The UNGASS decade in review: Gaps, achievements and paths for reform IDPC assesses the state of play in global drug policy, reflecting on areas of progress while highlighting new and ongoing challenges, and concluding with recommendations for the future of international drug policy.

Only 6% of needed #HarmReduction funding is available in low- and middle-income countries.

Then the US shut down PEPFAR.

'We know the money is there. It's just going to the wrong place' — @HRI_news
#WorldHealthDay

Read the report:

CND 69 and drug policy reform: Unpacking key implications Join us for a webinar reflecting on key developments from this year’s CND session and their implications for the future of global drug policy reform.

*STARTING IN ONE HOUR*
After a fractured #CND69, what's next for global drug policy?

We unpack the politics, progress, and pushback shaping reform.

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CND 69 and drug policy reform: Unpacking key implications Join us for a webinar reflecting on key developments from this year’s CND session and their implications for the future of global drug policy reform.

The #CND69 showed a drug control system in transition.

Join us in unpacking the session and its implications for the future of #DrugPolicy reform.

TOMORROW, 31 Mar. | 13:00–14:30 (London)

REGISTER HERE:

“I’m incredibly proud of what we built” — Ann Fordham on Leaving IDPC After 17 Years After 15 years at the helm of the International Drug Policy Consortium, Ann Fordham is stepping down as Executive Director. Under her leadership, IDPC has gr...

Over the past couple of decades, civil society has moved from the sidelines to shaping #DrugPolicy at the UN.

RRF sat with our outgoing ED, @annfordham.bsky.social to reflect on 17 years of progress — and why it needs defending.

Watch & share:

69th Session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (#CND69) – CND Blog Index - CND Blog Below, the CND Blog offers an Index of the real-time non-literal blogging material captured during the 69th UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs. Please note the timings are mostly based on the official Programme, and may not perfectly coincide with the timings of the actual proceedings. INDEX Plenary Committee of the Whole Informal Dialogues Plenary Opening …

Missed key moments from #CND69?

We’ve compiled a full index of the #CNDBlog—covering Plenary debates, Committee of the Whole negotiations, and informal NGO dialogues with UN officials.

Catch up on this important session 👇

Erythroxylum coca: Los confundidos – A documentary amplifying indigenous voices on coca policy TNI centres Indigenous and peasant voices from across the Andes, challenging the continued international control of the coca leaf.

🌱 The coca leaf is not just a crop, but part of the identity, culture and territory of many communities across the Andean-Amazonian region.

This documentary centres those voices to challenge global drug policies made without their meaningful participation.

WATCH:

At #CND69, shifting US positions on #HarmReduction signalled a broader change in global drug policy dynamics.

IDPC ED, @annfordham.bsky.social, reflects: https://bit.ly/4bCCjYu

Stubborn progress in a fractured system: Reflections on a CND in transition In her final CND as IDPC ED, Ann Fordham reflects on a historic shift: the recognition of harm reduction in UN drug policy debates, amid rising geopolitical tensions, fractured consensus, and a multilateral system under strain.

'Progress has been uneven, often hard-won, and never guaranteed — but it matters.'

At #CND69, #HarmReduction gained ground amidst contestation and deep geopolitical fractures.

@annfordham.bsky.social reflects on her final CND as IDPC Executive Director 👇

Amended graph with corrections on the last 2 years of the 'key dates'!

From #CND69: A once-in-a-generation opportunity for global drug policy reform is underway.

The newly constituted independent expert panel reviewing the international drug control system could reshape responses towards health, human rights and evidence.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/3OWXZab

A decade after UNGASS: progress and unfulfilled promises - IDPC statement at #CND69 IDPC reflected on progress since the 2016 UNGASS while warning that many promises remain unmet, calling for urgent reforms to prioritise rights, health, and community participation.

A decade after the #UNGASS2016, many promises remain far from fulfilled.

At #CND69, IDPC calls for urgent reforms to align global drug policy with human rights, public health, and the meaningful participation of affected communities.

At #CND69, govs rejected US attempts to strip the proceedings from addressing the #2030Agenda.

The (unprecedented) early vote signals support for global drug policy debates to be rooted in rights and development.

More on the #CNDBlog:
cndblog.org/2026/03/plenary-monday-m...

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Starting in an hour at #CND69:

Human Rights Implication of Drug Policy: Prevention, Effective Remedies and Accountability

🕐 16:30–17:30
📍 M3

Access link:

Starting in an hour at #CND69:

Nordic Mobilization on Human Rights and Drug Policy – Exploring Shared Nordic Values as a Foundation for Human Rights-Based, Inclusive and Sustainable Drug Policy

🕐 15:00–16:30
📍 M3 (In-person)

Starting in an hour at #CND69:

A Decade of Drug Policy and Human Rights: Gaps, Achievements and Paths Forward
📍 Mozart Room

The Next Generation of Care: Youth-Centered Innovations to Renew and Strengthen Health Systems
📍 M7

#UNGASS2026 coincided with real gains in harm reduction — but our most recent report shows how quickly these can be undone under authoritarian rule.

