IAHPC is a global non-profit, charity organization dedicated to the promotion and development of palliative care. Its mission is to collaborate and work to improve the quality of life of patients with advanced life-threatening conditions and their families, by advancing hospice and palliative care programs, education, research, and favorable policies around the world. Its vision is to help to increase and optimize the availability of and access to hospice and palliative care for patients and their families throughout the world.

IAHPC trabaja para mejorar la calidad de vida de los pacientes con enfermedades crónicas y terminales y la de sus familias.

IAHPC est une organisation mondiale à but non-lucratif dont l’objectif est d’améliorer la qualité de vie des patients en condition critique et de leurs familles par l’intermédiaire de services palliatifs.

International Association for Hospice & Palliative Care (IAHPC)

Cette décision de l’OMS met en péril une décennie de progrès visant à permettre à des millions de personnes d’accéder aux substances contrôlées destinées à soulager la douleur. Pour en savoir plus, en Anglais, veuillez lire les informations ci-dessous.

On the 22nd of May 2019, Congresswoman Katherine Clark and Congressman Hal Rogers, two members of the US House of Representatives, published a report 

(“Corrupting influence: Purdue and the WHO”1)

 claiming (falsely) that the development of two World Health Organization (WHO) guidance documents (

Ensuring Balance in National Policies on Controlled Substances 

Guidelines on the Pharmacological Treatment of Persisting Pain in Children with Medical Illnesses

 ), was influenced by the interests of Purdue Pharma. This influence was, according to the report, achieved through organizations and individuals serving the interests of the company (Purdue Pharma is the maker of OxyContin, a commercial brand of oxycodone). The report argued that by developing, distributing and promoting these guidelines, the WHO was helping the pharmaceutical company increase its market share and putting other countries at risk of replicating the US “opioid crisis.” The report contains serious factual inaccuracies and draws inaccurate and unfair conclusions. It includes misleading information, and by making false accusations of existing collaborations and alliances to advance pain relief and palliative care, concludes that there was corruption within WHO. No staff member of the offices of the US representatives contacted any of the organizations or individuals mentioned in the document to seek our responses to the allegations made in the report.

On June 19, the WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, sent a letter to the US Representatives informing them that the WHO had taken the Report’s concerns very seriously and that the agency had decided to withdraw the two guidelines, published in 2011 and 2012. The WHO has now published the statement in its website https://www.who.int/medicines/areas/quality_safety/guide_nocp_sanend/en/ Unfortunately, this action provides credibility to a report not based on facts or scientific evidence and suggests that the development of these guidelines was inappropriately influenced.

WHO’s decision took all the academic, civil society, experts and organizations involved in the development of these guidance documents by surprise. Both documents were developed in order to improve the situation of millions of patients worldwide who suffer from lack of, or inadequate access to medications, including pain medications, like the patient quoted above. The guidelines were not commercially initiated, funded or influenced. Our primary focus has been, continues to be and will always be the patients and their families. Those working in the field have seen and experienced how unrelenting, excruciating pain affects individuals and families and the magnitude of the suffering it engenders.

Déclaration conjointe sur la décision de l’OMS de retirer ses documents de référence sur l’accès aux substances contrôlées 

Le CSTF a été relancé pour soutenir la participation de la société civile lors des préparations vers le Segment Ministériel de la CND de 2019. Pour en savoir plus, en Anglais, veuillez lire les informations ci-dessous.

It is with great pleasure and excitement that the Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs (VNGOC) and New York NGO Committee on Drugs (NYNGOC) introduce the relaunched Civil Society Task Force (CSTF). The CSTF — a joint initiative of the NYNGOC and VNGOC— will serve to promote inclusivity of civil society at all proceedings leading up to and at the Ministerial Segment of the 62nd Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in 2019.


The CSTF is co-chaired by the chairs of the VNGOC and NYNGOC and consists of 5 additional Steering Group members, 18 representatives of global regions
and 10 representatives from affected populations and global voices.


