UN Common Position on Drug Policy

UN System Common Position on Drug Policy

What is it?

In November 2018, the UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB)—which gathers the heads of all UN agencies—adopted the UN system's common position on drug-related issues. This agreement commits the entire UN system to support balanced, evidence-based, and human rights-oriented drug policies that are geared toward development and aligned with the 2030 Agenda. It also established an Inter-Agency Task Team (led by UNODC along with multiple agencies) to coordinate its implementation.

Core Elements

Eight shared principles (health, human rights, development, gender equality, leaving no one behind, etc.) that explicitly endorse harm reduction and alternatives to criminal sanctions. The CEB text mentions the decriminalization of possession for personal use "where appropriate."
An Inter-Agency Task Team to put these commitments into practice across UN Country Teams and at headquarters.

How we got here:

2016: The General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on the world drug problem called for increased inter-agency coordination within the UN.
2018: The CEB adopts the Common Position and establishes the Task Team to "speak with one voice."
2019–present: The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) and various UN agencies regularly discuss inter-agency coordination. Although many States and agencies reference the Common Position, explicit mentions in CND resolutions are often disputed, leading to the use of more general language regarding "effective inter-agency collaboration."

The current landscape

The UN Common Position on Drug Policy was adopted during the UNGASS 2016 in New York:

Recent UN resolutions on the world drug problem call for comprehensive responses, with attention to human rights, and urge UNODC to promote joint initiatives, in line with the Common Position.
The CND routinely discusses inter-agency coordination and requests periodic reports from UNODC on this work, which is aligned with the Common Position, although we lack commitments among the rest of the UN agencies.

Official UN Resources

UN Chief Executive Board Coordination: Overview and downloadable PDF of the Common Position.
UNODC Portal: Dedicated site for the Common Position, featuring the principles, the Task Team, and materials.
Official PDF (CEB/2018/2): Full text with operational commitments (harm reduction, alternatives to conviction, health in prisons, development approaches).

What's needed for real operationalization

Despite having a solid policy foundation, implementation remains uneven. To move from principles to practice, Ágora advocates for:

Integration at the Country Level

Ensuring that UN Country Representations systematically incorporate the Common Position’s commitments (harm reduction; alternatives to criminal sanction; decriminalization of use where appropriate; health and rights in prisons) into Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks and joint work plans, with clear budgets and indicators.

Transparent Task Team Work Plans and Metrics

Publishing an annual public implementation report: detailing which countries have adopted which measures, funding mobilized, and results (e.g., incidence of HIV/HCV, overdose deaths, prison overcrowding, access to services).

Strengthening Resident Coordinators (RCs)

Developing country diagnostics on drug policy and its links to development/rights, and providing quick-response support teams to help governments design harm reduction programs and alternatives to imprisonment.

Aligning Vienna–Geneva–New York

Promoting explicit reference to the Common Position (or at least its principles and products) in CND and UNGA resolutions, and requesting regular public reports, thus overcoming the current fragmented language.

Linked Agendas: Prisons and Justice

Connecting the Common Position on drugs with the UN Common Position on Incarceration (2024), to reduce excessive imprisonment and improve health and rights in detention—areas directly affected by punitive drug laws.

Normative Guides and Technical Packages

Consolidating model legal and policy options (e.g., decriminalization frameworks; minimum harm reduction packages; proportionality in sentencing) into a UN-endorsed toolbox for ministries, complete with estimated costs and case studies.

Call to Action

We collaborate with UN agencies, health/justice ministries, and civil society to localize the Common Position into national strategies and Cooperation Frameworks.
We monitor progress through independent dashboards and publish case studies of implementation.
We advocate in Vienna, Geneva, and New York so that resolutions and guidance give name and operability to the Common Position, ensuring that health, human rights, and development are not optional additions but standard practice.

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📣 Strengthening the Unified UN Response: Advocating for the Inter-Agency Task Team

The UN System Common Position on Drug Policy (2018) is a monumental political achievement, but its success hinges on coordination. That is why Ágora advocates for an Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) with sufficient and permanent resources. This IATT would ensure that the Common Position’s principles of health, human rights, and development do not remain confined to headquarters documents but translate into real action at the country level.

The history of the UN system already demonstrates that cross-agency collaboration is the only way to address the complex consequences of drug policy.

🏛️ The Historical Precedent: Existing Coordination Units

The initiative to create an Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) under the Common Position is modeled after previous coordination structures that proved the system's capacity to "speak with one voice" when aligned around clear objectives.

The UN System Task Force on Transnational Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking (2011–2016)

This group is a key example of how UN agencies unite to influence drug policies from a broader perspective than law enforcement.

Establishment: Created in 2011 and composed of 14 UN entities, it was a response to the growing need to address drugs within the framework of security, development, and human rights.
Key Mandate: To develop a strategy to provide coordinated input into Member State processes, including the General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) of 2016.
Central Achievement (2014): It produced the Talking Points on International Drug Policy and UNGASS 2016, an internal coordination document that promoted a reorientation of global policy to:
- Increase the focus on public health, prevention, treatment, and care.
- Consider alternatives to the criminalization of drug use and imprisonment.
- Ensure that the most vulnerable people benefit from development opportunities and alternative livelihoods.

📣 Requirements for the Permanent IATT

The success of the 2018 Common Position requires a coordination mechanism that is permanent, transparent, and financially secured.

Guarantee Permanence and Funding: We pressure for the IATT to have a dedicated, central budget. Without non-earmarked funding, coordination fades, and the implementation of the Common Position in countries becomes intermittent.
Public Reporting and Transparency: We advocate for the IATT to publish an annual implementation report, detailing which Country Teams are adopting the Common Position and, crucially, measuring the impact on health and rights outcomes (e.g., access to naloxone, reduction in incarceration).
Evidence Coordination: We demand that the IATT ensures that evidence from development and health agencies (such as the WHO in the coca leaf review) is systematically integrated into CND discussions, breaking the "silos" of Vienna.

The IATT's coordination work is the only way to ensure that the CEB's high-level commitments truly reach the people on the ground.

You can learn more about the multi-agency push for a health-focused approach to drug policy in this video on the World Health Assembly Inter-Ministerial Dialogue.

References