GREA is a Swiss network which promotes its vision and effective action to deal with addiction problem and drugs.

El GREA es una red suiza que promueve una acción eficaz sobre los problemas relacionados con la adicción y las drogas.

GREA est un réseau suisse qui promeut une action efficace pour les problèmes liés à l’usage et la dépendance à la drogue.

Groupement Romand d'Etudes des Addictions (GREA)

2025 WORLD DRUG DAY: UNODC AND CND MUST TAKE URGENT ACTION TO END UNLAWFUL USE OF THE DEATH PENALTY FOR DRUG-RELATED OFFENCES

On the occasion of the 2025 International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, also known as World Drug Day, on 26 June – which also marks the Support. Don’t Punish Global Day of Action – we, the undersigned 70 organizations, call on the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) to unequivocally condemn the use of the death penalty for drug-related offences and take concrete steps to ensure that international human rights safeguards restricting the imposition of this cruel punishment are fully implemented, with a view to its full abolition. The continued failure to take a stand against the death penalty by these UN bodies mandated to oversee the development and implementation of international drug policies contributes to a lack of transparency and accountability for these human rights violations, and risks being interpreted as tolerance or even complicity at a critical moment when drug-related executions are in an unprecedented rise.

THE DEATH PENALTY FOR DRUG-RELATED OFFENCES: EXECUTIONS ON THE RISE IN A HANDFUL OF COUNTRIES

The death penalty is retained for drug-related offences in at least 34 countries. Although official information on the use of the death penalty is not publicly available for many countries, research carried out independently and separately by our organizations indicates that this punishment is mostly imposed for offences related to the cultivation, manufacturing, trafficking or importing/exporting of controlled substances.

Drug-related executions have been increasing in recent years. In 2024, Amnesty International and Harm Reduction International recorded over 600 drug-related executions, which constituted around 40% of total executions globally (1,518) and a 25% increase on the known total executions for these offences in 2023 (508 out of 1,153), making 2024 the deadliest year on record since 2015. These figures show that punitive drug policies have become a significant driver of the use of capital punishment both globally and in many countries individually.

Drug-related executions were known to have been carried out in four countries in 2024: Iran, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and China. In China, official sources confirmed drug-related executions, but state censorship and lack of transparency did not make it possible to establish a credible figure. The authorities of Iran carried out approximately 500 executions for drug-related offences in 2024, the majority of executions confirmed nationally, according to figures by the Abdorrahman Boroumand Centre, Iran Human Rights and others. These constituted 79% of the known global totals for drug-related executions. In Saudi Arabia, the number of drug-related executions (122) constituted 35% of the national total and an alarming rise from the only two recorded in 2023. In Singapore, eight out of 9 executions carried over the year were drug-related. Civil society monitoring also suggests that drug-related executions were carried out in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and Viet Nam, but could not confirm it due to restrictive state practices.

Amnesty International and Harm Reduction International recorded at least 337 new death sentences known to have been imposed for drug-related offences in at least 13 countries in 2024: Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Laos, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Viet Nam, and Yemen. In addition to these, Harm Reduction International 

recorded death sentences for drug-related offences in Egypt, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Thailand. It is estimated that at least 2,300 people were on death row for drug offences in 19 countries at the end of 2024; though actual figures are likely to be significantly higher.

Attempts to discuss or introduce the death penalty as punishment for drug-related offences were also recorded in some countries in 2024, including Fiji, the Maldives, Nigeria and Tonga.

However, recent developments in several Asian countries suggest that, in the long term and with sufficient political will, a significant decrease in the global resort to the death penalty for drug-related offences is possible. Among other examples, in July 2023, Pakistan repealed the death penalty for drug-related offences; the first country to do so in over a decade; and in April 2025, the Ministry of Public Security of Viet Nam proposed repealing the death penalty in the Penal Code for eight crimes, including drug trafficking. The 2023 repeal of the mandatory death penalty Malaysia resulted in the commutation of more than 1,000 death sentences, with none of the more than 40 sentences confirmed by the Federal Court relating to drug trafficking. 

A CLEAR VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW AND STANDARDS

International human rights law and standards restrict the use of the death penalty to the “most serious crimes”, which do not include drug-related offences. Article 6(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Safeguard No.1 of the UN Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty, adopted through UN Economic and Social Council resolution 1984/50, provide that the imposition of the death penalty must be restricted to the “most serious crimes”. The UN Human Rights Committee has stated that “The term ‘the most serious crimes’ must be read restrictively and appertain only to crimes of extreme gravity, involving intentional killing. Crimes not resulting directly and intentionally in death, such as […] drug and sexual offences, although serious in nature, can never serve as the basis, within the framework of article 6, for the imposition of the death penalty. […].” In a 2023 report to the UN Human Rights Council, the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights highlighted that “[d]rug-related offences can never serve as the basis for the imposition of the death penalty”.

