AfricaNPUD

SIDE EVENT - 59th Session of the UN Human Rights Council

 Friday 27 June 2025 · 13:00–14:00 (CET)


This side event will take place during the 59th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, on the occasion of World Drugs Day 2025 and as part of the Support. Don’t Punish Global Day of Action.

Drug policies have long been dominated by punitive approaches, with devastating consequences for millions, especially those living in poverty, facing structural racism, or belonging to marginalised communities. Recent developments within the United Nations have strengthened the call for public health- and human rights-based approaches to drugs.

This event will take stock of progress in fulfilling the right to health for people who use drugs, particularly through harm reduction strategies. It will also explore opportunities for reform at both national and international levels.

The Permanent Representations of Colombia, Greece, Mexico,
Portugal and Switzerland to the United Nations in Geneva, the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, UNAIDS, the
International Drug Policy Consortium, the African Network of People Who Use
Drugs, Amnesty International, Dejusticia, Elementa DDHH, the Global
Commission on Drug Policy, Harm Reduction International, the International
Network of People Who Use Drugs and Skoun Lebanese Addiction Centre

Support. Don’t Punish: Advancing towards a health and human rights-based approach to drug policy

We, the undersigned organisations, are deeply concerned about the drastic intensification of anti- drug operations in Sri Lanka leading to significant human rights violations.

On 17 December 2023 the Acting Inspector General of Police Deshabandu Tennekoon, with the endorsement of Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles, spearheaded an operation titled “Yukthiya”, with the stated aim of controlling “the drug menace”. The operation is ongoing as of 10 January 2024, with at least one thousand persons arrested daily.

This operation is unfolding in a context of already severe repression against persons who use or are suspected of using drugs, who suffer discrimination and stigma within the Sri Lankan criminal justice system and society.

Alongside the Sri Lankan police, members of the armed forces have been supporting this operation, during which several human rights violations have been reported. These violations include alleged arbitrary arrests, primarily against individuals from marginalised socio-economic communities; searches conducted without warrants or reasonable suspicion; and degrading treatment including strip searches in public as well as cavity searches. The searches and arrests have been televised, in violation not only of the right to privacy (and of basic human dignity) but also of a person’s right to be presumed innocent. According to lawyers, persons are being arrested even when no drugs are found in their possession, simply for having been arrested for drug offences or having been sent to compulsory rehabilitation in the past. The arrests of main livelihood earners and mothers have adversely impacted the ability of families to meet their basic needs during a time of economic crisis in Sri Lanka, and the wellbeing of children.

Persons are being arrested primarily under Section 54A of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, an offence which is non-bailable. As a result, those arrested are bound to spend time (sometimes months) in pretrial detention, thereby exacerbating already poor conditions of imprisonment in an overburdened prison system. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka has previously stated that the existing prison conditions and treatment of incarcerated persons are “inhumane and degrading.”At present, as per statistics issued by the Department of Prisons, the level of overcrowding of the prison system is at nearly 200% - with punitive drug policies playing a significant role: as of 2022, 63% of convicted persons were sentenced for drug-related offences.

The total reported number of arrests pursuant to operation Yukthiya has exceeded 29,000 as of 9 January 2024, while nearly 1,500 people are in administrative detention in police custody for further investigation.  At least 1,600 more persons have been sent for compulsory drug rehabilitation, in violation of several fundamental rights; including the right to the highest attainable standard of health, which includes the right to consent to and withdraw from medical treatment. “Drug treatment” in these centres is abstinence-based, essential harm reduction services are not available, and persons undergo severe withdrawal symptoms without any medical assistance while in detention. The use of violence to discipline and punish has been reported in at least two compulsory drug rehabilitation centres which are within the purview of the Bureau of the Commissioner General for Rehabilitation and are operated by the military, which is in itself a violation of international standards.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in its statement at the conclusion of its visit to Sri Lanka in 2017 expressed concern regarding the involvement of military personnel in drug treatment and rehabilitation, the fact that strenuous physical exercise was the core component of compulsory drug treatment, and at the lack of trained professionals to monitor the health of people in detention. Furthermore, the statement highlighted the irregularities in the judicial process by which persons were sent to drug rehabilitation centres without a medical assessment.

