INCB on gov’t anti-drug ops: Comply with human rights

The UN-backed board published a study on March 1 that found only one in six people in need of treatment globally has an access to these services. (Photo: United Nations)

The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) of the United Nations (UN) emphasized the need for all governments to prioritize human rights in its anti-illegal drug operations.

“INCB once again calls on countries to ensure that any drug control measures are in full compliance with international human rights standards and norms,” the board stressed in its report.

“This includes protecting and guaranteeing the rights to health, the rights of alleged drug offenders, and drug users and ensuring proportional responses in dealing with drug offences, including the death penalty for drug-related offences,” it added.

The board published a study on March 1 that found only one in six people in need of treatment globally has an access to these services.

“Our report shows that treatment of drug dependence is highly cost-effective and, most importantly, treatment of drug dependence should be seen as part of the ‘right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health,’ and as such, an element of the right to health,” President of INCB Viroj Sumyai said in a message included in the report.

INCB then emphasized that the use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances is limited to medicinal and scientific purposes.

“All other uses are incompatible with the international drug control legal framework, and the Board calls upon all States to respect their legal obligations in this regard,” it added.

Furthermore, INCB said that the effectivity of drug control is highly anchored in the protection of human rights.

“The Board has repeatedly stressed the importance of respecting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms as part of the effective implementation of the international drug control treaties. INCB continues to emphasize that for drug control action to be successful and sustainable, it must be consistent with international human rights standards,” it said in its report.

The INCB is an independent quasi-judicial body which monitors the implementation of three of UN’s international drug control conventions namely: Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, 1925 International Opium Convention, and the 1931 Convention for Limiting the Manufacture and Regulating the Distribution of Narcotic Drugs.