Iranian authorities have executed at least 173 people convicted of drug-related offences this year after systematically unfair trials, nearly three times more than this time last year, Amnesty International said today.

Executions for drug-related offences make up two thirds of all the executions carried out in Iran in the first five months of 2023 and have predominantly impacted people from marginalized and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Members of Iran’s persecuted and impoverished Baluchi ethnic minority account for around 20 per cent of the recorded executions despite making up only five per cent of Iran’s population.

“The shameless rate at which the authorities are carrying out drug-related executions, in violation of international law, exposes their lack of humanity and flagrant disregard for the right to life. The international community must ensure that cooperation in anti-drug trafficking initiatives do not contribute, directly or indirectly, to the arbitrary deprivation of life and other human rights violations in Iran,” said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“States and intergovernmental bodies must condemn the Iranian authorities, in the strongest terms, for these arbitrary executions, call for an official moratorium on all executions, send representatives to visit prisoners sentenced to death, and seek attendance at trials involving capital crimes. Given the crisis of impunity for mass arbitrary executions, they must also urgently pursue meaningful pathways for accountability.”

This year, the authorities have also significantly increased the number of overall executions for all crimes, with at least 282 people executed in total so far in 2023 – this is nearly double the number of executions that were recorded at the beginning of June last year. If the authorities continue to carry out overall executions at this alarming pace, they could kill nearly a thousand prisoners by the end of this year.

Prisons turned into killing fields in Iran as drug-related executions almost triple this year

Many people – including me – used to think it is quite difficult to sell harm reduction to politicians as an alternative to punitive drug policies. Decision makers like to be presented with simple solutions to complex problems. Rather than dealing with underlying inequalities and trauma, they prefer to use policing as a cosmetic tool to “clean” the streets of “deviant” groups, such as homeless people, people who use drugs, and sex workers. We often see how politicians support aggressive law enforcement policies in office and become promoters of harm reduction only after retirement.

But there are some refreshing exceptions: people who become decision makers after they have been engaged in harm reduction activism for a long time, courageously leading the way to new progressive drug policies. One of them is Nanna W. Gotfredsen, the founder of Danish Street Lawyers, a harm reduction organisation that has been at the forefront of drug policy reform in Denmark for several decades. One day she decided it was time to try herself in the world of politics – without becoming a professional politician. She ran for the national parliamentary elections as a candidate of the Moderate Party, with a very honest campaign, and secured a seat as the representative of the capital, Copenhagen.

We met and interviewed Nanna at the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in Vienna in March 2023, a day after she made a very powerful speech at a side event on Scandinavian drug policies. We talked about how and why she decided to be an MP, why she does not identify as a politician, and how she can use her position to move drug policy reform forwards in Denmark.

An activist in parliament: An interview with Danish MP Nanna W. Gotfredsen

For the first time, regular and ongoing community drug-checking clinics are now available in Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin.

A drug user in his 20s, who lives in Wellington, is looking forward to visiting the new clinic. He prefers to get his drugs checked because he said it’s quite common for dealers to bulk out drugs with other substances in order to make more money.

"I was a little bit more relaxed knowing that what I was taking, what I spent my money on, isn't going to potentially kill me,” he said.

1720 drugs were checked to determine what was in them. A third of those were completely or partially different from what people thought they were

The new clinics, provided by the Needle Exchange Services Trust, are part of a nearly four-million-dollar government investment towards the cost of delivering drug-checking services and harm reduction advice.

Regular drug checking clinics now open in three cities of New Zealand / Aotearoa

from David Mansfield, the leading expert in the field, suggests that the ban on opium threatened last year by the Taliban has come to pass, and there is an estimated 80%+ reduction in Afghan opium production - which supplies some 95% of the European heroin market.

What are the implications of this opium ban for Afghanistan and the region; for global opium and heroin production, and for UK policy?

We outline three possible scenarios that could come out of recent developments in Afghanistan and put forward proposals for preparedness and risk mitigation.

 Opium ban is sustained, production is displaced to other regions

 Opium ban is sustained, displaced production does not meet demand, and synthetic opioids (and other drugs) fill the market void

Taliban opium ban: What the future holds

“Drugs were a way to escape from reality. But because of it, I have faced a lot of discrimination,” said Yukusna Kurumbang. “After a while I had no one around me. No friends I could contact. I have my family but they do not trust me. I am trying to improve.”

There aren’t many resources at Ms. Kurumbang’s disposal. She’s fashioned her own path to recovery including volunteering with YKP Lead Nepal—a youth-led organisation.

“I’m investing in myself and others to escape drugs,” she explained. “I’m trying to control my mind.”

The organisation’s President, Rojal Maharajan, recalls the feeling of isolation he too faced while using: “It’s very humiliating—the gossiping and negative comments. My family also got sick and tired of me. Eventually I had no one to tell about my problems and my mental health status.”

He started his advocacy eight years ago after a successful rehabilitation stint.

“I wanted to do this work to make sure young people who use drugs are treated as human beings. They deserve to have a good life and better opportunities,” he said.

These deeply personal perspectives help YKP Lead Nepal respond to the addiction challenge facing Nepal’s youth. And it’s a complex challenge.

 of the human rights situation of people who use drugs in Nepal by the International Drug Policy Consortium, Recovering Nepal, YKP LEAD Nepal and Youth Rise International. It notes that the Narcotic Drugs Act criminalises not only drug possession, but addiction itself. According to a 2019 survey of people who use drugs, almost half had been arrested for drug use or a related offence. Among people who injected drugs the arrest rate shot up to 63%. 

Demanding more options for young people who use drugs in Nepal

“I first started taking drugs when I was 15,” says 49-year-old Prapat Sukkeaw. “I smoked marijuana, but it was laced with heroin. I felt like I was floating, and it meant that I could forget about all the problems that I faced as a teenager. It was a beautiful feeling.”

Prapat Sukkeaw is one of an estimated 57,000 people who currently injects drugs in Thailand. His drugs of choice, marijuana and heroin, reflect a period in Thailand’s recent history when both illegal narcotics were the main stimulants being trafficked out of the storied Golden Triangle, a remote and somewhat inaccessible region which includes northern Thailand as well as Myanmar and Laos.

Employed by a non-governmental organization (NGO), he has on occasion wanted to give up heroin due to pressure from family and friends. Now, he has recognized that, even if he admits to being addicted, taking drugs “is my preference and my right”. He has now started taking the synthetic drug methamphetamine, as heroin has become progressively more expensive.

His focus has moved from abstaining from drugs to living with the side effects and managing the potential harm of their prolonged use, for example by not sharing needles.

Like all Thai citizens, Mr. Sukkeaw has access to universal health care, but he found that as a person who uses drugs, he was stigmatized and discriminated against by health care workers. He was referred to Ozone, an NGO based in a suburb of the Thai capital, Bangkok.

Ozone’s goal is to reduce the health and social impacts of drug addiction, promoting abstinence, but also supporting clients who want to carry on using and ensuring that they have access to the health services they require.

Thailand: Moving from punishment to treatment of people who use drugs

Burundi has historically lacked any protection of the rights of people who use drugs. So much so, in fact, that when the Burundi Network of People who Use Drugs was set up, they were contacted by government agents to change their name to the Burundi Association of People who 

 People (BAPUD), as they are now known, to ensure they’re seen as dissuading people from using drugs. 

 was founded in 2017 as part of the East African HR-HIV sub-regional project, where the Burundian organisation 

 (Burundian Alliance against AIDS) helped direct funds to establish this network. Since then, BAPUD has been fighting to uphold the human rights of people who use(d) drugs, particularly by ensuring they have access to health interventions their population needs.