More broadly, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has highlighted that by denying persons access to substitution therapies, states are subjecting “a large group of people to severe physical pain, suffering and humiliation, effectively punishing them for using drugs and trying to coerce them into abstinence.” The Special Rapporteur has further stated “forcible testing of people who use drugs without respecting their autonomy and their right to informed consent may constitute degrading treatment, especially in detention settings. States are obliged to respect the enjoyment of the right to health, including by refraining from using coercive medical treatment. The requirement of informed consent, including the right to refuse treatment, should be observed in administering any treatment for drug dependence.”

Since the 2016 UN General Assembly Special Session on drugs, there is international consensus on pursuing a holistic and health and human rights-based approach to drugs, which encompasses supply and demand reduction as well as harm reduction. The 2019 Ministerial Declaration on drugs – the current global drug policy document - as well as multiple resolutions of the UN General Assembly, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, and the UN Human Rights Council reiterate and recommend a similar approach.

A punitive and militarised approach to drug control contravenes recognised international human rights standards and guidelines, is ineffective to protect individual and public health, and ultimately fails to make communities safer.

Africa Network of People Who Use Drugs (AfricaNPUD) (Africa)

Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) (Asia)

Association for Humane Drug Policy (Norway)

Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation (CDPE) (Canada)

Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS) (Argentina)

Corporación Acción Técnica Social (Colombia)

Correlation - European Harm Reduction Network (Europe)

Drug Harm Reduction Advocacy Network Nigeria (Nigeria)

Foreningen Tryggere Ruspolitikk /Safer Drug Policies (Norway)

GREA - Groupement Romand d'Etudes des Addictions (Switzerland)

Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (Poland)

International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)

International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) (Global)

International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD) (Global)

Skoun, Lebanese Addictions Centre (Lebanon)

Zimbabwe Civil Liberties and Drug Network (Zimbabwe)

Sri Lanka: Stop abusive anti-drug operation and release those arbitrarily detained

WHEN: Tuesday, 28th June 2022 / 13:00 CEST

Interpretation from English to French and Spanish

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted structural inequalities which expanded human rights violations against people who use drugs in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Join the African Network of People who Use Drugs (AfricaNPUD), with speakers from UNAIDS and from the community, for the launch of a landmark report documenting this situation which can inform future drug laws and policies and enhance human rights advocacy among people who use drugs in Africa.

Human rights violations against people who use drugs in Sub-Saharan Africa

The AIDS & Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA) and the International Drug Policy consortium (IDPC) invite you to join the virtual launch of the briefing paper: "

Drug Policy and the Sustainable Development Goals: Africa cannot achieve the SDG targets without reforming drug policies

 17 November 2021 | 13:00 West Africa Time (WAT) | 14:00 South African Standard Time (SAST) | 15:00 East Africa Time (EAT)

French & Portuguese translation available!

, International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC)

, Africa Network of People who use Drugs (AfricaNPUD)

Virtual launch: Drug policy and the Sustainable Development Goals - Africa cannot achieve the SDG targets without reforming drug policies!

Virtually every country of the world has been faced with the COVID-19 pandemic. As learning developed as to how to combat transmission of the virus, countries increasingly resorted to national ‘lockdowns’ during the first wave of the pandemic from around March to June 2020. After coming out of the first wave of COVID-19, countries have used local, regional and national ‘lockdowns’ to once again prevent further transmission during the second wave and similar approaches are expected in the future in the event of further waves of the pandemic hitting countries until every country can vaccinate a high proportion of their population.

For those people who are highly drug dependent, with a resulting compromised immune system, COVID-19 presents a serious threat to life regardless of age. Governments, non-governmental (NGOs) and communitybased organisations (CBOs) working to support people who use drugs, and other vulnerable and marginalised people in society, have had to react rapidly to the massive increase in COVID-19 transmission across countries and continents.

The ten case studies presented here provide a snapshot of the responses of specific organisations and communities who work with people who use drugs and some other marginalised groups around the world, including Afghanistan, Australia, the Czech Republic, Kenya, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

The objective of presenting these case studies is to provide details as to how changes in service delivery were implemented in response to COVID-19, and why, together with the impact of such innovative approaches. In so doing, governments, organisations and communities around the world can learn from the experiences presented in these case studies for possible application, and adaptation, to their own context and environment.

