UN Expert Calls for End to 'War on Drugs', Advocates for Harm Reduction Policies

In her fourth report to the Human Rights Council, Tlaleng Mofokeng, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, focused on drug use, harm reduction, and the right to health.

A UN independent expert today called for an end to the 'war on drugs', urging States to adopt harm reduction approaches in drug policies.

In her fourth report to the Human Rights Council, Tlaleng Mofokeng, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, focused on drug use, harm reduction, and the right to health. The report examines how harm reduction applies to drug use and drug use disorders, as well as drug laws and policies, aiming to analyze and address the related outcomes that negatively impact the right to health.

“The enforcement of drug laws and policies compounds other forms of discrimination and disproportionately affects certain individuals, such as those experiencing homelessness or poverty, people with mental health issues, sex workers, women, children, LGBTIQA+ persons, Black individuals, Indigenous Peoples, migrants, incarcerated or detained persons, people with disabilities, those living with HIV, tuberculosis or hepatitis, and rural residents,” Mofokeng informed the Council. “International drug control conventions have negatively impacted the availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality of certain drugs used as medicines.”

The report highlights that harm reduction concepts have primarily been developed in the context of drug use, referring to policies, programs, and practices aimed at minimizing the negative health, social, and legal impacts associated with drug use, policies, and laws. It emphasizes that States have an obligation to implement evidence-based interventions to minimize adverse health risks and harms associated with drug use.

In her report, the Special Rapporteur provides recommendations for States to focus on dignity, public health, and human rights at the domestic level, grounding interventions in the best available evidence and free from conflicts of interest.

Mofokeng stresses that ending criminalization, stigmatization, and discrimination—structural barriers to accessing services—will improve access to information, goods, services, and facilities.

“Global advocacy and high-level statements of intent must be translated into action to uphold the right to dignity,” she asserted, adding that “civil society participation is key.”

“All stakeholders must respect people who use drugs, people with drug use disorders, and those whose health and well-being are affected by drug laws and policies,” the Special Rapporteur emphasized.

She also noted the importance of advancing substantive equality by addressing the disproportionate impact of drug laws, policies, and policing.

 

 

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