In 2019, member states reaffirmed their commitment to promoting human rights and dignity in drug policies. Seven years on, that promise remains largely unfulfilled. Punitive responses to drugs continue to dominate, rights protections are being eroded, and international cooperation is under strain.

Harm reduction has been endorsed by the entire UN system – including this forum – as an essential component of health- and rights-based drug policies. Yet, implementation remains elusive. By the end of 2025, Harm Reduction International documented a modest global expansion, with 112 countries in diverse contexts endorsing these approaches. Yet, deep regional disparities persist, and in many places, availability, accessibility and quality fall far short. Stigma, discrimination and criminalisation act as almost insurmountable barriers to access, particularly for women, racial and ethnic minorities, and other marginalised groups.

The situation is even more dire in prisons. People who use drugs are overrepresented due to criminalisation, but services are almost entirely absent. Where they do exist, they are underfunded, difficult to access, and unevenly distributed.

At the same time, the global funding landscape is rapidly deteriorating. Harm reduction funding is now critically fragile. The double hit of funding cuts and the Global Fund replenishment shortfall, combined with minimal domestic financing, has pushed harm reduction programmes to breaking point and stripped away critical human rights and gender work, community-led interventions and advocacy. In this context, the push for rapid integration of harm reduction into primary health care is not a pathway to sustainability – it is an equity risk.

Equally alarming, the death penalty remains a core feature of punitive drug policies. HRI reports over 1200 drug-related executions in 2025 – the highest number in 20 years; with drug offences accounting for nearly half of all executions globally. Against these developments, the silence of CND and UNODC sends a dangerous message: that human rights can be set aside, when politically inconvenient.

These challenges point to deep structural shortcomings in the global drug control system.

We therefore welcome the establishment of the Independent expert panel and urge it to:

– Examine the use of the death penalty

– Assess health and social outcomes for people who use drugs; and

– Interrogate patterns of international cooperation and financing

We emphasise the importance of meaningful participation of civil society, people who use drugs and affected communities in the implementation of the Panel’s mandate.

More just and effective drug policies are within reach, but only if we place people who use drugs at the centre, divest from extreme and ineffective policies, and invest in harm reduction and other social justice interventions. We have the tools and the evidence required – what we need is political will.

Thank you.

This statement was delivered by Catherine Cook, Acting Executive Director of Harm Reduction International.