UN drug conventions

News8 December 2025

A critical failure of a system still mired in the past - IDPC joint statement at the CND Reconvened 68th Session

By ignoring Indigenous knowledge and human rights impacts, the coca leaf review reveals a system unable —or unwilling— to shed colonial bias.

Events

Rethinking coca: Indigenous knowledge, science, and international drug policy

Vienna, Austria

3 December 2025

Join researchers, policymakers and Andean community voices at CEU Vienna to explore coca’s cultural, scientific and political dimensions — and what the WHO’s review means for global drug governance.

News16 October 2025

Repairing the machinery - IDPC statement at the CND thematic discussions on drug policy commitments

IDPC joined this year’s CND thematic discussions to call for bold, evidence-based reform — urging governments to support the new expert panel reviewing the UN drug control system and ensure civil society’s full participation.

Publications15 October 2025

Scientific distinctions between coca and cocaine support policy reform

White et al. argue that scientific, cultural and legal evidence clearly distinguishes coca from cocaine — and that global drug policy must correct this long-standing misclassification rooted in colonial bias.

Publications14 October 2025

Statement by traditional coca leaf producers and consumers to the World Health Organization

Traditional coca leaf producers and consumers from Peru reject their government’s stance before the WHO, urging the organisation to deschedule coca, recognise its cultural and medicinal uses, and support research and rights-based policies

News14 October 2025

Coca isn’t just for cocaine, Bolivia wants the world to know

Bolivia's campaign to remove the coca leaf from the list of the world’s most dangerous drugs highlights the plant's cultural, medicinal and economic importance — and its potential to reshape global drug policy.

Events

Coca talks - Futuro coca

London, United Kingdom

17 October 2025

This dialogue at SOAS explores the coca leaf beyond prohibition — as a bridge between Indigenous knowledge, environmental justice, and drug policy reform. Featuring voices from Colombia and beyond.

Events

Reconvened CND 69th Session

Vienna, Austria

3 December 2026 - 4 December 2026

The reconvened 69th session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs is expected to take place on 3-4 December 2026 in Vienna, Austria.

Events

69th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND)

Vienna, Austria

9 March 2026 - 13 March 2026

The 69th session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs is expected to take place on 9-13 March 2026 in Vienna, Austria.

Publications6 October 2025

Safeguarding rights in EU drug policy - Contribution to the European Commission's call for evidence on the EU drugs strategy and action plan against drug trafficking

IDPC calls on the European Commission to ensure the next Strategy is balanced, evidence-based, and rights-centred, prioritising harm reduction, civil society participation, and policy innovation over punitive approaches.

Blog15 August 2025

Reviewing the coca leaf’s international status: A chance to heal what Prohibition broke

The upcoming critical review process offers a chance to de-schedule the coca leaf, mitigating prohibition's environmental and social harms, affirming Indigenous rights, and reforming colonial, punitive drug policies.

Events

48th meeting of the WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD)

Online

20 October 2025 - 22 October 2025

The WHO's ECDD meeting will assess the critical reviews of a handful of substances, including the coca leaf, guiding future international scheduling decisions, with major implications for Indigenous rights.

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