Harm reduction has long been a cornerstone of European public health, minimising drug use risks like overdose deaths or preventing the spread of infectious diseases. These interventions have been instrumental in improving the health and wellbeing of people who use drugs (PWUD).

However, in the last few years, the financial sustainability of many harm reduction initiatives has been under serious threat. A growing funding crisis, driven by shifting political priorities and a 

 to drug policy within the European Union (EU), is threatening to dismantle decades of progress. 

This shifting landscape in harm reduction funding has hit at a critical time. Europe is facing an increasingly complex drug landscape, with hundreds of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) and synthetic opioids 

Speaking to TalkingDrugs, Alexei Lakhov, Executive Director of the 

European Network for People Who Use Drugs (EuroNPUD)

 highlighted that “this complexity often increases the demand for specialised harm reduction services”, further straining service providers.

European harm reduction has historically been financed through national health funds, international aid and EU-wide grants. Yet, a 

 from Harm Reduction International (HRI) into harm reduction funding has underscored how national and international donors have scaled back many of their financial commitments to harm reduction. European countries, particularly those classified as high or upper-middle income, are 

 for key international funding sources such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS. While understandable, this shift has left critical harm reduction programmes struggling with severe budget shortfalls.

Political shifts toward right-leaning governments across Europe have further amplified this crisis, as policymakers shift their focus to drug-related security concerns and supply side interventions over harm reduction. While the 

 continues to support harm reduction, national concerns around drug-related insecurity have prioritised law enforcement-based approaches, leaving many harm reduction services with reduced resources.

pioneer of European harm reduction since the 1970s

, is one of the many countries facing funding cuts that threaten its services’ stability. For over 35 years, 

 has played a key role in conducting research on harm reduction and providing updated information on drug trends and alerts to PWUD across the Netherlands through their 

. Now, however, they are facing serious cuts.

European harm reduction is facing a funding crisis

Between 24 February and 4 April 2025, the Human Rights Council held its 58th session. This briefing highlights key debates, decisions, and documents in which drug control and its impact on human rights were analysed and addressed.



BIENNIAL HIGH-LEVEL PANEL ON DEATH PENALTY


This high-level panel analysed the contribution of the judiciary to the advancement of human rights and the question of the death penalty. Providing examples of good practices, the panel explored how the judiciary has contributed to reducing the application of the death penalty and discussed how the Council and its mechanisms can support states to abide by their international human rights obligations regarding the death penalty.

There was consensus among the speakers about the incompatibility of the death penalty with human dignity and rights and about the key role that the judiciary can play in limiting the use of the death penalty as a key step towards abolition. In his opening remarks, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, expressed his concern over the surge in executions over the years, largely driven by drug offences, and urged states that have yet to adopt a moratorium on capital punishment to take decisive steps toward its full abolition. Türk also encouraged members of the judiciary to “redouble their efforts towards abolition of the death penalty in practice, by using their discretion to impose alternative sentences.”

Panellist Ramkarpal Singh (member of parliament and former Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department of Malaysia) provided insights into the 2023 legal reform that resorted to judicial discretion in death penalty cases, and the resentencing of people on death row (most of whom were convicted for drug offences). After the reviewing process, 860 out of 936 resentencing applications were approved, including all drug-related cases, with death sentences replaced by imprisonment and whipping.

The panel discussion was followed by an interactive dialogue. The majority of member states recognised the crucial role of the judiciary in upholding human rights and limiting the use of capital punishment. Delegations from Australia, Belgium (on behalf of the Death Penalty Core group), European Union, Iceland (on behalf of Nordic Baltic countries), Sierra Leone, among others, expressed their concern for the use of the death penalty in cases that do not meet the legal threshold of most serious crimes; including drug crimes. Malaysia reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring the implementation of safeguards in capital cases in line with human rights obligations.

Civil society made valuable contributions, including HRI, which emphasised that drug offences are driving executions globally and that drug policy reform is instrumental to achieving total abolition of the death penalty. HRI expressed concern over drug control laws restricting judicial discretion by prescribing mandatory death sentences or legal presumptions; and called for a coordinated international response to halt executions, promote moratoria on capital punishment for drug offenses, and protect civil society’s role in the reform.


