UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights

The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) is the United Nations commission with primary responsibility for the application of the three drug conventions. At its 68th session in 2025, it adopted Resolution 68/6 on the establishment of an independent expert panel to review the implementation of those three conventions, along with other international drug policy commitments. The aim: to provide governments with a set of recommendations on enhancing the effectiveness of the international drug policy regime. This panel was put forward by a resolution tabled by Colombia, approved by 30 countries, with 18 abstentions and 3 against (out of 53 CND members in total). It brings forward extensive expectations of governments, other UN entities, and civil society, all concerned with the shortcomings of the international drug control regime to date. According to the latest 2024 reported data, 331 million people worldwide used drugs, an increase of 34% in a decade. People with problematic drug use reached 63 million people.