HIV remains a key threat for people who use drugs in Burundi. The American President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) found 

 that 1% of Burundian adults between the ages of 15-49 were HIV positive. Prevalence was higher among older age groups (2.1% among 50–54 year-olds), and particularly within female populations, that had higher (3.2%) rates than men (2.1%) within this age group. Prevalence was three times higher in urban than rural areas. A 

 found that around 10% of tested Burundians who inject drugs were HIV positive. This figure was replicated in the 

 which found 10.2% seroprevalence in identified hotspots in the capital in 2019.

Despite these rates, bringing harm reduction to the East African nation has been an uphill battle. As UNAIS reported on Burundi 

: “Drug use is widely criminalised and stigmatised and its complexities misunderstood.” This widely stems from the lack of national acknowledgement of injecting drug use, preventing evidence-based harm reduction interventions from getting public support.

“You can find 8 to 10 users for the same needle” a member of BAPUD told a Burundian news outlet in 

. This stark reality needed an immediate intervention, one that they took into their own hands.

“Because all harm reduction services are not allowed in Burundi, like MAT [Medication Assisted Treatment] programme, NSP [Needle and Syringe Programmes], BAPUD staff board took a dangerous decision to do a hidden NSP inside hotspots,” a BAPUD member told TalkingDrugs, on the condition of anonymity.

BAPUD staff began in February 2019 to educate six drug using peers to distribute syringes in Bujumbura, Burundi’s largest city, to 400 identified intravenous drug users. Beyond providing them with sterile equipment, they trained peers to educate others on the risks of sharing needles, to signpost people with skin infections to existing health services, and to connect new injecting users with HIV-related associations. This attests to BAPUD’s health-centred approach to drug use, stemming from their involvement with regional HIV alliances like the 

“Each drug user was given a syringe to be used during a short period like one month until the next day of distribution. We also taught them to sterilise needles before re-using. This was not a legal programme, to ensure that BAPUD was not exposed and then erased like other Burundian NGOs,” a member of BAPUD explained to TalkingDrugs.

“This programme had to be done just like drug dealers: during the night to escape all suspicious eyes. The injecting drug users were educated and told during the day that the peer educator will pass in certain hotspots to distribute syringes,” he added.

Funding for syringes was collected from the community, primarily BAPUD members with enough to contribute. However, the lack of external funding from public or private agencies meant that the programme ended after 10 months, in November 2019.

“They [people injecting drugs] appreciated the project, because as you know, nothing about us without us. They believed in us because we are the same.”

“Some of them still ask us to do it [restart the NSP] but we fear the repression. We could be jailed.”

Police harassment, extortion and imprisonment are common challenges to BAPUD’s work. Police will frequently come to drug using hotspots, and demand bribes in exchange for people’s freedom. Earlier this year, police was called to one of these hotspots, arresting several BAPUD members, including three peer educators, after a police officer claimed they had threatened to beat him. Two members remain in prison, unable to pay the fine of $30 USD for their release.

One of BAPUD’s largest concerns is that the lack of recognition of a worsening condition not just for people who use drugs, but other key populations as well. HIV prevalence rates have continued to spiral for key populations. The latest Annual Report on the National Fight Against AIDS (PNLS-IST) of 2021 [available for download below]

The lack of updated information on health indicators does not only apply to drug using populations. There is a general lack of evidence on other marginalised groups: the most recent study on HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men and sex workers was conducted 

, which estimated 4.8% and 21.3% prevalence, respectively.

Until then, BAPUD continues to support the growing population of injecting drug users, however they can. “If no advocacy like ours is done, drug users from Burundi will continue to be victims of the Government’s war on drugs.”

If you wish to get in touch with BAPUD, they are contactable through their

“During the night to escape all eyes”: Underground harm reduction in Burundi

Uganda, compared to its neighbouring countries, continues to have a harsh enforcement of drug prohibition. That is why news broke two weeks ago that the Controlled Substances Act was nullified, it reverberated across the international community.

