Abolish mandatory sentencing and all extreme punitive responses - Joint statement to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention

During the Interactive Dialogue with the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention at the 57th session of the Human Rights Council, Harm Reduction International, jointly with Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS), Dianova International, Hayat, International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) and International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD) delivered a statement highlighting the arbitrariness of the death penalty for drug offences and mandatory sentencing.

Mister President,

We speak on behalf of six organisations.

Judicial discretion during sentencing is a key tenet of fair trial. Yet mandatory sentencing remains a common feature of punitive drug laws in many countries, preventing judges from considering the circumstances of the crime and of the defendant – including situations of coercion or vulnerability.

This is often one of many features which result in a particularly harsh treatment of people charged with drug offences – such as mandatory pretrial detention and exclusion from alternatives to incarceration; which result in a heightened risk of disproportionate punishments and exacerbate overincarceration and prison overcrowding, insomuch that 1 in 5 people today are incarcerated for often minor drug offences.

This practice can lead to extreme consequences: the death penalty remains a mandatory punishment for drug offences in 11 countries, including some that regularly carry out executions.

Echoing the Working group recommendations, we urge countries to reform their drug laws to fully align with human rights standards and promote proportionate and effective approaches to drugs, including by abolishing the death penalty and removing mandatory sentences.

Mister President,

On Mexico, we share the Working Group’s concerns on the country’s punitive approach to drugs, leading to increased incarceration of drug users and rights violations. We reiterate recommendations to Mexico to reject attempts to extend the applicability of mandatory pretrial detention, and to continue in its path towards rights- and evidence-based drug policies.

Thank you.