Drug Policy Australia is a Non-Governmental Organisation dedicated to promoting harm reduction and evidence-based drug policy in Australia. Our purpose is to educate the general public and advocate to government about new evidence and research into drug policy and the implications for changes to the health, social welfare and justice systems.

Drug Policy Australia es una organización no gubernamental dedicada a promover la reducción de los daños y una política de drogas basadas en la evidencia en Australia.

Drug Policy Australia est une organisation non gouvernementale dédiée à la promotion de la réduction des risques et d'une politique des drogues fondée sur des preuves en Australie.

Drug Policy Australia

L'IDPC se joint à plus de 30 organisations dans le monde entier pour demander l'arrêt de l'opération Yukthiya, appelant à la place à un accès volontaire à des soins fondés sur des preuves. Pour en savoir plus, en anglais, veuillez lire les informations ci-dessous.

We, the undersigned organisations, are deeply concerned about the drastic intensification of anti- drug operations in Sri Lanka leading to significant human rights violations.

On 17 December 2023 the Acting Inspector General of Police Deshabandu Tennekoon, with the endorsement of Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles, spearheaded an operation titled “Yukthiya”, with the stated aim of controlling “the drug menace”. The operation is ongoing as of 10 January 2024, with at least one thousand persons arrested daily.

This operation is unfolding in a context of already severe repression against persons who use or are suspected of using drugs, who suffer discrimination and stigma within the Sri Lankan criminal justice system and society.

Alongside the Sri Lankan police, members of the armed forces have been supporting this operation, during which several human rights violations have been reported. These violations include alleged arbitrary arrests, primarily against individuals from marginalised socio-economic communities; searches conducted without warrants or reasonable suspicion; and degrading treatment including strip searches in public as well as cavity searches. The searches and arrests have been televised, in violation not only of the right to privacy (and of basic human dignity) but also of a person’s right to be presumed innocent. According to lawyers, persons are being arrested even when no drugs are found in their possession, simply for having been arrested for drug offences or having been sent to compulsory rehabilitation in the past. The arrests of main livelihood earners and mothers have adversely impacted the ability of families to meet their basic needs during a time of economic crisis in Sri Lanka, and the wellbeing of children.

Persons are being arrested primarily under Section 54A of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, an offence which is non-bailable. As a result, those arrested are bound to spend time (sometimes months) in pretrial detention, thereby exacerbating already poor conditions of imprisonment in an overburdened prison system. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka has previously stated that the existing prison conditions and treatment of incarcerated persons are “inhumane and degrading.”At present, as per statistics issued by the Department of Prisons, the level of overcrowding of the prison system is at nearly 200% - with punitive drug policies playing a significant role: as of 2022, 63% of convicted persons were sentenced for drug-related offences.

The total reported number of arrests pursuant to operation Yukthiya has exceeded 29,000 as of 9 January 2024, while nearly 1,500 people are in administrative detention in police custody for further investigation.  At least 1,600 more persons have been sent for compulsory drug rehabilitation, in violation of several fundamental rights; including the right to the highest attainable standard of health, which includes the right to consent to and withdraw from medical treatment. “Drug treatment” in these centres is abstinence-based, essential harm reduction services are not available, and persons undergo severe withdrawal symptoms without any medical assistance while in detention. The use of violence to discipline and punish has been reported in at least two compulsory drug rehabilitation centres which are within the purview of the Bureau of the Commissioner General for Rehabilitation and are operated by the military, which is in itself a violation of international standards.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in its statement at the conclusion of its visit to Sri Lanka in 2017 expressed concern regarding the involvement of military personnel in drug treatment and rehabilitation, the fact that strenuous physical exercise was the core component of compulsory drug treatment, and at the lack of trained professionals to monitor the health of people in detention. Furthermore, the statement highlighted the irregularities in the judicial process by which persons were sent to drug rehabilitation centres without a medical assessment.

More broadly, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has highlighted that by denying persons access to substitution therapies, states are subjecting “a large group of people to severe physical pain, suffering and humiliation, effectively punishing them for using drugs and trying to coerce them into abstinence.” The Special Rapporteur has further stated “forcible testing of people who use drugs without respecting their autonomy and their right to informed consent may constitute degrading treatment, especially in detention settings. States are obliged to respect the enjoyment of the right to health, including by refraining from using coercive medical treatment. The requirement of informed consent, including the right to refuse treatment, should be observed in administering any treatment for drug dependence.”

