The impact of drug policies: time to listen to the Global South

CELS joined organizations from Asia, Africa and Latin America to contribute our regional perspectives to the 54th session of the Human Rights Council.

During the week of September 18 in Geneva, we led a training and debate workshop to strengthen civil society organizations from the Global South in their capacity to actively engage in discussions on drug-related issues within the mechanisms of the United Nations. This initiative took place within the 54th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, in collaboration with six organizations from Latin America, five from Asia and one from Africa.

Within this framework, we also carried out advocacy actions: presenting a joint statement calling for States to shift their focus in drug policies towards an approach centered on the protection of human rights. Additionally, we organized a parallel event to address the impact of policies associated with the “war on drugs” model on the Global South. In collaboration with Disentir, PosFoundation, and Street Law Philippines, we highlighted the grave situations involving executions, disappearances, and arbitrary detentions triggered by drug policies in Mexico, Ghana, and the Philippines.