This report includes a wide range of examples in which human rights standards and norms are infringed as a result of state activities pursued in the name of drug control. This clearly demonstrates the need for close attention to this issue within the UN system.
The latest INCB Annual Report was published on 4th March 2008. This brief response explains the contents of the report, and comments on the positions taken by the Board on proportionality in drug law enforcement, the scheduling of coca leaf, and harm reduction.
This briefing paper brings together material and analysis from a number of recent reports that raise questions about the role and functioning of the INCB.
The International Narcotics Control Board has been criticised for being one of the most secretive bodies in the UN system. It holds its meetings behind closed doors. No minutes are published. There is no opportunity for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to observe or make submissions.
In 2002 the INCB asked the Legal Affairs Section (LAS) of the then UN International Drug Control Programme to explore the legality of a number of harm reduction measures vis-a-vis the UN drug control conventions.
The term ‘drug policy’ refers to any policy whose aim is to control drug supply and drug demand. It can therefore have an impact on multiple areas, ranging from the treatment of drug dependence and other diseases, such as HIV/AIDS and cancer, to the production and trade in illegal drugs, and the levels of violence, incarceration and poverty worldwide.
This report presents the findings of the ninth year of data collection in Western Australia. Results are summarised according to the four main drug types, with the use of ‘other drugs’ also reported.
On 10th December 2007 - International Human Rights Day - IHRA released a major report calling for an end to the use of the death penalty for drug offences around the world. The report argues that the on-going execution of drug offenders is a violation of international human rights law.
In 2004, the Beckley Foundation reported on the legal changes that took place in Portugal in 2001, which effectively decriminalised the possession and use of all drugs, and diverted those arrested into education or treatment programmes (Allen, Trace, & Klein, 2004). This report aims to provide an updated overview of the effects of these changes, using data from the evaluations that have been carried out and from new interviews with key stakeholders in Portugal.