In view of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on 26 June 2022, experts from United Nations on human rights, with a long statement, called on the international community to end the “war on drugs.”
The war on drugs undermines social well-being
“The data and experience accumulated by United Nations experts - he begins - have shown that the “war on drugs” undermines health and social well-being and wastes public resources by failing to eradicate the demand for illegal drugs and the market for illegal drugs. Worse yet, this “war” has generated in many cases narco-economies at local, national and regional levels, to the detriment of national development."
"Such policies - he continues - have far-reaching negative implications for the widest range of human rightsincluding the right to personal liberty, freedom from forced labour, ill-treatment and torture, the right to a fair trial, the right to health, including treatment and palliative care, the right to adequate housing, freedom from discrimination, the right to a clean and healthy environment, the right to culture and freedoms of expression, religion, assembly and association and the right to equal treatment before the law."
Racial profiling, rights violations and mass incarceration
"These policies have also had a profoundly negative impact on most vulnerable people of the world, including minorities, people of African descent, indigenous peoples, children and young people, people with disabilities, the elderly, LGBT people, homeless people, sex workers, migrants, the unemployed and ex-prisoners."
"On a global level - underlines the document - the women are serving prison sentences in relation to drug offenses at a rate/percentage much higher compared to men, despite their often low-level, non-violent, and first-time involvement in such crimes. "
"These same policies also promote harmful practices such as racial profiling and support the pattern of discrimination that affects vulnerable and marginalized communities."
"An important one study published in 2021 - experts continue - found that the 'war on drugs' has led tomass incarceration through racial profiling, search and seizure laws and procedures, excessive preventive detention, disproportionate sentencing and the criminalization of people who use drugs, including pregnant women in some countries. The study also found widespread rights violations, including unlawful incarceration, the processing of children and adolescents as “adults”, torture and ill-treatment, lack of fair trial guarantees, extrajudicial killings and the abusive use of death penalty”.
Drug use is not a criminal matter
“As underlined by the United Nations System Common Position on Drug Policy, drug use and dependence should not be treated as a criminal matter, but rather as a health problem be addressed through rights-based measures, including public health education, provision of mental health treatment, care and support, rehabilitation and transition/reintegration programmes."
"Also, the threat of prison it should not be used as a coercive tool to incentivize people to undergo treatment. Drug addiction treatment should always be volunteer, based on informed consent and entrusted exclusively to healthcare professionals. To this end, all compulsory treatment centers should be closed."
Responsibility passes to the Member States
Finally, according to UN experts, “The United Nations system, the international community and the individual member states they have the historical responsibility to reverse the devastation caused by decades of the global 'war on drugs'.
We collectively call on Member States and all United Nations agencies to base their drug policy responses on international drug law and standards. human rights. Furthermore, States and international bodies providing financial or technical assistance on drug policies should ensure that these policies are gender responsive, supporting and actively seeking to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms.
We urge Member States and international bodies to replace their current drug policies with ones based on the principles of applying a comprehensive approach. global justice, restorative and reintegrative. Effective, community-based and inclusive preventive measures are equally important.
Now more than ever, the international community must replace punishment with support and promote policies that respect, protect and realize the rights of all communities."
