From the IDPC website>>>
At the first day of the high-level segment of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), which took place in Vienna on 14th and 15th March 2024, a coalition of 60 countries led by Colombia took the floor at the opening of the event to call for the reform of the international drug control system, which has remained unchanged since the height of the “war on drugs”. The joint statement sounded the alarm on the catastrophic consequences of punitive drug policies, which fuel violence, corruption and environmental devastation, whilst undermining health, development and human rights.
The joint statement was preceded by a strong intervention by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who described the current international system as “anachronistic and indolent”, and by an address by the United Nations own human rights chief, Volker Türk, urging “transformative change in global drug policy”.
This unprecedented call for global reform is the result of heightened frustrations over the current state of global drug policy. Despite overwhelming evidence on the devastation brought about by “war on drugs” policies, UN drug control bodies have refused to conduct a meaningful evaluation of the current approach. As a result, the UN summit started with the adoption of a weak politically negotiated document that mainly recycles commitments from the past decade – mostly because of the outdated tradition of adopting all UN political documents on drugs by consensus.
Joint statement, delivered by Colombia on behalf of 60 countries, among which are all 10 UN member states from South East Europe, is available following this link>>>.