Harm reduction service delivery to people who use drugs during a public health emergency

As we approach the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules), we, the undersigned, express alarm at the increase in the global female prison population by around 100,000 since the adoption of the Rules – which aim to reduce the imprisonment of women – and the continuing discrimination and abuse experienced by women in criminal justice systems.

The number of women in prison is rising at an alarming rate, even though women are typically convicted of low-level non-violent crimes. Women are disproportionately impacted by punitive drug policies and often commit crimes in poverty to keep themselves and their families alive. Many find themselves in prison as a direct result of discrimination.

As a minority in prisons, representing on average 2-9% of national prison populations, women are often not provided with access to programmes and services to support their rehabilitation that address their specific needs and characteristics. There is also a mental health crisis among women in prison, with up to 80% living with an identifiable mental illness, which has been compounded by measures related to preventing and addressing the spread of COVID-19.

Women around the world continue to face threats to their dignity and humanity in detention. They are often unable to access adequate healthcare and are at particularly high risk of sexual assault and humiliation in prison. In some countries, women are even restrained during labour and birth or placed in solitary confinement whilst pregnant or caring for an infant child.

Protect the human rights of women in the criminal justice system - Joint call to action

The ‘This is not a webinar’ workshop series seeks to create space for sharing knowledge, experiences and learning with fellow campaigners.

In addition to the global workshops focusing on youth, prisons and messaging – IDPC and AfricaNPUD are inviting our members and partners from Africa to attend a regional communications workshop to explore and discuss the language of policy reform.

As stated in the title, this is not another webinar! It is designed as a space for a regionally-led discussion and exchange of ideas. The workshop will be held on Zoom, and will utilise group work, online tools,1 and – most crucially – the collective knowledge, expertise and insights of our network. This initial event will be held in English and French, with live translation provided.

The workshop will take place on Thursday 26th November 2020


09:00 Cape Verde Time Zone
10:00 Greenwich Mean Time (inc some of West Africa)
11:00 West Africa Time Zone
12:00 South / Central Africa Time Zone
13:00 East Africa Time Zone
14:00 Mauritius / Seychelles / Reunion

The access link will be sent individually to those who confirm their participation.

For further information, see the concept note below.

Please register your interest via the form in French and English.

'This is not a Webinar' Support Don't Punish regional communications workshop - Africa

Organised by VOCAL-Kenya & AfricaNPUD
15th September 2020
14:00 - 16:00 |EAT – Eastern Africa Time 

Join this conversation on three crucial topics:

The punitive approaches that negates safety and public health.

The health downside of mass criminalization.

Law enforcement and public health as an urgent agenda for East Africa.

Prof. Nick Croft. Centre for Law Enforcement and Public Health

Dr. Fayzal Sulliman. UNODC - East Africa Regional Office

Tinka Zerugaba. Commissioner of Police - Anti-Narcotics Police Uganda

Aggrey Aluso. Program Manager, Health and Rights, Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa.

Richard Nininahazwe. Coordinator - AfricaNPUD

Criminalization of drug use in the context of COVID-19 - Gaps in policy and practice in East Africa

Ahead of the UNAIDS Multi-Stakeholder Consultation on 16 September, 33 civil society and community-led organisations working on drug policy and harm reduction are urging the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (UNAIDS PCB) to uphold the rights of people who use drugs and harm reduction in the new UNAIDS Strategy.

This letter includes six key recommendations from our community and sector and we asking UNAIDS PCB to advocate for these at the upcoming Consultation.

Now, more than ever, we need their leadership to be strong, bold and unrelenting in ensuring that key populations, including people who inject drugs, are prioritised in the new UNAIDS Strategy; harm reduction services are available, scaled-up and fully funded to meet the HIV prevention and health needs of people who use drugs wherever needed; communities, including community-led services, and civil society are at the front and centre of the HIV response; and barriers to services, including criminalisation, stigma, discrimination, punitive laws and policies, are removed.

The new UNAIDS strategy will have profound implications - either by compounding or alleviating the political invisibility of people who use drugs. We need them to show a commitment to people who use drugs in your engagement in the Strategy process.

We will not end AIDS if we keep leaving people who inject drugs behind.

AfricaNPUD

Region

Translations

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