HRW calls for the decriminalisation of the personal use of drugs in the Americas

National drug control policies that impose criminal penalties for personal drug use undermine basic human rights, Human Rights Watch said this 4th of June. To deter harmful drug use, governments should rely instead on non-penal regulatory and public health policies.

Governments should also take steps to reduce the human rights costs of current drug production and distribution policies. Among the steps should be reforming law enforcement practices and exploring alternatives for legal regulation that would reduce the power of violent criminal groups.

International drug conventions should be interpreted and, where necessary, revised to ensure that they do not prohibit or discourage governments from adopting policies that would enable them to reduce the human rights costs of current policies, Human Rights Watch said.

Human Rights Watch launched its statement in the context of the 43rd General Assembly of the Organization of American States, taking place in Antigua, Guatemala from June 4 to 6, 2013, that focus on drug control policy in the Americas.

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