform as a tool to prevent human rights violations.

📅 Join us NEXT WEEK - 16 Sept, 14:00 (Geneva)
🔗 Info & online access:

@politico.eu highlights The Thistle in Glasgow - the UK’s first supervised drug consumption facility – amid “Europe’s worst drug crisis”.

#GCDP Commissioners visited the site to learn about its role in saving lives, connecting people to support, & strengthening communities.

#HarmReduction

Global drug policy experts visit The Thistle - Scottish Drugs Forum Members of the Global Commission on Drug Policy met with staff and politicians at The Thistle on Thursday,…

Overdose is preventable. Harm reduction works. Communities thrive when health and care guide drug policy.

📖 Read more in the @scottishdrugsforum.bsky.social: tinyurl.com/mv74wjcz

and the #GCDP recent report: globalcommissionondrugs.org/gcdp-reports...

Supervised consumption sites like The Thistle save lives by reducing overdose deaths, preventing disease transmission, and connecting people to health and social services.

They also strengthen community safety and reduce public harms. #OverdoseAwarenessDay