#CND69 EVENT – From punishment: Grassroots organising for drug policies that support communities

Organised by the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) and the Support Don’t Punish campaign with the European Network of People who Use Drugs (EuroNPUD), Manas, Mujeres Libres, Skoun, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, UNAIDS. the Robert Carr Fund and the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Across regions, governments increasingly recognise that punitive drug policies have not delivered on their intended objectives. Evidence consistently shows that criminalisation fuels preventable health harms, contributes to overcrowded prisons, and drives egregious human rights violations. At the same time, grassroots and community-led responses — often developed and delivered by those most directly affected — demonstrate measurable impact: improving access to services, reducing stigma, strengthening local resilience, and facilitating constructive engagement between authorities and affected populations.

This side event highlights insights from these efforts, drawing on the experiences of the Support. Don’t Punish campaign — a global initiative for human rights-based drug policy reform that has connected and resourced hundreds of civil society organisations and community groups across more than 120 countries. These experiences are reflected in Human Rights Council resolution 60/26 on the human rights implications of drug policy, which emphasises the important contribution of civil society and affected communities to the development, implementation and evaluation of drug policies, and calls on States and UN entities to engage with them meaningfully in a safe and enabling environment. Furthermore, these are also included in the International Guidelines on Human Rights and Drug policy.

The discussion is further informed by the recent multi-stakeholder consultation on civil society participation in drug policy, which documented both the indispensable role of community-led responses in health, harm reduction and rights protection, and the growing challenges faced by civil society actors, including shrinking civic space, funding constraints and risks of intimidation. The consultation underscored that participation is not ancillary, but a prerequisite for effective, evidence-based and rights-affirming drug policy.

Building on these normative commitments, lived experiences and campaigning efforts, speakers will explore how strategic organising, advocacy and narrative change — led by communities and supported by international human rights standards — have contributed to policy openings in diverse contexts. 

The event will offer practical lessons for policymakers, UN officials and civil society on what meaningful participation looks like in practice, and why protecting civic space and community leadership is essential to advancing rights-affirming drug policies.

Speakers: