10th Brandenburg Forum on Drugs and Development Policies report - 'From Crisis to Coherence: Next Steps in Aligning Drug Policy with Development, Human Rights and the UN Reform'

The 10th Brandenburg Forum on Drugs and Development Policies (BBF) took place from 24th to 26th November 2025 at Schloss Lübbenau in Brandenburg, Germany. The Forum was organised by the Global Partnership on Drug Policies and Development (GPDPD),1 commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented under political patronage of the Commissioner of the German Federal Government for Drug and Addiction Policy. The meeting was co-hosted by the Government of the Netherlands, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), the Transnational Institute (TNI) and the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC).

The Forum was attended by 52 participants from around the world – including government representatives from Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Switzerland, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. Also in attendance were officials from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), the European Union (EU) and the Council of Europe, as well as a number of non-governmental organisations. In order to promote open dialogue, discussions were conducted under the ‘Chatham House Rule’ whereby the content of discussions can be shared but neither the identity nor the affiliation of any participants should be revealed. This meeting report also reflects the Rule, with the exception of specifying the designated speakers in the Forum agenda.

The Forum was opened by the Head of the GPDPD programme, with welcome remarks provided by Prof. Dr. Hendrik Streeck, Commissioner of the German Federal Government for Drug and Addiction Policy and Ms. Ina von Frantzius, Head of the Agriculture, Rural Development Division in the BMZ, as well as representatives of the TNI and the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. This opening session highlighted the instrumental role that the BBF has played in shaping, promoting and strengthening international drug policy aligned with development policy, human rights and health-related objectives – including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – and emphasized that current geopolitical tensions, the impact of drug economies on the environment and biodiversity, as well as the multilateral funding crisis require this type of Forums to exchange ideas and develop coordinated responses.