58th Human Rights Council: Drug policy highlights

Legal amendments that make cannabis smokers 

 if a neighbour reports them and claims they can smell the drug, have infuriated two NGOs.

"The new cannabis amendments demonstrate a government that has lost all sense of direction and is now a hostage to the cannabinoid industry," ReLeaf Malta and Moviment Graffitti said in a statement on Sunday.

"The violation of privacy and anonymity reduces personal rights and gives fresh impetus to a culture of stigma against thousands of cannabis consumers and cultivators in Malta and Gozo," they added.

The new, stricter regulations against people who smoke and cultivate cannabis were approved by parliament earlier this month.

Malta: NGOs infuriated by new regulations on cannabis smoke that annoys neighbours

“I lost two children. They were shot dead. My family has never been the same.”

The story of Sarah Celiz, who lost her sons in extrajudicial killings (EJKs), resurfaced on the day the former president Rodrigo Duterte was arrested and detained at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague where he now awaits trial for crimes against humanity over his bloody anti-drug campaign.

Recalling how her sons, Almon and Dicklie, were gunned down six months apart in deadly crackdowns in their neighborhood in Bagong Silang, Caloocan City over seven years ago, Celiz broke down during a news conference.

When she tried to file a complaint, the police asked her for evidence.

“My evidence were the bodies of my sons. They were killed without due process,” Celiz declared.

“I want (Duterte’s) family to feel what we felt. I want them to feel the same way I feel about what happened to my sons,” she cried out.

Celiz and other family members of victims of drug war killings had kept vigil in shock and disbelief as they watched on TV and on their phones the arrest as Duterte was hauled off to a chartered plane by police escorts and flown out of the country he once ruled with an iron hand.

“I had tears of sadness because our loved ones are gone, and joy because Duterte is in the place where he belongs”, she said.

In the succeeding weeks, more families came out in the open, with tears of sadness and relief, to demand for accountability and justice for what they suffered during Duterte’s term from June 2016 to June 2022.

“My hope and that of the families of EJK victims is that we find justice so that we can move on with our lives,” Celiz said.

Duterte arrest inspires continuing drive for humane approach to anti-drug campaign

A French law is set to unleash invasive new police surveillance powers.

 Fuelled by absurd rhetoric, the government is proposing what has been dubbed “the worst surveillance law in the EU”. Experts warn that it will fail to achieve its aims. However, the broad scope of the law means the powers can be used against migrants, their supporters, and to crack down on dissent. As official reports have made clear, dealing with drug use and trafficking requires long-term, low-tech policies – not high-tech police surveillance powers.

The French government is stepping up its war on drugs, combining absurd rhetoric (with smoking a joint compared to shooting a child in the head) and new legislation.

This repressive approach is similar to that favoured in many other countries around the world, where it has also failed to reduce drug trafficking or use.

The French government’s proposal includes some particularly invasive surveillance measures, including:

remote activation of phones by the police; and

mass surveillance of internet and telecoms traffic.

The broad scope of the law means these powers can also be used against irregular migrants, those providing them with aid or support, and political dissidents.

There may soon be similar measures proposed at European level, as part of the EU’s new internal security strategy.

In 2014, the French government warned that the country was at a “tipping point” and called for the fight against drug trafficking to become “a national cause”. The government’s latest plan to address the problem has two components. First, try to shock the public. Second, pass new legislation on ‘narcotraffic’.

This attempt to shock people has led to a stream of ridiculous statements from officials. If there is a competition amongst them, then Bruno Retailleau, the interior minister, is the clear winner. He has warned that smoking a joint is akin to “two bullets in the head of a five-year-old kid; this is a youth who has been stabbed 50 times with a knife and burned alive.”

