Une étude récente du Groupe de travail des Nations unies sur la détention arbitraire renforce un consensus mondial en faveur de la décriminalisation comme politique qui protège et promeut la santé et les droits humains, comme le souligne la Position commune du système des Nations unies sur les drogues. Pour en savoir plus, en anglais, veuillez lire les informations ci-dessous.

Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice - 31st Session

Oral statement on tackling arbitrary detention through decriminalisation and broader drug law reform

Statement delivered by Gloria Lai (Regional Director: Asia), International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC).

Agenda Item 6. Integration and coordination of efforts by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and by Member States in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice: (e) Other activities in support of the work of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in particular activities of the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme network, non-governmental organizations and other bodies.

This statement is made on behalf of the International Drug Policy Consortium.

In June 2021, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention released a study on arbitrary detention and drug policies, which contains a set of policy recommendations to align drug policies with the universal prohibition of arbitrary detention under international law.

Arbitrary detention connected to drug policies is prevalent in countries around the world. The so called ‘war on drugs’ has fuelled incarceration, and led to widespread human rights abuses, which include the following:

the practice of interrogating suspects under the influence of drugs and subjecting persons to testing without their consent;

the overuse of detention lasting sometimes months or years, and physical and psychological violence to detainees, including withholding opioid agonist therapy from people dependent on drugs;

the overincarceration of people who use drugs, including through disproportionate sentences for drug-related offences, bans on parole, and mandatory minimum sentences;

the confinement of people who use drugs in state-run or private compulsory drug treatment centres

the targeting of groups in situations of vulnerability and marginalisation by law enforcement;

the misuse of drug control to target human rights defenders, journalists and political opponents;

the criminalisation of indigenous peoples and small-scale farmers cultivating illicit crops for religious, medicinal and ancestral purposes or subsistence; and

the use of the death penalty for drug-related offences.

In addition, the 2021 Global Drug Policy Index has shown how criminal justice responses and arbitrary arrests and detention worldwide, disproportionately affect people living in situations of poverty, women and specific ethnic groups.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention recommends, among other things:

that States urgently decriminalise drug use and possession for personal use and drug paraphernalia;

that courts discontinue orders of forced drug treatment;

and that provision of drug treatment is always based on informed consent and managed by health professionals.

The study by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention reinforces a global consensus in favour of decriminalisation as a policy that protects and promotes health and human rights, as outlined in the UN System Common Position on Drugs adopted in 2018, and the UN System Common Position on incarceration adopted last year in 2021.

We call on members of the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice to take steps to implement the recommendations of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in relation to drug policy.

Combattre la détention arbitraire par la réforme des lois sur les drogues - Déclaration à la 31ème session de la Commission des Nations Unies pour la prévention du crime et la justice pénale

Le Ministre de la Santé Roberto Speranza a placé les composants de l'ayahuasca dans l'annexe la plus restrictive, une décision allant à l'encontre de l'avis des experts et des scientifiques. Pour en savoir plus, en anglais, veuillez lire les informations ci-dessous.

In March 2022, the Italian government made 

 the two principal ingredients of the Amazonian brew ayahuasca, Schedule I controlled substances. In addition, components of these plants (harmine and harmaline from 

) are now controlled as well. Schedule I is a category created by the International Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 that includes components declared to have “no medical or scientific use” and pose a “high risk for public health"

This decision came after five police interventions were registered by the Department for Anti-Drug Policies (an agency instated to oversee drug-related policies by the Council of Ministers) between December 2019 and November 2021. Pavia’s Poison Control Centre had also reported two cases of intoxication related to the intake of harmine in 2011 and 2018. In the recent decree, the Italian Ministry also cites that ayahuasca has been illegal in France since 2005, in addition to non-specified arguments derived from scientific literature. Some drug policy reform groups have asked the Ministry to share bibliographic references for the evidence used in the decision.

This motion put forth by Health Minister Roberto Speranza was not anticipated, particularly since in 2009 the Cassation Court had ruled that ayahuasca was not illegal. The reason given for the policy change was that ayahuasca (as well as three of its components) presents “risks to public health.” Speranza made this decision in an effort to abide by “international obligations,” which was the same rationale that was used to block Italy’s cannabis referendum.

La récente décision de l'Italie de placer l'ayahuasca sous contrôle

La révision attendue de la loi sur les drogues en Indonésie pourrait réduire les problèmes de surcapacité carcérale du pays. Pour en savoir plus, en anglais, veuillez lire les informations ci-dessous.

By M. Zulkifar and Nabil Ihsan / Antaranews Indonesia

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Law and Human Rights, Yasonna Hamonangan Laoly, has expressed the hope that the revision to Law No. 35 of 2009 on Narcotics will help address prison issues in Indonesia, particularly overcapacity.

"The Narcotics Law revision is currently under consideration by the House of Representatives (DPR RI). (The revision) is expected to help relieve prison overcapacity issues," Laoly noted after inaugurating 39 ministry officials here on Friday.

Inmates implicated in drug-related crimes are filling up prisons, leading to overcrowding, which, in turn, is creating more issues, he pointed out.

The current Law No. 35 of 2009 does not clearly define drug addicts, drug abusers, and victims of drug abuse, the minister noted.

Laoly, who is a professor of Criminology at the Indonesian Police Science College (STIK), opined that the handling of drug addicts, drug abusers, and victims of drug abuse must focus on the rehabilitation aspect based on a comprehensive assessment mechanism.

Besides enumerating penalties for money laundering crimes perpetrated by drug dealers, the revision to the Narcotics Law will make a distinction between drug users and drug dealers, thereby preventing multiple interpretations in case handling, the minister informed.

Indonésie : Révision de la loi sur les drogues pour remédier à la surpopulation carcérale 

Le changement intervient après la légalisation historique du cannabis médical en Thaïlande en 2018.

Il s’agit de la première initiative de ce type prise par un pays d’Asie du Sud-Est, où les lois antidrogue sont sévères. Le ministère de la Santé publique du royaume avait annoncé en février dernier que le cannabis serait retiré de sa liste de stupéfiants interdits.

Le magasin de cannabis de Bangkok Highland Cafe faisait un commerce rapide de bourgeons jeudi. « C’est un rêve devenu réalité », a déclaré le copropriétaire Rattapon Sanrak. « Nous nous battons pour cela (légalisation) depuis environ 10 ans », a déclaré le joueur de 35 ans.

La Thaïlande a déjà adopté une position ferme en matière de drogue, les personnes trouvées avec du cannabis encourant jusqu’à 10 ans de prison et une lourde amende.

Bien que la possession et la vente de cannabis soient désormais légales, fumer la substance à l’extérieur demeure prohibé.

Actualités

Combattre la détention arbitraire par la réforme des lois sur les drogues - Déclaration à la 31ème session de la Commission des Nations Unies pour la prévention du crime et la justice pénale

La récente décision de l'Italie de placer l'ayahuasca sous contrôle

Indonésie : Révision de la loi sur les drogues pour remédier à la surpopulation carcérale

Thaïlande : Un pas vers la légalisation du cannabis