'The UNGASS decade in review' explores how to future-proof international drug policy: http://bit.ly/idpc-ungass-10y

CND 69: Key issues and opportunities The webinar will discuss the key issues that are likely to structure the debates, including in relation to tabled resolutions, and present how IDPC member organisations have used this forum for their advocacy.

#CND69 starts next Monday.

The era of quiet consensus in Vienna is far gone, with geopolitics bleeding into drug policy debates.

The outcome of those five days in Vienna will shape funding, laws and policies.

Our webinar unpacks it for civil society:

Conflict and displacement have tested drug policy frameworks in ways the #UNGASS2016 could not have anticipated.

'The UNGASS Decade in Review' documents how #HarmReduction groups saved lives while formal responses lagged.

Read now: http://bit.ly/idpc-ungass-10y

CND 69: Key issues and opportunities The webinar will discuss the key issues that are likely to structure the debates, including in relation to tabled resolutions, and present how IDPC member organisations have used this forum for their advocacy.

#CND69 is around the corner & we don't expect business-as-usual:

- Consensus is broken.
- Blocs for/against reform are in flux.
- Pressures on multilateralism loom in the background.

Our webinar unpacks this for #DrugPolicyReform advocacy:

Despite #UNGASS2016 commitments, policing practices remain driven by seizures and arrest targets.

'The UNGASS Decade in Review' shows how these dynamics deepen inequality and mistrust, potentiating harm.

Read more: http://bit.ly/idpc-ungass-10y

CND 69: Key issues and opportunities The webinar will discuss the key issues that are likely to structure the debates, including in relation to tabled resolutions, and present how IDPC member organisations have used this forum for their advocacy.

#CND69 is days away.

The 'consensus' at the heart of global drug control has cracked.

The blocs for & against rights-based reform are in flux.

Our prep webinar — with IDPC member orgs — gives you context & resources to better navigate the meeting:

Call for inputs: OHCHR report on the impact of drug policies on the rights of women and girls The report will address human rights challenges and gender-responsive approaches in law and practice, and contributions are received by 31 March.

Drug policies compound discrimination. Women and girls — especially those criminalised, racialised, or living in poverty — face layered harms under punitive systems.

The UN human rights office is seeking evidence and good practices.

Submit contributions by 31:

CND 69: Key issues and opportunities The webinar will discuss the key issues that are likely to structure the debates, including in relation to tabled resolutions, and present how IDPC member organisations have used this forum for their advocacy.

📣 Starting tomorrow at 14:00 GMT 📣

Our pre-#CND69 webinar gives you a sneak peek into the session's debates and civil society entry points — don’t miss it!

🌍 EN / FR / ES | 💻 Zoom
📍 Register:

While reporting on a promising expansion of regulatory efforts, 'The UNGASS Decade in Review' also critically assesses how reform without equity can reproduce old harms.

Responsible regulation requires meaningful community engagement.

Read on: http://bit.ly/idpc-ungass-10y

'The UNGASS Decade in Review' traces how the global drug control regime is unfit to respond to changing drug markets and risks, leaving states and communities with a fatally flawed toolbox to adequately respond.

Read on: http://bit.ly/idpc-ungass-10y

CND 69: Key issues and opportunities The webinar will discuss the key issues that are likely to structure the debates, including in relation to tabled resolutions, and present how IDPC member organisations have used this forum for their advocacy.

📣 One week to go! 📣

CND 69: Key issues and opportunities offers a strategic preview of the state of the debates and civil society entry points ahead of #CND69.

🗓 Wed, 25 Feb
🕑 14:00 GMT
🌍 EN / FR / ES

📍 Register:

'The UNGASS Decade in Review' demonstrates how this moment marked a shift in the recognition of community experts — but acknowledgement does not always translate into influence.

Our latest report critically assesses this gap. Read on: http://bit.ly/idpc-ungass-10y

Call for inputs: OHCHR report on the impact of drug policies on the rights of women and girls The report will address human rights challenges and gender-responsive approaches in law and practice.

The '#WarOnDrugs' is not gender-neutral — it is deeply patriarchal. From punitive policing to child kidnappings by the state, women and girls pay a disproportionate price.

OHCHR drafts a report on these impacts & promising avenues forward.

Share inputs by 31 Mar.:

'The UNGASS Decade in Review' shows the #UNGASS2016 failed to halt extreme violence in the name of drug control. Human rights safeguards are often treated as optional — rarely enforced. 

More on the evidence & need for change: http://bit.ly/idpc-ungass-10y

The #UNGASS2016 highlighted the power of rights-based approaches to #DrugPolicy.

'The UNGASS Decade in Review' examines the positive outcomes of moving in this direction, as well as limitations in scale-up.

Evidence, community insights & more: http://bit.ly/idpc-ungass-10y