Over the years, there has been an undeniable rise in violence. A book published last year looked at the phenomenon of young “shooters” – children and young adults who become involved in gun violence. The authors argued that young shooters were similar to 

, Mexico’s notorious killers for hire. The parallel between France and the world’s most violent country for drug trafficking quickly spread. Retailleau, the interior minister (yes, him again), claimed there had been a “Mexicanisation” of France.

The comparison is absurd. Mexico holds the record for disappearances and deaths related to the war on drugs. Amnesty International, citing Mexican government data, says that some 30 people disappear every day in the country. This equates to more than one person every hour, and a total of almost 11,000 people annually. In France, there were 110 deaths linked to drug trafficking in 2024, according to interior ministry data.

France is just one of many countries taking an ever-more repressive approach to drugs. 

, a global network of over 190 NGOs that promotes person-centred, rights-affirming drug policies at the national, regional and international levels, told 

“The reality that we see across the globe is that repressive measures have comprehensively failed to suppress the drug trade and have instead led to the drastic erosion of fundamental rights. This move in France is unfortunately no exception.”

These quick fixes get their proponents headlines in the press, but they provide few positive long-term results. The French Court of Auditors recently warned that the entire system of youth assistance is screaming for survival. It requires long-term human and financial investment. Instead, resources are directed elsewhere.

A government report on limiting children’s involvement in drug trafficking proposed a number of potential solutions to the problem. They include proposals for better follow-up from local services in providing care, and improved social services for the youth and their families. They do not include proposals to give the police military-grade surveillance powers. That, however, is precisely what is happening.

France: How the “war on drugs” is turbo-charging surveillance powers

In the past two decades, HIV-related deaths have been reduced by more than half, and millions of people have gained access to life-saving treatment. Scientific breakthroughs, strong political commitment, and community leadership have transformed the HIV response. Yet, despite these remarkable achievements, the path to ending AIDS is still full of challenges.

Today, the HIV response is at a crossroads. Persistent inequalities, financial constraints, and emerging health threats risk derailing progress. The hard-won gains of recent decades must not only be safeguarded but accelerated. This is why UNAIDS is launching the development of the new Global AIDS Strategy 2026-2031, an ambitious, inclusive, and action-driven plan that will guide the global HIV response for the next five years and help end AIDS as a public health threat.

"To end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, we must act with urgency, ambition, and innovation," said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. "This strategy is an opportunity to rethink and strengthen the HIV response by listening to communities, addressing inequalities, applying the science, ensuring equal access to new innovations and leaving no one behind."

UNAIDS has dedicated 2024 to laying the foundation for this new strategy. A mid-term review of the current Global AIDS Strategy has highlighted the urgent need to accelerate HIV prevention, address societal barriers, and sustain progress in treatment. UNAIDS convened a Global Task Team, composed of experts from governments, civil society, multilateral organizations, and public health, to recommend bold, measurable, and evidence-informed targets for 2030.

UNAIDS launches the development of the new Global AIDS Strategy 2026-2031

On 20 January 2025 the United States announced a 90-day freeze on US foreign aid which has had a devastating impact on people living with and affected by HIV, on the people and organizations supporting them and on the global response to HIV as a whole.

Community organizations have been particularly impacted by the freeze in funding. Community healthcare workers are losing their jobs, clinics are having to be shut down and, as a result, people in need of HIV testing or prevention or who are living with HIV and dependent on daily antiretroviral medicine are unable to access the life-saving HIV services they need.

On 10 February, UNAIDS convened an emergency meeting with community organizations to monitor the impact of the unfolding crisis. Community groups reported that HIV services around the world are facing serious challenges. Some are grinding to a halt. Supplies of antiretroviral medication, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and condoms have been disrupted, leaving many without essential tools of HIV treatment and prevention.

HIV testing kits are increasingly scarce and outreach services – essential for connecting people in need of HIV testing – are being suspended. As a result, HIV and sexually transmitted infection testing are disrupted, threatening detection and prevention efforts.

“The damage is immediate and severe,” said one advocate. “People who rely on [U.S.-funded] programmes for [safety and] survival are suddenly left with nothing.”

