UN Member States Criticize Call to Decriminalize Drugs, Prostitution, Abortion

By | November 1, 2024

NEW YORK, November 1 (C-Fam) In a rare moment of candor, several UN delegations expressed disappointment with a UN human rights expert who called on countries to decriminalize drugs, prostitution, abortion, and intentional exposure to HIV.

The UN rapporteur on the right to health, Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, argued such legal changes are necessary as part of a “human rights approach to harm reduction.”

The delegate from Cameroon directly confronted the rapporteur’s approach as “downplaying the seriousness of drug and substance abuse and other crimes such as HIV exposure, abortion, same-sex relations, and sex work.” The delegate explained how the UN expert’s approach undermined the efforts of Cameroon’s government to deter drug use.

“The acceptance of the recreational use of drugs and their legalization for therapeutic uses are a particularly worrying trends for my country. They send the message that drugs can be used without health risks. This could not be further from the truth. Nothing could be more dangerous for our societies, particularly the poorest, for our health systems, and also for our economies,” she said. “This situation should not be taken lightly.”

An Egyptian delegate chided the UN expert for making claims that are without legal support in international human rights law. He highlighted existing international commitments to combat drug abuse and drug trafficking instead.

“We fail to recognize the source of many of the recommendations in the report,” said the delegate from Egypt. He also complained that the expert’s recommendations had little to do with the real health challenges of many poor countries. “We fail to understand how they would help address and end the pandemics like malaria, cholera, TB, hepatitis-c, neglected tropical diseases, and others that affect developing countries primarily.”

A Cuban delegate also rebuked the expert for downplaying the harmful effects of drugs on users and society more broadly. “Cuba has a zero-tolerance policy for the production, consumption, and trafficking of drugs. Drug use is a serious threat to health. It also poses a threat to safety and economic development. This is a scourge that produces cycles of poverty with violence and other types of criminal behavior,” he said emphatically.

“Cuba believes the solution of this global problem is not through militarizing countries, legalizing drugs, or taking them as harmless substances, but rather by enhancing international cooperation.”

Other delegations praised the rapporteur’s report.

“We agree with your report that we must look at existing laws, policies, and programs to ensure they do not create barriers to implementation efforts and incorporate, where appropriate, harm reduction strategies,” said a U.S. delegate. He highlighted U.S. state-level policies to address the opioid crisis and efforts to “reverse historical and disproportionate incarceration of people of color for marijuana possession.”

A representative of the European Union also endorsed the views of the UN rapporteur.

“We welcome this year’s focus on harm reduction with respect to drug use and other health concerns that often result in stigma and discrimination for affected individuals, hindering the enjoyment of their human rights,” she said.

The delegate from South Africa praised the UN expert and said her report provided “useful recommendations founded on a human rights-based approach.” He highlighted how South Africa’s drug policy “takes a harm reduction approach to drug use, focusing on prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation instead of punishment.”

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