Since the 2016 UN General Assembly Special Session on drugs, there is international consensus on pursuing a holistic and health and human rights-based approach to drugs, which encompasses supply and demand reduction as well as harm reduction. The 2019 Ministerial Declaration on drugs – the current global drug policy document - as well as multiple resolutions of the UN General Assembly, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, and the UN Human Rights Council reiterate and recommend a similar approach.

A punitive and militarised approach to drug control contravenes recognised international human rights standards and guidelines, is ineffective to protect individual and public health, and ultimately fails to make communities safer.

Africa Network of People Who Use Drugs (AfricaNPUD) (Africa)

Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) (Asia)

Association for Humane Drug Policy (Norway)

Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation (CDPE) (Canada)

Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS) (Argentina)

Corporación Acción Técnica Social (Colombia)

Correlation - European Harm Reduction Network (Europe)

Drug Harm Reduction Advocacy Network Nigeria (Nigeria)

Foreningen Tryggere Ruspolitikk /Safer Drug Policies (Norway)

GREA - Groupement Romand d'Etudes des Addictions (Switzerland)

Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (Poland)

International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)

International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) (Global)

International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD) (Global)

Skoun, Lebanese Addictions Centre (Lebanon)

Zimbabwe Civil Liberties and Drug Network (Zimbabwe)

Sri Lanka : Mettre fin aux opérations antidrogue abusives et libérer les personnes détenues arbitrairement

89 ONG soulignent la nécessité de s'attaquer aux impacts nocifs des politiques répressives en matière de drogues qui sapent les droits humains. Pour en savoir plus, en anglais, veuillez lire les informations ci-dessous.

To: Ms Ghada Waly, Executive Director, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Subject: Open letter on UNODC statement on International Human Rights Day 2021

We urge you to mark International Human Rights Day 2021 by calling on Member States to change drug policies and practices that violate human rights and perpetuate inequality and discrimination.

We are writing to you ahead of International Human Rights Day 2021, which will take place on the 10th December amidst escalating global demands for the reform of laws and practices that entrench racial discrimination and social inequality, including drug policies. Last year, IDPC – together with dozens of other civil society and community organisations – called on you to issue a statement on International Human Rights Day urging Member States to change drug laws and practices that undermine health and human rights. A year later, we ask you to seize this day as an opportunity to show UNODC´s alignment with other UN entities in calling for an end to drug policies and practices that perpetuate inequality and discrimination, and violate human rights.

For decades, punitive drug policies have driven widespread human rights abuses, as has been amply documented by the UN. These include the death penalty for drug offences; extrajudicial killings; arbitrary detention, often masquerading as ‘rehabilitation’; the denial of access to life-saving harm reduction services; widespread barriers to accessing controlled medicines for pain relief; the criminalisation of people who use drugs, subsistence farmers and others groups in situations of vulnerability; corporal punishment; and mass incarceration. In all of these cases, draconian drug policies have disproportionately affected people marginalised on the basis of their gender, race, ethnicity, and economic status, thus entrenching inequality and discrimination.

Along 2021, a broad range of UN entities called on Member States to reform drug policies with discriminatory outcomes. In June 2021, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention released a landmark study on arbitrary detention and drug polices, which found that ´

the war on drugs may be understood to a significant extent as a war on people. Its impact is often greatest on those who are poor, but also frequently overlaps with discrimination in law enforcement directed at vulnerable groups

´. At the same time, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights published a new ‘Agenda towards transformative change for racial justice and equality´, highlighting that ´

The discriminatory application of criminal law must be tackled at every stage, including by reforming drug-related policies

´. The High Commissioner´s proposal led to Human Rights Council Resolution 47/21, which contains key commitments to uproot systemic racism in the law enforcement and criminal justice systems. The Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS, adopted in June 2021, also showcased the international community´s commitment to ending inequalities as a step towards ending AIDS. Lastly, the new UN system Common Position on Incarceration, led by UNODC in partnership with other UN entities, notes ‘

the overrepresentation of minority and marginalized groups among prisoners, many of whom are charged with petty and nonviolent offences

support reform efforts aimed at ensuring proportionate and individualized sentencing and alternatives to conviction or punishment in appropriate cases, including for minor drug-related offences

These various commitments emerging across the United Nations are aligned with the 2018 Chief Executives Board’s UN System Common Position on drug-related matters, which makes clear that ‘

should be designed and implemented by States in accordance with their human rights obligations

’, and commits all UN agencies, including UNODC, to support drug policies ‘

that put people, health, and human rights at the centre

Similar human rights concerns have been highlighted in the just-released Global Drug Policy Index, which measures and ranks the national drug policies of 30 countries according to how well they align with the UN system Common Position on Drugs and its Task Team report of March 2019.