The US pause in administering foreign assistance while it reviews recipients is not just a bureaucratic delay; it is a direct threat to continued progress against AIDS and will quickly erode decades of hard-won gains in the global HIV response. It will destroy many community organizations without which the world cannot close the gaps in HIV testing, prevention and treatment.

The US Government has invested more than US$ 100 billion to date in the global fight against AIDS with the US accounting for around 73% of donor funding for HIV worldwide; millions of people at risk for and living with HIV rely on US funded clinics to stay healthy in the face of HIV.

How the shift in US funding is threatening both the lives of people affected by HIV and the community groups supporting them

UNAIDS is launching a survey to gather insights for the next Global AIDS Strategy 2026-2031, which will guide the next phase of action for the HIV response. Your input is essential to ensure it is inclusive, effective, and responsive to real-world needs while reflecting the priorities of stakeholders worldwide. Your input will also help define the key focus areas and actions needed to accelerate progress.

Please take a few moments to share your perspectives 

The survey is now available in 3 languages: English, French, Spanish (see upper right-hand corner of the survey). More languages will be made available soon.

Global AIDS Strategy 2026-2031 survey

The Netherlands expanded a government-run initiative on Monday allowing legal cannabis sales.

While growing cannabis is still illegal, cannabis shops — known as coffeeshops — in 10 municipalities will be allowed to sell marijuana from 10 licensed producers.

“Weed was sold here legally for 50 years, but the production was never legal. So it’s finally time to end that crazy, unexplainable situation and make it a legal professional sector,” Rick Bakker, commercial director at Hollandse Hoogtes, one of the regulated producers, told The Associated Press.

Some 80 coffeeshops are taking part in the experiment which advocates hope this will ultimately end a long-standing legal anomaly — you can buy and sell small amounts of weed without fear of prosecution in the Netherlands, but growing it commercially remains illegal.

Bakker's company in Bemmel, near the German border, is indistinguishable from the surrounding greenhouses producing tomatoes and peppers. But it makes 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of weed per week and is one of the largest producers in the experiment.

A trailblazer in decriminalizing pot since the 1970s, the Netherlands has grown more conservative. 

, long a magnet for marijuana smokers, has been closing coffeeshops in recent years and has banned smoking weed on some of the cobbled streets that make up its historic center.

Advocates have been pushing for a legal growing for years, citing the safety of the product as well as concerns about crime.

Dutch cannabis growers welcome expansion of state-run experiment to make sales legal

“The so-called war on drugs has destroyed countless lives and damaged entire communities. These policies are simply not working, and we are failing some of the most vulnerable groups in our societies,”

 said UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk during a recent speech on global drug policies.

For decades, governments have adopted a largely punitive approach to controlling narcotic drugs. UN experts say the results have been catastrophic, citing harmful consequences such as mass incarceration, increased drug-related crime and violence, record numbers of drug-related deaths, growing illegal drug production, and the stigmatization of entire communities.

However, there have been important shifts in recent years. From the Philippines to Ghana, Pakistan, and Colombia, countries are moving away from punishment and criminalisation, embracing more humane, public health- and human rights-based approaches.

In December 2024, Scotland launched a Charter of Rights for People Affected by Substance Use. This first-of-its-kind document aims to ensure that people who use drugs know their rights, receive necessary support, and are treated with dignity.

“The Charter sets out the key human rights that belong to people affected by substance use and marks a significant change from the previous approach of criminalization,”

 said Alan Miller, human rights activist and professor at the University of Strathclyde. 

“It places people and human dignity at the centre.”

The Charter was developed by the National Collaborative, an independent network chaired by Miller, with input from civil society, policymakers, affected communities, people who use drugs, and their families. It was in part a response to Scotland's high drug-related death rate, the highest in Europe.

“Clearly, the scale of the deaths was a tipping point, but there has been a shift in the public narrative,”

“Families formed support groups and started to speak up. The public now sees the problem as a health issue or about inequality and poverty—not just pushers or traffickers.”

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk echoed this change in approach:


“The Charter represents a shift away from punishment and towards prevention, treatment, and support for those affected by drug use, in line with the International Guidelines on Human Rights and Drug Policy.”

