Essex human rights expert supports historic drug reform in Pakistan

The University of Essex’s Human Rights Centre is playing an instrumental role in the transformation of drug policy in Pakistan in a historic move that will help protect the country’s most vulnerable.

Essex’s Julie Hannah attended a summit in Pakistan where she met with government ministers, civil servants, judges, and ambassadors to discuss how putting human rights at the forefront of the country’s drug policies is key to reform.

A local initiative led by the Justice Project Pakistan and funded by the Canadian Government, is aiming to change Pakistan’s drug policies and laws.

It comes after the historic decision to end the death penalty for people convicted of drug offences in the country.

Key to this reform process is the International Guidelines on Human Rights and Drug Policy, established in 2019 following a collaboration between the University of Essex and the United Nations.

The Guidelines apply international human rights law to drug policy and is supporting reform across the world, including in countries such as the Philippines, Colombia, Brazil, and Ghana.

“The Guidelines are now recognised as the essential tool to strengthen rights-based reform processes across a diversity of global contexts,” said Zaved Mahmood, the Human Rights and Drug Policy advisor for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

“Our collaboration with the University of Essex, is a driving force for the many successes we now see in transforming the global drug policy paradigm. When the opportunity emerged in Pakistan, Ms Hannah was the first person I contacted to take the work forward.”

During her visit to Pakistan, Ms Hannah spent a day with municipal and district court judges at the Federal Judicial Academy to discuss how the Guidelines can be implemented on a practical level.

Judges were also introduced to a new online course developed in collaboration with the Academy explaining the Guidelines and the role of the judiciary in its effective implementation.

Ms Hannah also attended meetings with Pakistan’s Minister of Justice and Law, the Director General for Human Rights, the Chairperson for the National Commission for Human Rights, the Ambassador of Portugal, where she shared the experiences of other countries that successfully implemented policy changes, based on the Guidelines.

Ms Hannah said: “It is wonderful to see an appetite for change in Pakistan and adopting this human rights approach to drug policy will ensure fairer outcomes. “Pakistan is not alone in seeking reform to its drug policies. It is hard and courageous work but there is a lot of inspiration to draw on around the world where other countries have made changes for the better.

“This is a truly historic moment for Pakistan and will increase the momentum behind the human rights movement in the country. Pakistan’s story could also play a catalytic role in advancing reforms throughout the South and East Asia region”

Following Ms Hannah’s visit, a judge in Pakistan used the International Guidelines on Human Rights and Drug Policy to support their judgement in a case which saw a vulnerable mother languishing in pre-trial detention for a drug offences freed from prison.

“In just a few short weeks, we already see the impact of our collaboration and power of the human rights discourse,” reflected Sarah Belal, the Executive Director of the Justice Project Pakistan.

“To see international human rights law explicitly integrated into the day-to-day decision-making of judges is unprecedented, particularly in cases applying the Control of Narcotic Substances Act.”

Ms Hannah will continue to collaborate with the Justice Project Pakistan, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and national stakeholders in shifting the country’s drug policy environment.

“We welcome the technical support and experience sharing of the Guidelines as we map out a reform pathway for Pakistan’s counter-narcotics law,” said Barrister Aqeel Malik, Government Spokesperson for Legal Affairs at the Ministry of Justice and Law in Pakistan.