The three UN Drug Conventions do not make any reference to the death penalty, while several UN human rights and drug control bodies have reiterated the total opposition to the death penalty, including for drug related offences. The UN Common Position on Drugs has reiterated in unequivocal terms that the application of the death penalty for drug-related offences does not respect the spirit of the UN Drug Conventions and has the potential to become an obstacle to effective cross-border and international cooperation against drug trafficking. The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) has also noted that the use of the death penalty for drug-related offences is in breach of the UN Drug Conventions and a violation of international human rights law, and has called on States that still retain this punishment for drug-related offences to consider abolishing it for such offences and commuting death sentences that have already been imposed. More broadly, the INCB has stressed that respect for human rights is a prerequisite for the implementation of the UN Drug Conventions, and that measures adopted with the purported aim of furthering drug policy that are inconsistent with universally recognized human rights norms are a violation of the Conventions.

World Drug Day is an initiative designed to encourage international cooperation to address the risks and harms of drugs. However, this day has unfortunately been used by various governments to promote highly punitive approaches as the authorities display “zero tolerance” and “iron-fist on drug crime” stances. In some retentionist countries, World Drug Day has been used to support an increased resort to the death penalty or even to ramp up drug-related executions. For example, World Drug Day has been a regular hook for Chinese courts, including the Supreme People’s Court, to issue judicial guidelines on how to apply the death penalty for drug-related offences. The authorities of Iran have also reaffirmed on World Drug Day their strong resolve to act as “the flag bearer of the global fight against narco-traffickers and death dealers”.

Meanwhile, the publication of the World Drug Report, launched by UNODC every year on 26 June, presents a unique opportunity for UNODC to publicly condemn the application of the death penalty for drug-related offences and recommend concrete measures that states that still retain this cruel punishment can implement to align their domestic policies with international human rights law and standards.

Our organizations reiterate our call on all international drug control mechanisms, including the CND and UNODC, to consistently incorporate death penalty abolition (and human rights more generally) into their work, including in connection with the World Drug Day. In particular, we urge the CND to establish a standing item in its agenda to address the human rights impacts of drug policies; and for UNODC to ensure that human rights are part of its constant monitoring work, including through the inclusion of a specific chapter on human rights in its yearly World Drug Report.

The continued and unequivocal public condemnation by UNODC and the CND of the use of the death penalty for drug-related offences would be critical, in the long term, to change the perception of this issue and foster a context for discussions that puts the protection of human rights at the core of international and national drug control policies.

ACAT Germany (Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture)

Africa Network of People Who Use Drugs [AfricaNPUD]

AIVL-Australian Injecting & Illicit Drug Users League

Añadir REPECAP - Academicsforabolition. Spain

Association for Humane Drug Policy, Norway

Center of Legal and Social Studies (CELS)

Colegio de Abogados y Abogadas de Puerto Rico

Corporación Acción Técnica Social - Colombia

DITSHWANELO - The Botswana Centre for Human Rights

ECPM (Together against the death penalty)

European Network of People who Use Drugs (EuroNPUD)

European Saudi Organization for Human Rights

Groupement Romand d’Études des Addictions (GREA), Switzerland

German Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (GCADP)

Indonesian Drug Policy Reform Network (Jaringan Reformasi Kebijakan Narkotika)

Institute for the Rule of Law of the International Association of Lawyers (UIA-IROL)

International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research and Service (ICEERS), Spain

International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC)

International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD)

International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

The Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ Kenya)

lifepark (Switzerland) - movement against the death penalty

MADPET (Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture)

Organisation for the Prevention of Intense Suffering (OPIS)

Responsible Business Initiative for Justice

Southern Methodist University Human Rights Program

World Coalition Against the Death Penalty

2025 World Drug Day: UNODC and CND must take urgent action to end unlawful use of the death penalty for drug-related offences

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

By Christoph Schindler, GREA - Groupement Romand d'Etudes des Addictions

While Prohibition remains in place in Switzerland, law enforcement is rather progressive compared to other latitudes: Using cannabis in public spaces attracts an administrative fine of 100 Swiss Francs (approx. USD$110), and the possession of up to 10 grammes is decriminalised. Despite its illegality, some 300,000 people of the country’s total population of 8.6 million currently use cannabis.

