Human rights first: Reflections from the Mobilization on Human Rights and Drug Policy conference

At the Mobilization on Human Rights and Drug Policy conference, IDPC Executive Director Ann Fordham spoke on “Regulation, Civil Society & United Nations Perspectives”. Watch her presentation here: Ann Fordham (IDPC) - "Regulation, Civil Society & United Nations Perspectives." | Oslo, 2026 - YouTube.

Nordic countries have traditionally governed drug use and related policies either as criminal orhealth-related issues – an approach described as a dual-track model. Far less attention has beenpaid on human rights perspectives in the Nordic drug policy context. Internationally, human rightschallenges in drug policies have been increasingly addressed by civil society organizations repre-senting people who use drugs, as well as harm reduction actors. In 2026, the human rights perspective was brought on the Nordic political agenda more prominently than before as, for the first time, the Nordic civil society organizations representing people who use drugs held a joint inter-national conference on the human rights theme. This report provides notes from the conference and discusses current international and Nordic debates on drug policy as a human rights issue.