The Human Rights Implications of Drug Policy

A/HRC/RES/60/26View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A document of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2025.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Programme 20	Human rights	433
	Subprogramme 1	Human rights mainstreaming, right to development, and research and analysis	108

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Programme 20	Human rights	433	—
	Subprogramme 1	Human rights mainstreaming, right to development, and research and analysis	108	—

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

What subjects does this mandate have?

7 subjects

Administration of Justice Anti-Discrimination Measures Drug Control Drug Dependence Drug Policy Human Rights Women's Rights

What’s in this document?

13 operative paragraphs

Reaffirms the commitment made by the General Assembly to respecting, protecting and promoting all human rights, fundamental freedoms and the inherent dignity of all individuals and the rule of law in the development and implementation of drug policies, to taking the steps necessary to implement the operational recommendations contained in the outcome document of the thirtieth special session of the General Assembly, entitled “Our joint commitment to effectively addressing and countering the world drug problem”, in close partnership with the United Nations and other intergovernmental organizations and civil society, and to sharing with the Commission on Narcotic Drugs timely information on progress made in the implementation of those recommendations, and also reaffirms the Ministerial Declaration on Strengthening Our Actions at the National, Regional and International Levels to Accelerate the Implementation of Our Joint Commitments to Address and Counter the World Drug Problem;

Takes note of the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on human rights challenges in addressing and countering all aspects of the world drug problem,³ the reports of the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health on drug use, harm reduction and the right to health⁴ and on harm reduction for sustainable peace and development,⁵ and the study of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention relating to drug policies,⁶ and encourages States to consider the conclusions and recommendations contained therein;

³A/HRC/54/53.

⁴A/HRC/56/52.

⁵A/79/177.

⁶A/HRC/47/40.

Calls upon all States Members of the United Nations to consider alternatives to incarceration, conviction and punishment, where appropriate and in accordance with the three international drug control conventions, noting that, in appropriate cases of a minor nature, States may provide, as alternatives to conviction and punishment, measures such as education, rehabilitation and social integration, as well as, when the offender has a drug use disorder, treatment and aftercare, as well as support for recovery;

Encourages States to ensure that measures to prevent the illicit cultivation of and to eradicate plants containing narcotic and psychotropic substances respect human rights, take due account of traditional licit uses, where there is historical evidence of such use, and of the protection of the environment, in accordance with international law, including the three international drug control conventions, and also take into account, as appropriate and in accordance with domestic law, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;

Calls upon States to mainstream a gender perspective into and ensure the involvement of women in all stages of the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of drug policies and programmes, and to develop and disseminate gender-sensitive and age-appropriate measures that take into account the specific needs and circumstances faced by women and girls with regard to all aspects of the world drug problem, bearing in mind that targeted interventions that are based on the collection and analysis of data, including data disaggregated by age, gender and disability, can be particularly effective in meeting the specific needs of persons in vulnerable situations;

Also calls upon States to adapt their drug policies to address the specific needs of women, including pregnant and postpartum women, children, young persons, older persons and national or ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, people of African descent and other persons in vulnerable situations;

Recalls article 24 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which states that Indigenous Peoples have the right to their traditional medicines and to maintain their health practices, and that Indigenous individuals have the right to access, without discrimination, to all social and health services, and an equal right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, as well as article 18 of the said Declaration, which states that Indigenous Peoples have the right to participate in decision-making in matters which would affect their rights;

Emphasizes the important contribution that civil society and affected communities make to the development, implementation and evaluation of drug policies, including through advocacy and awareness-raising and the sharing of expertise and knowledge, and encourages States, United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, international and regional organizations, national human rights institutions and other relevant stakeholders in that regard to involve and engage meaningfully with civil society and affected communities in their efforts to address all aspects of the world drug problem, and create and maintain a safe and enabling environment to ensure that they can operate free from hindrance, insecurity and reprisals and can exercise the rights to freedom of expression and association and to peaceful assembly;

Urges States to adopt a systemic approach to preventing and eliminating racial discrimination at all stages of the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of drug policies and programmes;

Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare a report, in consultation with States, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and other relevant United Nations agencies, civil society and other relevant stakeholders, on human rights challenges in addressing and countering all aspects of the world drug problem, in particular on the impact of drug policies on the rights of women and girls, and to present it to the Council at its sixty-third session, also in an accessible format, and also requests the Office of the High Commissioner to share the report with the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the policymaking body of the United Nations with prime responsibility for drug control and other drug-related matters, through the appropriate channels, with a view to strengthening system-wide coherence and the exchange of best practices;

Decides to convene an intersessional panel discussion before its sixty-fourth session, in an accessible format, on human rights challenges in addressing and countering all aspects of the world drug problem, informed by the findings contained in the report prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner, to have a constructive and inclusive dialogue on this issue with relevant stakeholders, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and specialized United Nations agencies, civil society and affected populations and with the participation of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, requests the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare a report, in consultation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, on the panel discussion in the form of a summary and to present that report to the Human Rights Council at its sixty-sixth session, and also requests the Office of the High Commissioner to share the report with the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the policymaking body of the United Nations with prime responsibility for drug control and other drug-related matters, through the appropriate channels, with a view to strengthening system-wide coherence and the exchange of best practices;

Encourages the relevant mechanisms of the Human Rights Council to consider, within their respective mandates, the issue of the human rights implications of drug policies, and encourages the Office of the High Commissioner and relevant international human rights mechanisms to continue, within their respective mandates, to share their contribution to addressing the human rights implications of drug policies with the Commission on Narcotic Drugs through the appropriate channels;

Decides to remain seized of the matter.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

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What’s in this document?

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Who cites this mandate in the budget?