A critical failure of a system still mired in the past - IDPC joint statement at the CND Reconvened 68th Session

Statement to be delivered at the 68th Reconvened Session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs

4-5 December 2025

I am making this statement on behalf of the International Drug Policy Consortium and 56 other civil society, community and Indigenous organisations, regarding the outcome of the critical review of the coca leaf by the World Health Organization’s ECDD.

We express our profound disappointment at the decision by the ECDD to keep the coca leaf within schedule I of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.

The coca leaf is a plant that has been cultivated and used by Indigenous Peoples in the Andean-Amazonian region for ancestral, religious, cultural, nutritional and medicinal purposes for millennia. The inclusion of the plant in Schedule I of the Single Convention was a historical error, based on deeply flawed, racist studies and arguments.

Dismantling the colonial legacy of the UN drug control regime, and aligning international drug policy with human rights - including the rights of Indigenous Peoples - was a key reason for Bolivia’s request to initiate this critical review in the first place.

And yet, the ECDD recommendation to keep the coca leaf in Schedule I of the Convention fails to redress the historical wrong committed in 1961. It overlooks the millennia of Indigenous knowledge of the coca leaf - and sidelines the rights of Indigenous Peoples to self-determination, to the use of their natural resources, and to the preservation of their culture, traditional medicines and health practices. It also fails to adequately reflect new evidence of the therapeutic, nutritional and industrial uses of the coca leaf which are now widespread in the Americas and other parts of the world.

Furthermore, the critical review process has given little to no attention to the additional human rights impacts of retaining the coca leaf in the 1961 Single Convention. Today, thousands of families depend on coca cultivation to survive. Militarisation and forced eradication campaigns, especially in fragile ecosystems and Indigenous lands, have caused devastating harms for affected communities’ right to safe water, to food security, to health, and to a healthy environment, as well as the right to life - as coca farmers and human rights defenders in cultivation areas have faced violence and death as a result of punitive policies.

This critical review process once again showcases the inability of the international drug control system to question the failings of the punitive paradigm, to better align with human rights principles - which should be at the core of the UN system as a whole - and to move towards meaningful reforms.

In the midst of geopolitical turmoil, a funding crisis, and UN system reform, this was an ideal opportunity for the UN drug control system to show that it can adapt, repair past mistakes, and confront and dismantle colonial legacies. The ECDD has failed to do this, and is simply propping up an outdated regime that has so clearly failed to achieve any of its stated objectives.

Thank you very much for your attention.

LIST OF SIGNATORY ORGANISATIONS:

1. Dejusticia (Colombia)
2. Skoun (Lebanon)
3. KUZA TRUST (Kenya)
4. Mainline (Netherlands)
5. European Network of People who Use Drugs (Ireland)
6. Washington Office on Latin America (United States of America)
7. Release (United Kingdom)
8. Forum Droghe (Italy)
9. La Società della Ragione (Italy)
10. Alternative Georgia (Georgia)
11. New Zealand Drug Foundation (New Zealand)
12. Youth RISE (Ireland, Global)
13. Instituto RIA, A.C. (México)
14. Elementa (Colombia and México)
15. Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) - United States and Global
16. Legalize! (Netherlands)
17. Finnish Association for Humane Drug Policy (Finland)
18. Institute for Policy Studies, Drug Policy Project (United States of America)
19. International Network of People who Use Drugs - INPUD (UK, Global)
20. Ukrainian Network of People who Use Drugs - VOLNa (Ukraine)
21. Belgian Network of People who Use Drugs - BeNPUD (Belgium)
22. Alianza Coca Para la Paz (Colombia)
23. México Unido Contra la Delincuencia A.C. (México)
24. Drug Policy Alliance (United States of America)
25. Health Poverty Action (Global)
26. International Coalition For Drug Policy Reform & Environmental Justice (Global)
27. Safer Drug Policies (Norway)
28. Transform Drug Policy Foundation (United Kingdom)
29. RESET - Drug Policy and Human Rights (Argentina)
30. Alcohol and Drug Foundation (Australia)
31. International Indigenous Drug Policy Alliance (Global)
32. Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Council South Australia
33. Suar Perempuan Lingkar Napza Nusantara (SPINN), Indonesia
34. Association for Humane Drug Policy (FHR) (Norway)
35. OnPoint NYC (United States of America)
36. AIVL (Australia)
37. WHRIN (global)
38. Let’s Budvocate (Australia)
39. Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Masyarakat (Indonesia)
40. Drug Policy Australia (Australia)
41. My Brain My Choice Initiative (Germany)
42. Zimbabwe Civil liberties and Drug Network (Zimbabwe)
43. Intercambios Civil Association (Argentina)
44. Médecins du Monde (France)
45. Groupement Romand d’Études des Addictions (Switzerland)
46. Indonesian Harm Reduction Network (JANGKAR, Indonesia)
47. UNIDOS - Rede Nacional de Redução de Danos (Moçambique)
48. Africa Network of People Who Use Drugs (Africa)
49. Transnational Institute (TNI)
50. HIV Legal Network (Canada)
51. Citywide Drugs Crisis Campaign (Ireland)
52. Fundación Mujeres Bachué ( Colombia)
53. Canadian Drug Policy Coalition (Canada)
54. McKenna Academy of Natural Philosophy
55. La Testería / Barbies Testeadoras del Bajío (México)
56. Corporación Viso Mutop (Colombia)