War on Drugs 'Is an Unmitigated Disaster': Former Latin American Heads of State
Former leaders write in op-ed that solution must include decriminalization and promote 'the health and welfare of humanity'
"The 'war on drugs' is an unmitigated disaster."
That's the resounding judgement of three former Latin American heads of state who write in an op-ed published Friday in the Los Angeles Times that the best way to approach the problem is one that puts health and human rights first.
Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former president of Brazil, Cesar Gaviria, former president of Colombia, and Ernesto Zedillo, former president of Mexico, describe how an upcoming special session of the UN General Assembly (UNGASS) on global drug policy already appears to be a missed, historic opportunity.
A draft declaration crafted to be adopted by UNGA members at the April 19 meet ignores the "comprehensive failure of the current drug control system to reduce supply or demand" and "perpetuates the criminalization of producers and consumers."
Further, the group behind the declaration, the U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs, refused input during the negotiation process from stakeholders and experts including civil society groups, the three men charge, rendering negotiations "neither transparent nor inclusive."
A better solution for member states to pursue, they write, is one "that actually promotes the health and welfare of humanity," stops "the criminalization and incarceration of drug users," and ends the "medieval practice" of death penalty for drug-related crimes.
The World Health Organization must also be allowed "to review the scheduling system of drugs on the basis of science, not ideology." In addition, governments must control and regulate drugs, they write, and point to successes that approach brought to Portugal and Uruguay.
Cardoso is also the chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy (GCDP), a five-year old group whose members include former UN head Kofi Annan, other former heads of state, human rights experts, and renowned authors, which has previously described the failures of the war on drugs.
The GCDP, whose members also include Gaviria and Zedillo, issued a statement Friday outlining the same concerns regarding the "disappointing" process leading up to the special session.
The "opportunity to achieve more humane and effective drug policy [at the upcoming UNGASS] is at risk," the statement reads, adding that the outcome document has "no recognition of the failures of the present system to reduce supply and demand."
But hope is still possible from the meeting, it states, "if heads of state lay the foundations for a more effective global drug control system that puts peoples' lives and dignity first."
As Ivan Simonovic, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, put it last month: "People do not lose their human rights because they use drugs."
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just four days to go in our Spring Campaign, we are not even halfway to our goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
"The 'war on drugs' is an unmitigated disaster."
That's the resounding judgement of three former Latin American heads of state who write in an op-ed published Friday in the Los Angeles Times that the best way to approach the problem is one that puts health and human rights first.
Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former president of Brazil, Cesar Gaviria, former president of Colombia, and Ernesto Zedillo, former president of Mexico, describe how an upcoming special session of the UN General Assembly (UNGASS) on global drug policy already appears to be a missed, historic opportunity.
A draft declaration crafted to be adopted by UNGA members at the April 19 meet ignores the "comprehensive failure of the current drug control system to reduce supply or demand" and "perpetuates the criminalization of producers and consumers."
Further, the group behind the declaration, the U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs, refused input during the negotiation process from stakeholders and experts including civil society groups, the three men charge, rendering negotiations "neither transparent nor inclusive."
A better solution for member states to pursue, they write, is one "that actually promotes the health and welfare of humanity," stops "the criminalization and incarceration of drug users," and ends the "medieval practice" of death penalty for drug-related crimes.
The World Health Organization must also be allowed "to review the scheduling system of drugs on the basis of science, not ideology." In addition, governments must control and regulate drugs, they write, and point to successes that approach brought to Portugal and Uruguay.
Cardoso is also the chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy (GCDP), a five-year old group whose members include former UN head Kofi Annan, other former heads of state, human rights experts, and renowned authors, which has previously described the failures of the war on drugs.
The GCDP, whose members also include Gaviria and Zedillo, issued a statement Friday outlining the same concerns regarding the "disappointing" process leading up to the special session.
The "opportunity to achieve more humane and effective drug policy [at the upcoming UNGASS] is at risk," the statement reads, adding that the outcome document has "no recognition of the failures of the present system to reduce supply and demand."
But hope is still possible from the meeting, it states, "if heads of state lay the foundations for a more effective global drug control system that puts peoples' lives and dignity first."
As Ivan Simonovic, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, put it last month: "People do not lose their human rights because they use drugs."
"The 'war on drugs' is an unmitigated disaster."
That's the resounding judgement of three former Latin American heads of state who write in an op-ed published Friday in the Los Angeles Times that the best way to approach the problem is one that puts health and human rights first.
Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former president of Brazil, Cesar Gaviria, former president of Colombia, and Ernesto Zedillo, former president of Mexico, describe how an upcoming special session of the UN General Assembly (UNGASS) on global drug policy already appears to be a missed, historic opportunity.
A draft declaration crafted to be adopted by UNGA members at the April 19 meet ignores the "comprehensive failure of the current drug control system to reduce supply or demand" and "perpetuates the criminalization of producers and consumers."
Further, the group behind the declaration, the U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs, refused input during the negotiation process from stakeholders and experts including civil society groups, the three men charge, rendering negotiations "neither transparent nor inclusive."
A better solution for member states to pursue, they write, is one "that actually promotes the health and welfare of humanity," stops "the criminalization and incarceration of drug users," and ends the "medieval practice" of death penalty for drug-related crimes.
The World Health Organization must also be allowed "to review the scheduling system of drugs on the basis of science, not ideology." In addition, governments must control and regulate drugs, they write, and point to successes that approach brought to Portugal and Uruguay.
Cardoso is also the chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy (GCDP), a five-year old group whose members include former UN head Kofi Annan, other former heads of state, human rights experts, and renowned authors, which has previously described the failures of the war on drugs.
The GCDP, whose members also include Gaviria and Zedillo, issued a statement Friday outlining the same concerns regarding the "disappointing" process leading up to the special session.
The "opportunity to achieve more humane and effective drug policy [at the upcoming UNGASS] is at risk," the statement reads, adding that the outcome document has "no recognition of the failures of the present system to reduce supply and demand."
But hope is still possible from the meeting, it states, "if heads of state lay the foundations for a more effective global drug control system that puts peoples' lives and dignity first."
As Ivan Simonovic, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, put it last month: "People do not lose their human rights because they use drugs."