Context:
Illicit drug crop cultivation, trafficking and consumption are problems of global scope. The large-scale cultivation of coca, poppy and cannabis as well as the ensuing production of cocaine, crack, heroin and hashish are largely carried out in developing countries. The illicit drug trade affects in particular those developing countries which are least able to counter it owing to weak governance and sometimes even fragile statehood. Organised crime, violence and corruption are closely related to the expansion of illicit drug economies and further hinder the successful development of affected regions. It is a rather recent phenomenon that illegal drugs are no longer predominantly consumed in industrialised countries, but also increasingly in developing countries and emerging economies.
The global drug problem can therefore only be combated effectively through cross-sectoral and supraregional approaches. Within the framework of the United Nations Political Declaration and Plan of Action (2009), the German Government’s National Strategy on Drug and Addiction Policy (2012), the EU Drugs Strategy and EU Action Plan on Drugs (2013), the German Government is committed to supporting affected countries in their fight against the global illicit drug economy. In April 2016, at the Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on the World Drug Problem (UNGASS 2016), discussions focused on innovative policies and the most pressing challenges addressing the global drug problem.
UNGASS 2016 demonstrated that international drug policy is currently in a state of transition. It is gradually shifting away from a war on drug paradigm and is moving increasingly towards approaches that are development-oriented and health-based. However, many governments pursuing a change in their domestic drug policies still lack access to advise on innovative drug policies and resources to implement them.
Objective:
Interested governments have enhanced evidence-based development- and health-oriented approaches on drug policy.
Approach:
The Global Partnership on Drug Policies and Development (GPDPD) is a global and cross-sectoral project funded by the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Under the political patronage of the German Government’s Federal Drug Commissioner, it contributes to the international positioning and implementation on a pilot basis of innovative approaches to drug policy. This is the first cross-ministerial drug policy project in German development cooperation. It is based on close cooperation between BMZ and the German Government’s Federal Drug Commissioner at the Federal Ministry of Health.
The project focuses on three fields of action:
1. Fostering international dialogue on development and health-oriented drug policies with a view to mainstreaming joint positions on the international level.
2. Promoting the adaptation of domestic drug policies through pilot-level advise to interested governments in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
3. Enhancing the evidence- basis for development and health-oriented drug policies.
In all three fields of action, the project cooperates closely with its international implementing partners: the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Mae Fah Luang Foundation under Royal Patronage, the non-governmental organisations Transnational Institute (Amsterdam) and the International Drug Policy Consortium (London). In addition, the project collaborates with research institutions such as the UNODC Research Branch and the London School of Economics (LSE) in order to enhance the scientific and academic basis of work in this field.
Results:
On behalf of BMZ, the project took part in the 2016 session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) and the Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on the World Drug Problem (UNGASS). The project has supported the UNGASS process with a range of preparatory conferences and side events, and tabled on behalf of BMZ together with Thailand and Peru a resolution on alternative development. On behalf of BMZ, the project successfully negotiated the chapter on development policy for the UNGASS outcome document. By this, development and health-oriented approaches in international drug policy have been enhanced.
In cooperation with the research branch of UNODC, the project contributed to the special chapter pertaining to the Sustainable Development Goals for the UN’s 2016 World Drug Report. This provided a further opportunity to integrate the German Government’s approaches to drugs policy into the international debate.