This surprising decision came out after news in early May about a petition filed in 2017 by Wakiso Miraa Growers and Dealers Association Limited, a group of miraa (

) Ugandan cultivators. This petition sought to repeal the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Act of 2016, challenging that there had been a lack of quorum by Parliament during its passing, meaning that there had not been enough parliamentarians present during its vote to qualify as a constitutional decision.

Understandably, the news that a Drug Control Act had been repealed led to

 from some, claiming that the drugs it controlled were now, somehow, legal. But the Judiciary Court

, “the substances previously restricted under the National Drug Policy and Authority Act [2016] remain restricted… For now, it should be known that the Constitutional Court did not and has never legalised the use of the restricted drugs and/or substances under the impugned law.”

This is because the National Drug Policy and Authority Act of

 still remains in place; and while it is an antiquated document – still referring to cannabis as “Indian hemp” – that mostly served to implement the UN’s international control schedules in Uganda, it still prohibited the consumption, sale and production of controlled substances.

TalkingDrugs contacted Isaac Ssemakadde, a human rights lawyer that represented Wakiso, to understand the story behind the nullification, and what this means for drug control in Uganda. Behind the cannabis-focused headlines laid an incredulous story of political mishaps, erroneous enforcement of khat’s criminalisation, and the unjust arrest of hundreds of people using, growing and selling this plant across Uganda.

Uganda's cannabis news unveiled a deeper systemic injustice

Mexico’s president has been the first North American leader 

 the outright ban of the medical use of fentanyl, as relationships between his country and its northern neighbour sour through the handling of the overdose crisis.

The traffic of fentanyl from Mexico across to the US has strained relationships between both countries: Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has 

 in the past that his government is doing more to control the drug than their northern neighbours, and that the American overdose crisis is more related to the decay of family and moral values than about the drugs.

Fentanyl in North America is the iron law of prohibition in action

While concerns with drug deaths involving fentanyl are important to highlight, banning their use from medical contexts will do nothing to stem deaths. This is primarily because fentanyl is 

 the heroin (and increasingly other substances’) supply. As a 

, small quantities of it can be mixed into -or entirely replace – many drugs to potentiate their effects. However, this can have deadly effects as consumers are not aware that this is going on unless they 

. Since its introduction into the North American heroin and benzodiazepine drug supply (which happened as early as

, fentanyl has come to dominate drug markets.

Fentanyl’s infiltration of the North American market is an example of the iron law of prohibition 

 of opioid medication like OxyContin to North American patients, as well as lax regulation on prescribing, created a massive demand for this class of drugs. After the American Centre for Disease Control and Prevention 

 of opioids in 2016, cracking down on pill mills and excessive prescribing, the disappearance of a safe supply of this drug alongside massive demand created the perfect conditions for a potent, easily imported and manufactured substitute to appear.

Mexico's threat to ban medical fentanyl is painfully misguided

International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking

GENEVA (23 June 2023) – The international community must replace punishment with support and promote policies that respect, protect and fulfil the rights of all, UN experts* said today. Ahead of the

International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking 2023, they called for transformative change in the international approach to drugs, focusing on health and other human rights and issued the following statement:

“The ‘war on drugs’ may be understood to a significant extent as a war on people. Its impact has been greatest on those who live in poverty, and it frequently overlaps with discrimination directed at marginalised groups, minorities and Indigenous Peoples. In our reporting and experience, we have 

 that such discriminatory impact is a common element across drug policies with regard to the widest range of human rights, including the right to personal liberty; freedom from torture, ill-treatment and forced labour; fair trial rights; the right to health, including access to essential medicines, palliative care, comprehensive drug prevention and education, drug treatment, and harm reduction; the right to adequate housing; freedom from discrimination and the right to equal treatment before the law; right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment; cultural rights and freedoms of expression, religion, assembly and association.