In September 2020, the Swiss parliament adopted a modification to the 

Federal Act on Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances

. The change provides a legal framework for a pilot project that would see legal and government-controlled supply initiatives established in 2021.

Restricted to cities having expressed an interest in joining the pilot.

Of a 5-year duration, with an option for a 2-year extension if requested by the local authority.

Limited to a total number of up to 5,000 adult participants (minimum 18 years old).

Available to people who can demonstrate that they are already using cannabis, and who agree to medical follow-up during the pilot project.

Prioritising, the use of local and organic cannabis, where possible.

The projects are expected to provide data on the use of cannabis by the Swiss and contribute to substantiating any potential future regulations.

A few days after its passing, a complimentary parliamentary initiative was submitted by a member of the National Council (the lower house of the Swiss legislature). The initiative aims to flesh out a political response to the regulation of cannabis, proposing standards similar to those in place for alcohol. This initiative responds directly to a statement by the Federal Council (the Swiss executive), which stated, in April 2018, that:

“The current ban on cannabis in the narcotics law, which aims to protect the population and promote abstinence, brings insufficient results. Despite this prohibition, consumption is not decreasing, the black market is growing, there is no quality control, and consumer safety is not guaranteed. Moreover, repression, which mobilises enormous resources, is not very effective.” FC 23.05.2018

The parliamentary initiative seeks to align itself with recommendations made by the 

, which had, in 2019, recommended the legal regulation of the cannabis market as a whole, from cultivation to trade to use. The initiative proposes to:

Take into consideration the Swiss “4-pillar approach” to drug policy (prevention, treatment, harm reduction and law enforcement).

Instruct authorities to control the production and trade of cannabis, in particular for the purpose of protecting young people and consumers, as well as informing.

Separate medical and non-medical markets.

Dry up the black market by ending prohibition.

Introduce a tax and regulate advertising.

Provide a framework for the production for personal use.

The text of the initiative relies on a regulation model developed by a multi-stakeholder forum, 

, a coalition representing five different interest groups: political parties, youth parties, prevention & healthcare specialists, the economic & environmental sectors, and networks of people who use drugs.. The coalition works toward bringing an alternative consensus to the current Swiss policy on cannabis, which maintains prohibition.

The regulation model by the coalition is based on two key dimensions: the protection of the population and the regulation of the market. It comprises the following aspects:

Promotion of harm reduction in relation to consumption.

Prevention and repression of conducts and specific work-related activities under the influence of cannabis.

Reduction of advertising and the presence of cannabis in the public space.

Control of the production and guaranteed traceability.

Separated markets for medical and non-medical products.

Sale of cannabis-related products in specialised stores.

Taxation of cannabis to finance supportive measures.

Monitoring of production for personal use.

A handful of cities, including Berne, Geneva, Zurich, Basel and Biel have already expressed interest in joining the pilot projects, mirroring interest in a similar pilot project in Dutch municipalities.

The pilot projects in Switzerland and the Netherlands, as well as Luxembourg’s regulatory plans, signal Europe will not be spared by the growing global trend towards regulation. The IDPC network recently launched Principles for the responsible legal regulation of cannabis, which seeks to ensure these moves serve the public interest, contribute to protect rights and advance social justice, and pre-empt corporate capture.

Switzerland set to launch cannabis pilot projects 2021

Switzerland’s current drug policy, founded on the 4 pillars, dates from the 1990s. In hindsight, it can be considered a success. Nevertheless, things have changed since then. Countries have adopted new legal frameworks and it is time for Switzerland to draw up a state of affairs report and to outline the drug policy that it wishes to promote and lead in the next ten years. The basis for this report lies in the request of the author of the Postulate (‘Postulat Rechsteiner’), to the Swiss government to draw up a state of affairs review of the country’s drug policy, taking into account the current developments at the national and international levels.

This report focuses on the developments that have taken place internationally and presents the current state of affairs regarding a certain number of countries’ drug policies, according to specific indicators. It complements the reports that the Federal Commission on Questions related to Addiction (CFLA) is producing on the adequacy of the Drug Law (LStup; RS812.121) and the relevant decrees, in light of scientific and social development of the past 10 years. Ultimately, this report will form part of the material which the Federal Council will rely upon to produce a report to Parliament by the end of 2019 on the perspectives of the Swiss drug policy for the next ten years.

