Compulsory centres for drug users

Publications12 February 2025

Human Rights Watch: World Report 2025

HRW denounces human rights violations, including in relation to drug policy ranging from punitive laws to extrajudicial executions, and demands truth and justice.

News10 February 2025

In Sri Lanka, the army is engaging in a new war on drugs

Militarised compulsory drug detention centres blur the line between treatment and torture, in detriment of much-needed health-based approaches.

Publications22 December 2024

“Submit and surrender”: the harms of arbitrary drug detention in the Philippines

Amnesty International highlights how arbitrary drug detention is a driver of human rights abuses, including torture, and calls for evidence-based reform.

News31 January 2024

Sri Lanka: Stop abusive anti-drug operation and release those arbitrarily detained

IDPC joins over 30 organisations worldwide calling for a stop to the Yukthiya operation, the end of compulsory centres and arbitrary detention, and resources for evidence-based treatment and care.

News29 January 2024

Thailand: Army drug rehab plan sparks rights concerns

While Thailand's reformed Narcotic Code is a step in the right direction, the government's reliance on compulsory treatment continues to violate human rights.

Publications18 September 2023

54th session of the Human Rights Council: Drug policy opportunities

Harm Reduction International identify key moments where drug policy will be addressed in the upcoming 54th Session of the Human Rights Council, presenting significant prospects for reform.

Blog1 June 2023

After the national election, will Thailand move forward in realising a human rights and harm reduction approach to drugs?

The incoming Thai government coalition must put electoral politics aside and focus on enacting drug policies grounded in principles of social justice, harm reduction, and human rights.

News19 April 2023

Singapore changes laws to tackle new psychoactive substances, increases penalties for drug possession

Singapore's new highly punitive legislative framework, designed to tackle new psychoactive substances, sees the maximum jail sentence for drug possession increase to 30 years, three times the previous maximum.

News29 March 2023

How harsh drug laws undermine health and human rights in Asia Pacific

Compulsory rehabilitation centres for people who use drugs constitute a grave violation of human rights, and must be replaced by voluntary, community-based treatment that provides evidence-informed and human-rights based services.

News8 February 2023

Sri Lankan parliament passes draconian “rehabilitation” law

The bill, which allows people who use drugs to be detained in military-run centres, was passed with 23 votes in favour, of the 225-seat parliament.

Publications8 February 2023

Submission to the UN CESCR on Cambodia - Amnesty International

Amnesty International shines a light on human rights violations committed in the name of drug policy, including in relation to police violence, arbitrary detention and obstacles to harm reduction.

News17 January 2023

Sri Lankan MPs: Reject the Bureau of Rehabilitation Bill

The bill would translate into increasing human rights abuses in the name of drug control, including through the involvement of the military in treatment and the expansion of compulsory detention.

Explore more content