Globally, drug control has had massive costs for the dignity, humanity and freedom of people of African descent, with reports showing that people of African descent face disproportionate and unjust law enforcement interventions, arrests and incarceration for drug-related offences. In various countries, the ‘war on drugs’ has been more effective as a system of racial control than as a tool to reduce drug markets. Policing interventions based on racial profiling remain widespread, whilst access to evidence-based treatment and harm reduction for people of African descent remains critically low.

Around the world, women who use drugs face significant stigma and discrimination in accessing harm reduction programmes, drug dependence treatment and basic health care. Although one in three people who use drugs are women, women constitute only one in five people in treatment. Women are also 

 affected by criminalisation and incarceration, with 35% of women in prison worldwide having been convicted of a drug-related offence compared to 19% of men. The causes of women’s interaction with the criminal justice system in relation to drugs are complex, often linked to other factors such as poverty and coercion, and may reflect systemic gender inequality in society more broadly. Of note, most women in prison for drug related offences have little education.

Under international law, States that have not yet abolished the death penalty may only impose capital punishment for the ‘most serious crimes’, meaning crimes of extreme gravity involving intentional killing. Drug offences clearly do not meet this threshold. However, drug-related offences are still punishable by death in over 30 countries, and human rights experts have raised concerns about evidence of its discriminatory impact on individuals belonging to minorities.

Everyone without exception has the right to life-saving harm reduction interventions, which are essential for the protection of the right to health of people who use drugs. However, according to UN 

, only 1 in 8 people with drug dependence have access to appropriate treatment, and the coverage of harm reduction services remains very low. The situation is particularly critical for women, LGBTIQ+ persons, and other marginalised groups, for whom harm reduction and treatment services may not be adapted or respond to their specific needs. Women and LGBTIQ+ persons also face even higher levels of stigma, including self-stigma, and discrimination than men who use drugs.

As the world grows older, drug use among people over 65 has also increased. The COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the health and well-being of older persons, and studies show an increased use of pain relievers, tranquillizers, and sedatives among this age group. Older drug users are also more often using the dark web, social media, and online forums to obtain illicit substances resulting in a rise of drug-related deaths among older populations.

The criminalisation of substances traditionally used by Indigenous Peoples such as the coca leaf can also result in the suppression, undermining and marginalization of traditional and indigenous knowledge systems and medicine, which has wide-ranging health impacts and is rooted in discriminatory hierarchies and conceptions. Forced eradication of crops, including through the aerial spraying of highly hazardous pesticides, can cause serious harm to the environment and clean water, as well as to the health and welfare of Indigenous communities. Indigenous Peoples that might be affected by these and other drug control operations must be meaningfully consulted, and guarantees should be given that their lives, cultural practices, lands and natural resources are not violated.

Criminal laws and the punitive use of administrative and other sanctions stigmatise already marginalised populations. Criminalisation results in significant barriers to access to health services (including those for HIV and palliative care) and in other human rights violations. As called for by the UN system Common Position on drug-related matters, drug use and possession for personal use should be decriminalised as a matter of urgency. Drug use or dependence are never a sufficient justification for detaining a person. Compulsory drug detention and rehabilitation centres need to be closed and replaced with voluntary, evidence-informed, and rights-based health and social services in the community.

“People first: stop stigma and discrimination, strengthen prevention”

 the United Nations and the international community have a historical responsibility to reverse the devastation brought about by decades of a global ‘war on drugs’ on communities that have been marginalised and discriminated against.

, we call on Member States and all UN agencies to ground their drug policy responses in international human rights law and standards. States and international bodies that provide financial or technical assistance on drug policy should ensure that these policies are gender-responsive while upholding and actively seeking to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms.

We urge Member States and international bodies to supersede their current drug policies with ones grounded in the principles of the application of a comprehensive, restorative and reintegrative justice approach. Effective, community-based, inclusive, and preventive measures are equally important.