The theme of the 2021 International Human Rights Day is ‘Equality: Reducing inequalities, advancing human rights’, and is aimed at ´

addressing and finding solutions for deep-rooted forms of discrimination that have affected the most vulnerable people in societies

´. As such, it presents a crucial opportunity for UNODC to align itself with other UN entities in calling for the end of policies that perpetuate inequality and discrimination, while highlighting its commitment to the promotion of human rights, in line with the UN system Common Positions.

It is in this context that we urge you to issue a strong statement on International Human Rights Day, calling on states to change the drug laws, policies and practices that violate health and human rights, and entrench inequality. To be credible, such a statement should explicitly acknowledge the disproportionate impact of drug laws and drug control on people marginalised on the basis of their gender, race, ethnicity, and economic status, and urge Member States to:

Abolish the death penalty in all circumstances. Imposing capital punishment for drug offences has been found to be contrary to international human rights law by the Human Rights Committee, and the Human Rights Council.

Put an immediate end to extrajudicial killings committed in the name of drug control, as has been repeatedly called for by the Human Rights Council and UN human rights experts.

Permanently close compulsory drug detention centres, including those that masquerade as ‘rehabilitation’, and implement voluntary, evidence-informed, and rights-based health and social services, as recently called for by sixteen UN agencies, including UNODC.

Stress the urgent need to provide accessible, affordable, and adequately funded harm reduction services in community and closed settings, to fulfil the right to health and the right to life of people who use drugs, as demanded by several UN human rights bodies and experts. This is also central to UNODC’s core role as lead UNAIDS co-sponsor regarding prisons and HIV amongst people who use drugs.

Take immediate measures to address prison overcrowding, as already recommended by UNODC and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, by promoting alternatives to incarceration, and ensuring proportionate sentencing for all drug offences, including by taking into account mitigating factors – in line with the basic principle that prisons should only be used as a last resort in all circumstances.

Ensure that people who use drugs are not subject to arbitrary detention, torture, or ill-treatment – whether in state custody or public or private drug services. While under detention, people with a drug dependence or health problems associated with their drug use must be offered evidence-based treatment, harm reduction and other drug services on a strictly voluntary basis.

Promote the end of all punishment for drug use, and drug possession and cultivation for personal use, as permitted within the three drug control conventions. Such policy shifts will help to end the stigma, criminalisation, and exclusion faced by people who use drugs, and to facilitate access to health and social services, as called for by the UN system Common Position, UNAIDS, and UN human rights bodies.

Make sure that drug policies incorporate a gender-sensitive perspective. This should be done by tailoring drug services to the specific needs of women, and by ensuring that criminal laws take into account the circumstances of women involved in drug offences, as most of them come from backgrounds of poverty, marginalisation, and oppression.

Clearly outline the ways in which UNODC will work to achieve these changes, and the measures being taken to ensure that human rights are effectively embedded as a core strand for all of the Office’s work.

As the lead UN agency in drug-related matters, UNODC has the responsibility to promote drug policies that respect, protect, and fulfil human rights, in a way that is consistent with the standards developed by the UN system, and in line with the commitments set in the UN system Common Positions on drugs and on incarceration. A strong statement in the forthcoming International Human Rights Day would be an important and welcome step to signal UNODC’s unequivocal commitment.

We look forward to discussing these concerns and recommendations with you.

Les ONG exhortent la Directrice exécutive de l'ONUDC à marquer la Journée des droits humains par un appel à la réforme des politiques en matière de drogues qui perpétuent les inégalités

LONDRES (2 août 2016) – La société civile du monde entier, y compris d’éminentes ONG de défense des droits humains, demande aux autorités chargées du contrôle des drogues aux Nations Unies de prendre des mesures immédiates pour mettre fin aux exécutions arbitraires de personnes suspectées d’avoir commis des délits liés à la drogue aux Philippines. Depuis le 10 mai 2016, plus de 700 personnes ont été assassinées par la police et la milice aux Philippines pour leur implication supposée dans l’usage ou le trafic de drogues. Ceci, suite la campagne du Président Duterte, récemment élu à la tête du pays, pour éradiquer la criminalité dans les six prochains mois.

Jusqu’à présent cependant, l’Office des Nations Unies contre la Drogue et le Crime (ONUDC) et l’Organe International de Contrôle des Stupéfiants (OICS) – les agences des Nations Unies responsables de la lutte anti-drogue au niveau mondial – ont omis de condamner les Philippines pour ces flagrantes violations des droits humains commises au nom de la guerre contre la drogue.

