Human rights

Publications16 October 2026

Pakistan Prison Data Report 2026

Justice Project Pakistan and the National Commission for Human Rights highlight how punitive drug laws and prolonged pre-trial detention are fuelling prison overcrowding, underscoring the need for rights-based reform.

News15 October 2026

Southeast Asia: Positive steps towards ending death penalty in several Southeast Asia states amplify isolation of Singapore and other executing countries

Amnesty International highlights growing momentum towards abolishing the death penalty across Southeast Asia, while Singapore remains an outlier, having carried out 19 executions for drug offences in the first nine months of 2026 alone.

Events

Counter-terrorism, organized crime and human rights: The risks of conflating legal frameworks

New York, United States

22 October 2026

Speakers examine how ‘narco-terrorism’ narratives are being used to justify militarised responses and explore alternatives grounded in human rights, harm reduction and drug policy reform.

Publications15 October 2026

Civil society space – Report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

The OHCHR warns that shrinking civic space, restrictive legislation and funding cuts are undermining civil society participation, including the work of organisations advocating for harm reduction and rights-based drug policies.

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.

Events

From flawed review to real change: Indigenous and peasants’ rights and the future of the coca leaf

Geneva, Switzerland / Online

1 October 2026

IDPC and partners discuss the implications of the WHO's critical review of the coca leaf and explore how national and international mechanisms can better protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples and coca-growing communities.

Publications12 October 2026

From personal use to drug trafficking offences in chemsex contexts: drug quantity thresholds established in INTCF reports

García Cortina and Azorín Ortega question the basis of quantity thresholds used in Spain to distinguish between possession and trafficking, highlighting implications for people engaging in chemsex and calling for greater transparency and safeguards.

Events

End violence against women and gender diverse people who use drugs (EVAWUD26)

World

25 November 2026 - 10 December 2026

The Women and Harm Reduction International Network (WHRIN) calls for global action to end violence against women and gender diverse people who use drugs, promoting gender-responsive harm reduction, human rights and an end to punitive drug policies.

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.

News29 September 2026

Civil society calls to confront systemic racism in drug control — Dialogue with the EMLER at HRC63

IDPC and partners welcomed the UN EMLER’s recognition of systemic racism in drug law enforcement and called for urgent action to address the racialised impacts of punitive drug policy.

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.

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