55 th - SESSION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL: DRUG POLICY

PRESENTATION OF ANNUAL REPORT ON COLOMBIA During the presentation of the High Commissioner’s annual report on the situation of human rights in Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras, the High Commissioner, Volker Türk, welcomed the adoption of Colombia’s key policies as part of its post-conflict peacebuilding process, which includes a new drug policy which integrates the International Guidelines on Huma. [...] The oral update reflected the report’s main findings regarding the impacts of drug policies and the human rights situation in the country, including the peasant’s concerns about the insufficient implementation of the National Program for the Substitution of Illicit Crops and its impact on the livelihoods of rural families. [...] The delegation highlighted the “vital” importance of the new domestic drug policy for peacebuilding and to counter act criminality; stressing that “it will have a human rights-based approach and will seek to protect and ensure the rights of persons and communities who have seen their rights violated as a result of the war against drugs and at the same time the aim of this policy is to hold the tru. [...] He also highlighted the main findings of the report, including the impact of drug policy on the use of the death penalty, overincarceration, and compulsory treatment, while reaffirming the need for evidence-based and gender-sensitive approaches to harm reduction and broader efforts to end racial and gender discrimination in policing and criminal justice system. [...] After the panellists’ presentations, HRI welcomed the OHCHR’s report, highlighting the negative impacts of drug policy on the increasing use of the death penalty, and the need for States to divest from punitive responses and invest in rights in rights-based policies that put people first, including harm reduction.