5 December 2022

Drug Policy Consortium for the General Comment on the Impact of Drug Policies on ESCR

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In October 2022, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) decided to initiate work on a new General comment on the “impacts of drug policies on economic, social and cultural rights.” Considering the CESCR’s initiative on a new General Comment, a group of organisations convened in 2022 and created the Drug Policy Consortium for the General Comment on the Impact of Drug Policies on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, (The Consortium) to create a joint advocacy strategy to influence the process of the General Comment and to guarantee that international and national organisations, advocates, people who use drugs, and growers and other relevant stakeholders participate actively and directly in the process. The organisations members of the Consortium are Dejusticia, Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA), Harm Reduction International (HRI), Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR), International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), International Network of People Who Use Drugs (INPUD), Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Masyrakat (LBHM), TB/HIV Care and VisoMutop.

WHAT IS A GENERAL COMMENT?

“General comments” are authoritative interpretations by treaty bodies of thematic issues or provisions of human rights treaties – in this case, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which is one of the core international human rights treaties and has been ratified by 171 countries.

The aim of general comments is to clarify the duties of countries that have ratified the treaties with respect to specific provisions, in this way helping State parties better implement the rights enshrined in the treaties. For civil society, a general comment is a powerful tool to advocate for reform and hold authorities accountable.

HOW WILL THE COMMENT BE DRAFTED?

Each Committee sets up the process for drafting a General Comment, and no official timeline has been published yet for the discussion of this particular one. Based on CESCR practice, the drafting process for this new Comment is expected to include the following steps, although specific times and elements of the process can change:

  • Selection of Committee drafting group / Rapporteur(s) by CESCR;
  • Call for written inputs on the situation of human rights impact to drug policies, topics or issues to be covered by the Comment, and any other relevant information;
  • Development of a CESCR Working Paper as the basis for discussing the content of the Comment;
  • Regional and/or global consultations with communities and civil society, experts, and academia;
  • Publication of a first draft of the Comment;
  • Day of General Discussion. These Days normally include panel discussions on specific themes and/or questions and are preceded by written contributions;
  • In-depth discussion of the text and potential call for written inputs on the first draft;
  • Publication of revised draft;
  • Call for written contributions, and possibly more consultations, on the revised draft;
  • Publication of a second revised draft;
  • Deliberation and adoption by the Committee.
    It is our understanding that the General Comment would likely be finalised by the end of 2024, subject to confirmation by the CESCR Secretariat.

WHICH TOPICS MAY BE COVERED?

The Comment can cover a broad spectrum of issues related to the rights recognised in ICESCR, as applicable to drug policies. By participating in consultations and submitting information, civil society can suggest topics, themes, or specific angles that the Comment should cover. Below are some examples of relevant issues- further elaborated upon in the briefing – and more can be found in the International Guidelines on Human Rights and Drug Policy and UN Common Position on Drug Policy:

examples of relevant issues

  • Non-discrimination and equality;
  • Participation, consultation, and transparency;
  • Right to social security;
  • Right to an adequate standard of living;
  • Right to and at work;
  • Right to housing;
  • Right to health;
  • Right to education;
  • The protection of cultural practices involving controlled substances; and
  • Thematic issues such as drug control and environmental justice/right to a safe and healthy environment, impacts of drug policies on women, children, and people discriminated against based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, international cooperation in drug control and responsibilities of non-state actors, drug policies and the realisation of the SDGs, impact of drug law enforcement and drug-related detention on economic, social and cultural rights, State obligations to protect ESC rights where drug markets have been regulated, the role of community-led networks in the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights for people who use drugs.

How civil society can engage with the CESCR and the Drug Policy Consortium during the process?

People who use drugs, growers, national and international organisations and all relevant actors can engage directly with the CESCR by providing inputs on relevant topics for the General Comments and participating in regional and global consultations.

In turn, the Consortium will be developing a range of activities to improve capacity building and encourage the meaningful participation of all relevant members of civil society in the process. If you want to know more about the process of the General Comment or participate in the Consortium’s activities, you can contact us directly:

  • HRI, key contact: Ajeng Larasati, ajeng.larasati@hri.global
  • IDPC, key contact: Adria Cots Fernandez, acotsfernandez@idpc.net
  • INPUD, key contact: Annie Madden, anniemadden@inpud.net

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