Latin America

News15 October 2026

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

IDPC joins civil society in denouncing a Bolivian bill proposing forced sterilisation of marginalised women who use drugs, calling instead for decriminalisation and voluntary, gender-responsive harm reduction services.

News12 October 2026

The World Health Organization coca review: A post mortem

Martin Jelsma argues that the WHO’s decision to maintain the plant's international scheduling disregards scientific evidence and Indigenous Peoples’ rights, reflecting inconsistencies in the UN drug control system and the need for reform.

News1 October 2026

Asking uncomfortable questions: ensuring human rights and upholding the evidence – Ann Fordham interviews Laura Gil

Colombia's former ambassador to the UN in Vienna, Laura Gil, reflects on the independent review of the drug control system and its role in challenging the assumption that the international legal framework is not open to reform.

News23 September 2026

How Bolivia's drug laws enable sexual torture

In Bolivia, out of 21 emblematic cases of sexual torture against women in police custody, 9 were linked to the enforcement of national drug laws.

Publications22 September 2026

Killing “narco-terrorists” at sea: The legality of military attacks on criminal groups and drug trafficking under international human rights law and other applicable international law

The UN Special Rapporteur concludes that US military attacks against people suspected of drug trafficking cannot be justified under international law and may constitute crimes against humanity.

News21 September 2026

Civil society warns of high risks from proposed herbicide spraying of coca crops in Colombia — Dialogue with the UN SR on toxics and human rights at HRC63

Dejusticia, Elementa and IDPC denounce plans to resume the use of hazardous herbicides in eradication efforts due to serious risks to rights, environment and communities' livelihoods.

Events

The U.S. 'war on drugs' meets the 'war on terror': Lawless killings overseas while communities suffer at home

New York City, United States

2 September 2026

As the US intensifies its militarised approach to drug policy in the name of 'narcoterrorism', the Drug Policy Alliance and the Center for Constitutional Rights discuss how this framing legitimises state violence and undermines human rights.

Publications29 July 2026

Killing Spree: Extrajudicial executions in the U.S. boat strikes campaign

WOLA documents how the US' lethal bombing campaign amounts to extrajudicial execution, has had little impact on cocaine trafficking, and demands an immediate end and accountability.

Publications20 July 2026

Counter-terrorism law, organised crime and human rights — Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism

IDPC, CELS, HRI and WOLA warn that conflating drug trafficking with terrorism enables unlawful military action, weakens human rights protections and restricts civil society space.

Publications16 July 2026

Legal protection for coca - Genetics, human rights, Indigenous knowledge, cultural heritage and the coca leaf: exploring the legal options for safeguards

TNI explores viable ways to safeguard the genetic resources, cultural heritage and Indigenous knowledge of the coca leaf, as well as to protect legal markets from risks of misappropriation, biopiracy and corporate capture.

News12 July 2026

The sacred Indigenous origins of the coca leaf

Indigenous communities are reclaiming the coca leaf’s sacred origins and challenging decades of international control, criminalisation and stigma.

Publications6 July 2026

Extra punishment: Violence against women in the fight against organised crime

The Working Group on Women and Incarceration in Latin America analyses how the fight against organised crime affects women in contact with prison systems, as well as their families and children.

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