Drawn from national and international human rights law, the Charter outlines key rights, including:

the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health

the right to an adequate standard of living

freedom from degrading treatment and arbitrary arrest

Niamh Eastwood, Executive Director of Release (UK), emphasised the harm of criminalising people who use drugs.

“Treating people as criminals adds to their suffering, causes stigma and exclusion, and deters them from getting the life-saving health interventions they need,”

“The Charter is a first-of-its-kind and we hope there will be more.”

Zaved Mahmood, Human Rights and Drug Policy Advisor at UN Human Rights, noted a growing shift in global perspectives:

“There is a general acceptance that any discussion on drug policy must take into account States’ human rights obligations,”

UN Human Rights supports Member States in developing and implementing drug policies based on human rights, aligned with the 2019 International Guidelines on Human Rights and Drug Policy.

In the Philippines, where a punitive drug policy led to thousands of deaths and extreme overcrowding in detention centres, the UN has supported a more humane shift. According to Signe Poulsen, Senior Human Rights Adviser in Manila:

“Under the previous administration, a high number of people were killed and the country ended up with one of the world’s most congested pre-trial detention systems.

Through a UN joint programme, the Office engaged government agencies and civil society to promote human rights-based reforms. These efforts include technical assistance for an independent forensic institute to investigate potentially unlawful deaths, and support for widows of victims through psychosocial care and basic services.

The “war on drugs” has also led to a rise in the use of the death penalty, contrary to international law. In 2024, drug offences accounted for 40% of all confirmed global executions. However, progress is underway:

 abolished the death penalty for drug offences in 2023.

 removed the mandatory nature of capital punishment the same year.

 reformed its laws in 2020 to treat drug use as a health issue and now supports harm reduction in 14 districts.

Professor Adeeba Kamarulzaman, member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, remarked:

“It is always two steps forward and one step back when it comes to drug policy reform.”

Colombia is moving from a repressive strategy toward a development-focused approach to eliminating illicit drug cultivation. With UN Human Rights support, the country is investing in rural economies and addressing structural causes of violence. The 2016 peace accords include a chapter on drug policy reform, and the Truth Commission has called for drug policy to be part of peacebuilding.

Türk has consistently called for a transformative approach that includes voluntary healthcare, harm reduction, decriminalisation, social reintegration, gender sensitivity, and responsible regulation.

“Drug policies that prioritise health and human rights are more effective and more humane.”

An effective and humane approach to drug policies

In July 2022, the Supreme Court of Ghana ruled in a 4-3 majority decision that the inclusion of Section 43 in the Act was unconstitutional, citing procedural flaws in its passage. However, experts believe that the successful implementation of these cannabis regulations could unlock significant economic benefits for Ghana.

The Minister for Finance, Hon. Ato Forson has revealed that the Ministry of the Interior has initiated processes to implement Section 43 of the Narcotics Control Commission Act, 2020 (Act 1019) and the Narcotics Control Commission Regulation 2023 (L.I. 2475).

He announced this in his presentation of the 2025 Budget Statement to Parliament on March 11, 2025.

Hon. Ato Forson stated that this initiative is aimed at regulating the cultivation and management of cannabis with a tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content not exceeding 0.3% on a dry weight basis in Ghana.

According to the Minister, Comprehensive Guidelines for the cultivation and management of cannabis have already been drafted, and the associated charges and fees will be laid before Parliament for approval in 2025. This is contained paragraph 734, page 119 of the THE 2025 BUDGET STATEMENT AND ECONOMIC POLICY OF GOVERNMENT referred to as 

“Resetting The Economy For The Ghana We Want”.

This development comes after years of legal back-and-forth regarding cannabis legislation in Ghana. The passage of Act 1019 in 2020 was initially celebrated as a progressive move toward the regulation of industrial hemp and medicinal cannabis. However, in July 2022, the Supreme Court of Ghana ruled in a 4-3 majority decision that the inclusion of Section 43 in the Act was unconstitutional, citing procedural flaws in its passage.