Now more than ever, the international community must replace punishment with support and promote policies that respect, protect and fulfil the rights of all.”

Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights

Meskerem Geset Techane and Melissa Upreti

Working Group on discrimination against women and girls

Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences

Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity

Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities

Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health

Special Rapporteur on the right to education

Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences

Special Rapporteur on trafficking in person

Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism

Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment

Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples

Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons

Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions

Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes

of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work voluntarily; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organisation and serve in their individual capacity.

UN experts call for end to global ‘war on drugs’

Are you a drug policy reformer and harm reduction activist in Africa, who wants to make videos for change and learn to communicate with the media better? Would you like to take part at the Africa Drug Policy Week as well? This application is for you then! Apply now to take part in a 5-day Video and Media Training (9-13 August), and then use your newly acquired skills during the additional 3 days of the Africa Drug Policy Week (15-17 August) – all in Cape Town, South Africa.

The workshop targets drug policy reform, harm reduction and community activists who seek to build their campaigning and communications skills, are passionate about video-making, and want to build skills in pre-production, filming and post-production. Activists who are persons who use drugs are especially welcome!

Understanding of harm reduction/drug policy reform and its human rights dimensions;

Free capacities to make videos (i.e. preferable not executives or senior staff members who have no time/capacity to make movies);

Fluency in English (we apologise that translation is not available for this training);

Good communication skills (ability to make reports, give interviews in English);

Good working relationship with harm reduction/drug policy organisations from the country;

Commitment to make videos about drug policy/harm reduction in the longer run;

Commitment to produce at least one video, filmed at the Africa Drug Policy Week;

Access to basic equipment (at least an advanced phone with video recording capabilities and a computer capable of editing the videos).

The final selection will be made together by the Rights Reporter Foundation (RRF), the South African Network of People who Use Drugs (SANPUD) and International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC).

The organisers may request a Zoom call with applicants to finalise the selection process.

 activists in effectively communicating with video, to influence people’s thinking and public policies, and to build vibrant and tolerant communities that value human rights. 

Members of the Rights Reporter Foundation have been training activists in video advocacy and working with the media since 2009. We have held 2 to 5 day video advocacy training for more than a hundred drug policy, harm reduction, and human rights activists from around the world. We have successfully held training sessions in Austria, 

The International Drug Policy Consortium IDPC and the Rights Reporter Foundation – through the Harm Reduction Consortium, funded by the Robert Carr Fund (RCNF) – have planned a series of video advocacy and media training sessions for drug policy and harm reduction activists in Asia, Africa and South America. In 2019 the RRF 

 the training of 10 community activists in Asia, arriving from India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Malaysia, The Philippines, Myanmar, Malaysia and Nepal. In 2020 due to the Covid 19 pandemic, we had to hold one of the training events online. In 2023 we finally have the opportunity to train harm reduction and drug policy activists in Africa. 

. After the training, participants of the training will stay for the Drug Policy Week, to use their newly acquired skills, and make video reports of the event. Upon returning home, the trainees will edit their footage that they filmed at the Drug Policy Week, and will continue using video for change in their own activism.

 covers the whole spectrum of video advocacy, including video advocacy theory, camera handling, interview techniques, editing, and distribution. The video advocacy training consists of 4 major elements.

 Participants learn how to make plans for video production, how to think about their strategy, their objective, message and audience, how to find the right story and how to deal with security and consent. They watch examples of video advocacy and we analyse them together. 

 Participants learn about the necessary equipment, they learn the operation of the photo and video camera, how to frame and compose their shots, and how to conduct interviews. They practice interviewing on each other. 

Participants use their own cameras or smartphones.

 Participants break into 4-5 groups and visit sites in the Coty where they practice interviewing. After the interviews they film B-rolls in the city. 

 Participants learn editing by working on their own footage. We teach the use of the Adobe Premiere Pro CC editing software, or Davinci Resolve, based on the assessment of needs during the selection process. 

