The Global Commission on Drug Policy is an independent body of former heads of state, public figures and experts advocating for evidence-based and human rights-centred drug policies, while Youth RISE is a global youth-led network promoting the rights and health of young people affected by drug policies. Recognising the importance of meaningful child participation, both organisations partnered with the Global Campus of Human Rights, drawing on its established child and youth networks and experience supporting children’s and young people’s engagement in human rights processes.
The initiative brought together 35 members of the Global Campus Child Leadership Team (CLT) and Youth Advisory Group (YAG) from six regions: Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Europe and South-East Europe. Some YAG members also played a leading role in facilitating the consultations. Ahead of the consultations, children and young people participated in regional preparatory sessions designed to support informed engagement with the topic. Using regional research as a starting point, CLT and YAG members discussed how drug policies affect children’s rights in their own contexts and identified issues they wished to bring into the global consultations.
Between October and December 2025, the Global Campus, Youth RISE and the Global Commission on Drug Policy jointly organised three online consultations. Each session built on the previous one, exploring children’s and young people’s understanding of current drug policies, the impact of those policies on their lives and the changes they would like to see. All consultations were conducted in line with strict safeguarding and child protection guidelines developed specifically for the process, ensuring that participation was safe, inclusive and age-appropriate for children and young people.
Across regions, children and young people consistently argued that current drug policies are often overly punitive and insufficiently responsive to their rights and developmental needs. They called for greater emphasis on support rather than punishment, including youth-friendly mental health services, evidence-based education, harm reduction measures and meaningful participation of young people in policy-making.
The recommendations emerging from the consultations informed an upcoming policy brief prepared within the project, ensuring that children’s and young people’s perspectives contribute directly to a global conversation on drug policy reform. Beyond the specific topic, the initiative demonstrated the value of recognising children and young people not only as beneficiaries of policy but as informed rights-holders whose experiences and views deserve to be heard.
This policy brief, including a child-friendly version, is due to be launched shortly.