The VNGOC and NYNGOC were established in 1983 and 1984, respectively, and serve as representative platforms for discussion and debate on drug policy issues, as well as being interfaces between civil society organisations, the United Nations system and its member states. Emerging in 2015, the CSTF was originally created by the NYNGOC and VNGOC to ensure comprehensive, structured and balanced participation by civil society at the 2016 UNGASS on the world drug problem. In the process leading up to the 2016 UNGASS, the CSTF was an effective vehicle for increasing the inclusion of civil society voices at all
stages of preparation prior to the proceeding. The CSTF successfully delivered a range of actions and consultations. This included the selection of high quality civil society speakers at the 2016 UNGASS itself from around the world. In order to maximize the engagement of civil society in the 2019 Ministerial Segment and its lead-up, the VNGOC and NYNGOC bilaterally signed the Memorandum of Understanding during the 61st CND in March 2018. Following an open call and selection process, the Task Force now comprises 35 individuals from around the world.


In order to support civil society participation in the Ministerial Segment, in accordance with CND Resolutions 60/1 and 61/3, the Civil Society Task Force has been replenished and relaunched in 2018. The CSTF’s goal is to secure the comprehensive and meaningful participation of civil society actors in the implementation of the recommendations made in the 2016 UNGASS outcome document. The CSTF will also work towards fostering an environment where evidencebased
approaches to drug issues (including methodologies and ideologies) are comprehensive and where regional and gender diversity is represented through various inputs. In preparation of the 2019 Ministerial Segment, the CSTF will promote the contributions of civil society with expertise in various drug-related areas.

The CSTF is excited to begin working immediately to ensure that civil society is active and present at all preparatory stages of the 62nd CND. In the short time available, the Task Force’s plans include: a post-UNGASS global consultation process, to inform a comprehensive output document to support the debate; civil society hearings in Vienna and New York to bring together civil society speakers and member state representatives; the selection of speakers for all opportunities at the United Nations in Vienna and New York; and the delivery of any further activities that will require CSTF attention.

In particular, the CSTF will identify and facilitate speaker inclusion for all relevant preparatory events and UN meetings, host regional and thematic online consultations, organize civil society hearings on the margins of the third committee negotiations and during the 62nd CND, co-host an Interactive Civil Society Hearing for all stakeholders with the Chair of the CND culminating in a recognized document preserving all conclusions from the event as a part of the preparatory process and ensure drug-related and wider civil society, policy makers and member delegations remain aware of relevant updates regarding CSTF projects and events leading up to the 2019 Ministerial Segment. In the pursuit of encouraging the acknowledgment of civil society contributions, the CSTF looks forward to the participation of many diverse civil society stakeholders and organisations toward the 62nd CND preparatory process.
For all questions and inquiries, the CSTF may be reached by e-mail at info@cstfondrugs.org.

Please visit: https://www.cstfondrugs.org/membership/

Re-lancement du Groupe de travail de la société civile sur les drogues

Afin de contribuer au rapport préparé par le Bureau du Haut-Commissaire aux Droits de l'Homme dans le cadre de l'UNGASS, des ONG du monde entier ont soumis leurs contributions sur l’impact du contrôle des drogues sur les droits humains. Pour en savoir plus, en anglais, veuillez lire les informations ci-dessous.

Abonnez-vous à l'Alerte mensuelle de l'IDPC pour recevoir des informations relatives à la politique des drogues.

Based on Human Rights Council Resolution A/HRC/28/L.22, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is planning to draft a report on the impact of drugs and drug control on human rights in order to feed into the 2016 UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on drugs, which will be held in 2016.

In order to feed into the report, a series of NGOs submitted letters highlighting the impact of drug control on human rights. Please click on each link below to read these submissions:

Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert.