 Participants learn about how to distribute their work effectively. 

, participants learn to use traditional methods of communicating with the print and broadcast media, such as creating strong messages, understanding what is interesting for the media, writing press releases, organising press conferences, giving television interviews.

 is an introduction to media communication for NGOs, refuting common myths and false preconceptions about the media and outlining the structure, length and content of press releases and press conferences, how to organise communication within an organisation, tips about TV interviews, ethical issues and methods to evaluate the success of your communication. 

 of the workshop participants can practice what they have learnt. They break up into smaller groups which have to build a media campaign concept, write press release and give test TV interviews to a hypothetical evening news, played by our video/reporter crew. In the third, plenary part of the workshop we analyze the campaign plans, press releases and TV interviews together and discuss lessons learnt. 

All participants of the video training take part on this day, and additional persons from Cape Town will join as well.

The media training is followed by a one day break on the 14th, with the opening of the Africa Drug Policy Week happening on the evening of that day.

 brings together International Drug Policy experts, National Policy Makers, Government officials, Civil Society Organisations, Advocates, Project Funders and People who use Drugs community members all in one space. This year promises even more prominent speakers, high level discussions, interactive Panels and plenty of time to engage with one another and embrace a knowledge sharing and learning experience. This year, for the first time, we are expanding SA Drug Policy week from a Southern African focus to a broader African Policy event. The conference will run from the evening of the 14th to the 17th August and will be hosted in Cape Town, South Africa. This event is made possible through the generous support of many local and international organisations and hosted annually through ongoing collaborative efforts between 

Cape Town, South Africa, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Cape Town Upper Eastside.

 Logistics, including travel and visa costs will be organized and financed by the organisers, from the funding provided by the Robert Carr Civil Society Network Fund. During the training we will make travel arrangements and provide accommodation, breakfast and lunch for the participants.

Due to the length of the training and our limited budget, we are sorry that we CANNOT cover:

* Dinners (we only provide lunch and breakfast, and only one common dinner during the event).

* Travel to and from the airport in their country of residence.

* The payment of travel to and from the Visa Processing office in their country of residence.

* The cost of any vaccinations, immunisations or health insurance required prior to travel to South Africa. (Please note, however, that we strongly encourage participants to ensure they have these in place).

* Travel insurance for participants. We strongly recommend that participants confirm with their medical aid providers that they are covered for international travel, or that they take out their own short term travel cover for the duration of their trip to SA.

 is a human rights activist, videographer and trainer. He ran the Video Advocacy Program of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union between 2007-2015. He worked as a needle exchange program counselor for 5 years. He is author of several articles on harm reduction and cameraman, editor, director and co-director of more than 700 online videos, among them longer documentaries, such as “

Taking Back What’s Ours: An Oral History of the Movement of People who Use Drugs

A Day in the Life: The World of Humans Who Use Drugs

” (2011). Since 2016 he works at the Rights Reporter Foundation, where besides producing films, he is training activists in video advocacy.

 is a human rights activist and drug policy expert, the founder and editor of the Drugreporter website since 2004, the author of countless articles, co-author of books and director of films about harm reduction and drug policy reform. He was the Director of the Drug Policy Program at the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union between 2004 and 2015. He is experienced in working at international drug policy forums such as the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. He was twice elected to the Core Group of the EU Civil Society Forum on Drugs. He is advisory board member of the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA) and the Steering Committee member of the Correlation European Harm Reduction Network. He was representing the Hungarian Harm Reduction Network at the government’s drug advisory body in Hungary between 2007 and 2015. As a member of the Drugreporter video advocacy team, he has produced videos about drug policy issues in a number of countries. These videos are now part of a unique online drug policy video library.

The training is financed by the Robert Carr Fund, via the Harm Reduction Consortium, and is organised by the Rights Reporter Foundation in close cooperation with IDPC, TB/HIV Care and SANPUD.