Ce sont 329 organisations non-gouvernementales qui envoient aujourd’hui une lettre ouverte au directeur général de l’ONUDC, M. Yury Fedotov, et au président de l’OICS, M. Werner Sipp, afin de leur demander de prendre des mesures immédiates pour de mettre un terme à ces exécutions arbitraires.

« Nous appelons les organes des Nations Unies chargés du contrôle mondial des drogues de condamner publiquement ces atrocités aux Philippines. Ces assassinats insensés ne peuvent être justifiés par des mesures de contrôle des drogues », affirmait Ann Fordham, directrice générale du Consortium International sur les Politiques des Drogues (IDPC). « Leur silence est inacceptable alors que des personnes sont assassinées en pleine rue jour après jour », poursuit-elle.

La lettre ouverte invite l’ONUDC et l’OICS à appeler Président Duterte à :

Mettre immédiatement fin aux incitations à tuer les personnes suspectées de consommer de la drogue ou d’être impliquées dans le trafic de drogues,

Respecter les obligations internationales relatives aux droits humains, telles que les droits à la vie, à la santé, à un procès juste et équitable, établis au sein des traités relatifs aux droits de humains signés par les Philippines,

Promouvoir des services de traitement et de réduction des risques fondées sur des preuves et le volontariat pour les usagers de drogues, de manière à remplacer le traitement forcé dans des camps militaires, et enfin

Ne pas réinstaurer la peine de mort pour les délits liés à la drogue.

Pour toute question, veuillez contacter :

Gloria Lai (en Anglais, basée en Thaïlande)

Marie Nougier (en Français, basée en Angleterre)

Senior Research and Communications Officer

*******************************************

Données clés sur la crise de la politique des drogues aux Philippines:

Le Président Rodrigo Duterte a été élu président le 30 Mai 2016 et a débuté son mandat présidentiel le 30 Juin. Il a lancé une guerre contre la drogue dans le cadre de laquelle la police et les citoyens étaient encouragés à tuer usagers et trafiquants de drogues

704 personnes ont été tuées entre le 10 Mai et le 29 Juillet 2016 (ABS CBN News)

Le Secrétaire d’Affaires en Communication Martin Andanar a par ailleurs déclaré que 60 000 usagers de drogues dépendants s’étaient rendus à la police (Daily Mail).

Déclarations par des groupes internationaux travaillant sur les droits humains:

Amnesty International, 10 Mai: Philippines: Le nouveau président doit rompre le cycle de violations de droits humains, et non pas l’aggraver

Amnesty International, 30 Juin: Philippines: Le Président Duterte doit rompre le cycle de violations des droits humains

Human Rights Watch, 25 Juillet: Les messages mitigés du Président Duterte sur les droits aux Philippines

Human Rights Watch, 12 Juillet: Les autorités philippines ignorent la forte augmentation des meurtres liés à la drogue

Déclarations par des groupes locaux travaillant sur les droits humains:

Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates & Citizen’s Council for Human Rights, 14 Juillet: Arrêtez le massacre, demandent les défenseurs de droits humains à Duterte

Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates & Citizen’s Council for Human Rights, 14 Juillet: Exécutions extra-judiciaires: Normaliser la criminalité sous l’égide de la paix et de la sécurité

Déclarations par des groupes travaillant sur la politique des drogues:

Drug Policy Alliance, 25 Juillet: Lors de son discours inaugural, le président tient sa promesse de tuer en masse les usagers et dealers de drogues en appelant la population à se montrer sans pitié

Asian Network of People Who Use Drugs & International Network of People Who Use Drugs, Juillet: Philippines: Un appel pour mettre fin aux exécutions, à la pauvreté et à l’exclusion

Plus de 300 ONG appellent les Nations Unies à prendre des mesures immédiates pour mettre fin aux centaines d’exécutions arbitraires de personnes suspectées de délits de drogue aux Philippines

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Sri Lanka : Mettre fin aux opérations antidrogue abusives et libérer les personnes détenues arbitrairement

Les ONG exhortent la Directrice exécutive de l'ONUDC à marquer la Journée des droits humains par un appel à la réforme des politiques en matière de drogues qui perpétuent les inégalités

Plus de 300 ONG appellent les Nations Unies à prendre des mesures immédiates pour mettre fin aux centaines d’exécutions arbitraires de personnes suspectées de délits de drogue aux Philippines