Civil society statement opposing the regressive bill proposing mandatory sterilisation of homeless women who use drugs in Bolivia

The Libertas Program from Bolivia, along with the undersigned organisations, denounce and reject Bill - PL-608/25,currently under consideration. This legislation proposes the forced sterilisation of marginalized women who use drugs.

Context in Bolivia

Under Article 49 of Law 1008 criminalising all drug use, women who use drugs are legally treated as perpetrators of the ‘crime’ of "use and possession for personal use." Bolivia entirely lacks evidence-based treatment programs for drug dependence while harm reduction remains virtually unknown. Individuals found with minimal amounts for personal use routinely face months of imprisonment under trafficking suspicions. Drug use is penalised through compulsory institutionalisation in private ‘rehabilitation centers’. If they cannot legally prove they are people who use drugs rather than traffickers, they face prison sentences of 10 to 25 years. This prohibitionist framework pushes women who use drugs into severe social exclusion, leaving them at risk of police persecution and institutional violence—including sexual torture. In this context, the Bill promoting forced sterilisation is a direct consequence of prohibitionist drug policies and the punitive power of the State.

What Does the Bill Propose?

Introduced on July 2, 2026 to the Legislative Assembly of Bolivia, the Bill currently before the Chamber of Deputies, claims to focus on rehabilitation for homeless and highly vulnerable people who use drugs. However, it supports the introduction of mandatory sterilisation: Article 15.IV dictates that if all relevant avenues are deemed "exhausted," mandatory sterilisation will be applied under judicial control.

Forced sterilization (as with forced contraception) is a violation of fundamental rights, bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom. This demand to reject the Bill is backed by binding global treaties, UN guidance, regional legal precedents and the Constitution of Bolivia:

• The UN Convention against Torture (CAT) and Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) protect individuals from non-consensual medical procedures. The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture explicitly defines forced sterilisation as a form of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.
• In targeting the capacity to gestate, the Bill violates Article 12 of the UN CEDAW Convention, which mandates that all reproductive healthcare rely strictly on full, free and informed consent.
• The UN Joint Statement on Compulsory Drug Detention and Rehabilitation Centers calls for an immediate end to punitive drug enforcement measures, stating that all drug-related treatment must be voluntary and grounded in patient autonomy.
• Under Article 7(1)(g) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, systematic forced sterilisation can be tantamount to a crime against humanity.
• In mandating procedures without free, prior, and informed consent, the Bill breaches Article 15(I) (the absolute right to physical and sexual integrity, free from torture, cruel, inhuman, degrading or humiliating treatment); and Article 66 (the guaranteed exercise of reproductive rights) of the Bolivian Constitution.
• I.V. v. Bolivia (2016): The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) has already found Bolivia responsible for performing a non-consensual tubal ligation. The landmark ruling firmly established that informed consent is an essential condition for any reproductive medical intervention.
• Ramos Durand v. Peru (2026): The IACtHR recently ruled that State-sponsored sterilisation policies without explicit consent constitute systemic institutional violence and gender-based discrimination.

Our Demands to the Bolivian government:

To halt this regressive initiative and protect human rights, we demand that the Bolivian State:

• Reject and eliminate the Bill. The Chamber of Deputies must immediately dismiss any provision involving forced sterilisation.
• Fully decriminalise drug use and possession by abolishing both prison terms and compulsory, state-coerced rehabilitation to align national laws with international human rights norms and standards, treating drug use as a social and public health reality rather than a criminal offense.
• The Bolivian State must transition from punitive, coercive deprivation of liberty to completely voluntary, public health-approaches and implement community-led, gender-responsive harm reduction services.

Endorsing Organisations:

• WHRIN
• Programa Libertas – Bolivia
• Acción Andina – Bolivia
• Comunidad de mujeres usuarias de sustancias psicoactivas Bolivia
• International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC)
• MENANPUD (Middle East & North Africa)
• Australian Injecting and Illicit Drug Users League (AIVL)
• Women Beyond Walls
• Metzineres - Spain
• Just Futures Collaborative
• The Root NGO (Ice. Rótin) - Iceland
• Mainline - Netherlands
• ICW LATINA (Comunidad Internacional de Mujeres Viviendo con VIH)
• HIV Justice Network
• AOATALK Community Health and Women - Nigeria
• Instituto RIA – Mexico
• ALIA
• Colectivo Cultural San Miguel Totolcingo - México
• Groupement Romand d'Études des Addictions (GREA) – Switzerland
• Cannamed
• Fundación Aspacia
• VIRTUS Community Led - Ukraine
• SAOL - Ireland
• Intercambios Asociación Civil - Argentina
• D2 INNO-LAB - Global Innovation Lab on Drug Policy and Sustainable Development
• Acción Antiprohibicionista Ecuador
• Family Planning Association of Nepal
• Tertulia Feminista Les Comadres - Spain
• Creative Commons NPC - South Africa
• Asociación Costarricense de Reducción de Daños - Costa Rica
• Asociación Por tí mujer - Spain
• Elementa - Colombia
• Mujeres Savia - Spain
• Corporación Viso Mutop - Colombia
• AINGA/AIDES - Madagascar
• Suar Perempuan Lingkar Napza Nusantara (SPINN) - Indonesia
• WDI
• Europa Sense Murs - Spain
• Civic association Odyseus – Slovakia
• Drug Policy and Harm Reduction Platform (DPHRP) - Malawi