Click here to fill out the online application form before 23:00h on

If you have any questions about the Workshop or the application process, please do not hesitate to write to us at takacsistvangabor@rightsreporter.net.

Video and media Advocacy training at the Africa Drug Policy Week 2023 – Call for applications

Release, the UK’s centre of expertise on drugs and drugs law, is proud to invite applications to the 

2023 South East Asian Fellowship Program on Drug Policy

. Fellows will be hosted at Release in London, UK from 

. This program supports those working in sectors related to drug policy in order to increase their understanding of international drug policy reform issues, to improve their advocacy skills, and to enhance their capacity in working with the media on drug policy. The fellowship seeks to increase the capacity and knowledge of emerging and new leaders in drug policy in the Asian region, including people not necessarily working full-time on drug-related issues.

The objectives of the fellowship are for the participants to:

increase their knowledge of global drug policy issues on a region by region approach;

increase their understanding of the international drug control system and conflicts with other United Nations priorities;

have a greater awareness of the drug policy reform landscape and key figures within that movement;

establish links with those working in drug policy, particularly in the UK;

build and develop their communications skills, including for media interviews, press releases, press databases, public speaking;

have an understanding of the tools for debate, so that they can confidently challenge anti-reform positions;

improve their confidence as drug policy advocates both through participation in the program and through ongoing support from the host organisation.

This two-week program will be based within the drug policy organisation Release in London, United Kingdom. Release is the UK’s centre of expertise on drugs and drugs law – providing free and confidential specialist advice to the public and professionals. Release also aims to raise awareness of how British and international drug policy affects those who use drugs in our society. Release has had significant success in both service delivery and campaign work. In particular, the organisation has been very effective in engaging traditional and social media as a forum to promote drug policy reform within the UK and further afield.

The program includes the following topics:

Overarching issues relevant to drug policy

Overview of international human rights in the context of drug policy

There will also be an opportunity to meet key drug policy organisations, experts and leading policy advocates based in the UK.

Successful candidates will have a track-record of public engagement in human rights, law, or relevant government experience. Ideally their work should intersect with the issue of drug policy and/or human rights. Priority will be given to these applicants. However, we also welcome applications from those working in drug policy reform or another relevant field (e.g., public health) at the local, national or international levels.

Previous fellows have worked in drug policy NGOs, at law enforcement agencies, in national governments, in health care facilities, media, and at universities, among other organisations. Please note that before receiving the fellowship, finalists will be asked to present a letter from their employer agreeing to their two-week participation in the course.

Applicants must have a strong command of the English language to participate in the course. 

Candidates must fill out the Application Form (downloadable at the bottom of this page) and send it along with their CV

We are particularly interested in applicants from the 

: the purpose of this program is to promote the capacities of both new advocates and individuals who are emerging leaders in drug policy reform, rather than those already significantly established within the field.

The Fellowship program provides funding to a maximum of four people to attend the two-week training program on drug policy reform at Release in London. Funding covers fellows' travel, accommodation, and all associated costs. The placement decision will be made by the program selection committee comprised of regional experts and representatives from Release.

Participation in the fellowship is contingent upon acquiring a letter of support from the finalist’s employer as well as proper immigration and travel authorisations.

The Fellowship is designed to expose participants to international networks of global drug policy and to connect them with various advocates at the host organization, in their home country or region, and globally. Participants are expected to take skills gained during the fellowship back to their home country, further promoting drug policy reform through various projects and initiatives in their home contexts. The program is designed so that the connections and international networks will serve as a resource and support for the fellow both during and following their fellowship experience.

Course: Two-week program in London will take place from 25 September – 6 October 2023.

 is the UK’s centre of expertise on drugs and drug laws, providing free and confidential legal and drug services to people who use drugs and/or those caught up in the criminal justice system. The organisation campaigns for evidence-based drugs policies and for reform of the UK’s current drug policy, with a specific call for the end of criminal sanctions for possession offences. Release has Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council.

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