Following a review application by the Attorney General, the Supreme Court reaffirmed its decision in May 2023, maintaining that the legislative process leading to the law's approval was flawed. This ruling temporarily halted efforts to regulate the cultivation and management of industrial hemp in Ghana. This necessitated Parliament to reconvene and pass amendment of the Act to let same be inline with the parameters set by the Supreme Court.

The decision to finalize regulatory guidelines and present them before Parliament for approval signals a renewed push toward creating a structured legal framework for industrial hemp cultivation.

Ghana: Government to lay guidelines for cultivation and management of cannabis for approval in 2025

For the second year in a row, what had been an uneventful, consensus-driven United Nations meeting on drug policy saw unexpected drama and signs of real change.

At the 68th session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in Vienna in March 2025, governments approved the formation of an independent expert commission to recommend changes to the architecture of global drug policy, which has changed little since the early 1960s.

Colombia again played a catalytic role, as it did in 2024. But this time, the United States—under the new Trump administration—tried to block nearly everything, isolating itself diplomatically in the process.

In this episode of the WOLA Podcast, Adam Isacson speaks with three experts who were in Vienna:

, Executive Director of the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), a network of 195 organizations working to reform global drug policy.

, Senior Coordinator for drug policy at DeJusticia, a Bogotá-based think tank and advocacy group.

, WOLA’s Director for Drug Policy, who has tracked the UN’s drug control system since the 1980s.

The conversation traces the slow evolution of the UN drug control system—from decades of punitive consensus to today’s shifting coalitions, unprecedented votes, and long-overdue reviews.

Much of the episode centers on a breakthrough: a new resolution establishing an “independent external review” of the UN’s own drug control institutions. For years, countries like Colombia have called for an honest assessment of the system’s failings. Now, thanks to a resolution spearheaded by Colombia and passed over U.S. opposition, that review is happening. The details still matter: how independent the expert panel will truly be, who funds it, and whether the review can influence the hard architecture of the drug control treaties.

“Vienna was very much a space where delegates would just pat each other on the back on how well we’re doing the war on drugs,” Pereira said. “The spirit of Vienna created a sort of lockdown situation on debate, true debate,” added Walsh. “Civil society enlivened the Vienna atmosphere” in recent years, he noted, “with new debates, new arguments.” Now, this international space has become more dynamic.

The guests also discuss coca leaf: its decades-old listing as a Schedule I narcotic, Bolivia’s and Colombia’s ongoing push for a scientific review, and the possibility of a pivotal vote in 2026. They stress how traditional knowledge—especially from Indigenous communities—must be recognized as legitimate scientific input during that review.

Underlying it all is a major diplomatic shift. Colombia is using the UN system to demand drug policy grounded in health, human rights, and development—not militarized prohibition. But with Petro’s term ending in 2026, it’s unclear who will pick up the baton.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is signaling a return to zero-tolerance drug war policies—and burning bridges with potential allies in the process. “They behaved so terribly. I mean, they broke with all diplomatic niceties,” said Fordham. “The U.S. just went for it in their opening statement… It was frankly an embarrassing, but also pretty shocking statement.”

Despite the uncertainty, all three guests agree: civil society is no longer on the sidelines. NGOs and experts are shaping debates, challenging rigid thinking in Vienna, and holding governments to account.

CND68: Historic vote initiates overdue review of UN drug control ‘machinery,’

” Ann Fordham, Adrià Cots Fernández, International Drug Policy Consortium, March 18, 2025.

A Historic Vote at the CND: Colombia Challenges the Global Drug Control System

,” Isabel Pereira Arana, DeJusticia, March 18, 2025.

CND 2025: What future for the UN drug control system?

” TRANSFORM Drug Policy Foundation, March 23, 2025.

When the Adult in the Room Is Gone: Trump’s Budget Cuts and Global Drug Policy

,” István Gábor Takács, Drug Reporter, April 2, 2025.

Download this podcast episode’s .mp3 file here

, or wherever you subscribe to podcasts. The 

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