Les ONG dénoncent les violations des droits humains commises au nom du contrôle des drogues

La kétamine est un médicament essentiel utilisé pour l’anesthésie. Il est le seul anesthésique disponible pour les chirurgies essentielles dans la plupart des régions rurales des pays en développement, où habitent plus de 2 milliards de personnes. Placer la kétamine sous contrôle international laissera ces populations sans moyens d’anesthésie pour les chirurgies essentielles et aggravera la crise mondiale, déjà sérieuse, en matière de chirurgie.

La 58ème session de la Commission des Stupéfiants (CND) a été chargée d’examiner une proposition visant à placer la kétamine au Tableau I de la Convention de 1971 (E/CN.7/2015/7 et E/CN.7/2015/81). En accord avec les termes de la Convention de 1971 sur les substances psychotropes, le Comité d’Experts de la Pharmacodépendance de l’OMS (ECDD) a conduit une évaluation critique de la kétamine en 2006, 2012 et 2014. Sur la base des données accumulées concernant l’usage non médical, le détournement et les trafics, ainsi que des preuves de sa valeur thérapeutique, l’ECDD ne recommande pas la mise sous contrôle international de la kétamine par la CND.

De nombreuses organisations nationales et internationales de la société civile, y compris des associations médicales telles que celles qui ont co-signé cette note d’information, ont exprimé leur préoccupation quant à cette proposition. Cette note d’information fournit des arguments juridiques, médicaux et sociaux irréfutables contre la mise sous contrôle dans n’importe quel Tableau de la Convention de 1971. La Section I aborde les définitions et les questions de fond; la section II, les questions de procédure. La Section III fournit une liste de lectures recommandées.

Fiche d'information sur la proposition de classifier la kétamine à la réunion de l'ONU sur la drogue

La CND appelle à la participation de la société civile dans le cadre de l'UNGASS de 2016 sur la drogue - une opportunité pour soulever la question de l'accès aux médicaments essentiels à travers le monde. Pour en savoir plus, en anglais, veuillez lire les informations ci-dessous.

The Commission on Narcotic Drugs wants your comments on lack of access to essential controlled medicines for UNGASS 2016. Katherine Pettus, Advocacy Officer, International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC), explains what UNGASS is, why it’s important to add your voice and how to do it.

The United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) needs your help. This is your chance to speak out so please read on and find out what you can do to make sure that all those who need it have access to essential medicines and palliative care services.

The CND is requesting civil society participation and comments for the UN General Assembly on Drugs to be held in 2016. This special assembly is called United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS). Civil society and non-governmental organisations (for our purposes) include the “affected populations” of physicians, nurses, medical associations, national and regional hospice and palliative care organisations, and patients’ groups, among others.

L'UNGASS et l'accès aux médicaments essentiels

Les associations de soins palliatifs et Human Right Watch défendent l’accès aux soins palliatifs pour résoudre les besoins sanitaires des populations touchées.

Pour en savoir plus, veuillez lire les informations ci-dessous (en anglais).

The European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC), the International Association for Palliative Care (IAHPC), the Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance (WPCA) and the Human Rights Watch (HRW) are working together to advocate for access to palliative care as human right.

Access to palliative care is a legal obligation, as acknowledged by the United Nations conventions, and has been advocated as a human right by international associations, based on the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.

Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert

La Charte de Prague : Un appel aux gouvernements à soulager la souffrance et à reconnaître les soins palliatifs comme des droits humains.

Cette étude montre que les malades du cancer manquent d'accès aux analgésiques opioïdes dans de nombreux pays.

Lugano, Switzerland –- A ground-breaking international collaborative survey, published today in 

, shows that more than half of the world’s population live in countries where regulations that aim to stem drug misuse leave cancer patients without access to opioid medicines for managing cancer pain.

The results from the Global Opioid Policy Initiative (GOPI) project show that more than 4 billion people live in countries where regulations leave cancer patients suffering excruciating pain. National governments must take urgent action to improve access to these medicines, says the European Society for Medical Oncology, leader of a group of 22 partners that have launched the first global survey to evaluate the availability and accessibility of opioids for cancer pain management.

Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert.

International Association for Hospice & Palliative Care (IAHPC)

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