On Friday, 8 July 2022, the Human Rights Council concluded its 50th Session (13 June – 8 July 2022) in which drug control and its impact on human rights were considered through different dialogues and resources.

This briefing includes a summary of key debates, decisions and documents regarding human rights and drugs-related issues. Including:

• In his report on the protection of lawyers against undue interference in the free and independent exercise of the legal profession, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers condemned impunity for attacks against legal professionals in the context of the anti-drug campaign in the Philippines.
• The use of the death penalty for drug-related offences was addressed in at least four reports. The High Commissioner celebrated Malaysia’s plan to abolish the mandatory death penalty for drug offences, while expressing her concern regarding the increasing use of the death penalty for non-violent and drug- related offences in some countries such as Iran and Singapore, urging “all States that have not abolished it [the death penalty] yet to join the global trend towards abolition and fully respect the right to life”.