The first question that needs to be addressed when examining the developments of the international drug control system is what exactly the international drug control system is. For the purposes of this paper, it is considered to mean the international bodies, mandated to specifically examine drug-related questions: the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC); the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND); and the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). However, these bodies are not the only ones acting in the field of drugs in the international arena, as will be seen throughout this study. Other (health, human rights and other actors) are starting to address drug-related questions more closely, from their respective points of view.

Nevertheless, UNODC, INCB and CND remain the entities that are consistently referred to when discussing the international drug control regime. In fact, the three Drug Control Conventions (1961, 1971 and 1988) are considered the cornerstone of the international drug control system (Bewley-Taylor and Jelsma, 2012). Naturally, the system wouldn’t exist without State governments interacting with the international drug control system so they can also be considered part of the wider system.

Analysis of the international drug control system

Geneva is now occupying a new place in the international debate on drugs. The Drug Policy Week aims to connect relevant international and local actors with each other and to promote new synergies between them. Come take advantage of this unique opportunity to discuss, debate and share experiences with:

A dozen meetings made up of conferences, debates, film screenings and visits offered free of charge and open to the general public;

A multi-site organisation throughout Geneva, in English and French;

Many different topics such as confl icts, access to medicines, gender, health, human rights and the sustainable development goals.

The 2019 Commission on Narcotic Drugs’ Ministerial Segment: what does it mean for civil society advocacy? | Event page

 Uni Mail | Boulevard du Pont-d'Arve 40, Geneva, Switzerland


 Thursday, 27 June 2019 from 13:00-14:30 UTC+02

In March 2019, UN member states gathered in Vienna for a Ministerial Segment at the 62nd Session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND). The event aimed to take stock of the past decade of drug policy, since the adoption of the 2009 Political Declaration and Plan of Action on drugs, and look to the future for the next ten years of UN drug control.
The high-level event resulted in a Ministerial Declaration that provides a general framework for UN drug policy between 2019 and 2029. Both this Declaration, and the UN System Common Position on global drug policy adopted in November 2018, have important implications for the future civil society advocacy in Vienna and Geneva, as well as at country level.
This event will analyse the key wins and challenges of the Ministerial Segment and its Declaration, and discuss the implications of this and other key UN high-level documents on drug policy for civil society advocacy towards Geneva-based UN entities/processes, in particular the World Health Organization, the UN Human Rights Council (including its Universal Periodic Review process and Special Procedures) and key human rights treaty bodies. Speakers will include:

• Ann Fordham, Executive Director, International Drug Policy Consortium
• Khalid Tinasti, Executive Secretary, Global Commission on Drug Policy & Researcher at GSI at the University of Geneva
• Giada Girelli, Human Rights Analyst, Harm Reduction International
• Luciana Pol, Senior Fellow Security Policy and Human Rights, Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales
• Judy Chang, Executive Director, International Network of People Who Use Drugs
Chair: Zaved Mahmood, Advisor on Human Rights and Drug Policy, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

Geneva Drug Policy Week

The current upheavals in the global drug system have made Geneva an international forum for policy dialogue on psychoactive substances. In this context, GREA and the University of Geneva are launching a platform for exchanges on health and human rights, which aims to strengthen links in the global ecosystem but also to stimulate synergies with local resources.

This event will take place on June 26th at 17.30 at the Biotech Campus in Geneva as part of the international campaign "Support Don't Punish".

After an official party with representatives of the UN, the Global Commission, the IDPC and the Geneva addiction network, a film will be screened: "A day in the life" on drug use in the world. "A day in the life" will be broadcast in Geneva. Produced by the Drug Reporter team, a foundation that promotes risk reduction and drug policy reform, the documentary portrays eight users in their everyday lives. Destigmatising and touching, it shows their difficulties on a daily basis, the setting in which they evolve and against which they collide, the eyes of others. The film disintegrates myths and prejudices that one may have of people who consume while privileging the humanist approach. It can be ordered from GREA (celestine.perissinotto@grea.ch) for any distribution desired in the French-speaking institutions (subtitled in French).

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

Groupement Romand d'Etudes des Addictions (GREA)

Region

Translations

Related Content

2025 World Drug Day: UNODC and CND must take urgent action to end unlawful use of the death penalty for drug-related offences

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

Switzerland set to launch cannabis pilot projects 2021

Analysis of the international drug control system

Geneva Drug Policy Week

A new chapter for International Geneva: Drug policy