Human rights

Blog15 August 2025

Reviewing the coca leaf’s international status: A chance to heal what Prohibition broke

The upcoming critical review process offers a chance to de-schedule the coca leaf, mitigating prohibition's environmental and social harms, affirming Indigenous rights, and reforming colonial, punitive drug policies.

Events

48th meeting of the WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD)

Geneva, Switzerland

20 October 2025 - 29 October 2025

The WHO's ECDD meeting will assess the critical reviews of a handful of substances, including the coca leaf, guiding future international scheduling decisions, with major implications for Indigenous rights.

Publications13 August 2025

Vienna after consensus: Report of the 68th session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs

IDPC highlights the creation of an independent review and deepening divides on harm reduction, human rights, and Indigenous rights.

News8 August 2025

C-EHRN statement on the elimination of EU4Health operating grants for civil society organisations

C-EHRN urges the European Commission to reconsider its decision to eliminate EU4Health operating grants, warning that it endangers vital public health and human rights protections.

Blog7 August 2025

A historic opportunity: Why the global liberation of the coca leaf matters on the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples

On the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, IDPC's Ann Fordham highlights how the international drug control regime harms Indigenous communities, and how the WHO’s coca leaf review offers a chance to right a longstanding injustice.

News25 July 2025

59th Human Rights Council: drug policy highlights

HRI synthesizes discussions in the UN about topics such as poverty, discrimination against women and girls, health and arbitrary executions.

Publications17 July 2025

5th Brandenburg Forum in Geneva: Expanding the conversation on the human rights implications of drug policy - Meeting report

The Forum urged periodic HRC resolutions, stronger UN coordination, an operational expert panel, and sustained harm reduction funding, highlighting Indigenous rights, decriminalisation, and civil society inclusion as key priorities.

News17 July 2025

From the roots up: The Support. Don’t Punish campaign’s lifetime evaluation 2013-2023

Drawing on insights from over 200 partners, the campaign’s evaluation explores how Support. Don’t Punish has fostered the development of a global movement capable of shifting narratives, mobilising communities, and sparking change for rights-based, harm-reducing laws, policies and practices.

Events

World Hepatitis Day 2025

Online

5 June 2025

For world hepatitis day 2025, the World Hepatitis Alliance is hosting a webinar on Thursday, 5 June at 13:00 GMT+1.

Publications10 July 2025

Is drug-use stigma a breach of human rights law?: Insights from Australia

Mulcahy et al. explore whether stigma constitutes cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, outlining possibilities for viable legal claims on the basis of human rights.

News9 July 2025

Historic change is underway for rethinking global drug policy

The recent landmark resolution at CND, mandating an independent review panel, signals momentum for drug policy reform centred on health and rights.

Blog3 July 2025

Indonesia’s drug policy at a crossroads: A shift towards rights-based reform?

Indonesia’s drug policy is under review as civil society pushes for health- and rights-based reforms, including legal changes, better treatment access, gender-sensitive harm reduction, and respectful kratom regulation rooted in indigenous knowledge.

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