Commissioner Kgalema Motlanthe, Global Commissioner and Chair of the Eastern and Southern Africa Commission on Drugs (ESACD) delivered the keynote address via video message at a Hybrid Roundtable Consultation on addressing racial and intersecting forms of discrimination against people of African descent in relation to drug policy, convened by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

The roundtable marked the 10th anniversary of the 2016 UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on the world drug problem, and was held in the context of the Second International Decade for People of African Descent (2025–2034) and the 25th anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA). It brought together UN officials, Member State representatives, experts, civil society organisations, and representatives of affected communities to examine the disproportionate human rights impacts of punitive drug policies on Africans and people of African descent, and to discuss pathways for implementing recommendations from UN human rights mechanisms.

The consultation opened with welcome remarks by Dimiter Chalev, Chief of the Equality and Non-Discrimination Branch at OHCHR, followed by opening remarks from H.E. Ambassador Gustavo Gallón, Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations in Geneva, and H.E. Ambassador Mxolisi Nkosi, Permanent Representative of South Africa to the United Nations in Geneva. The roundtable featured contributions from civil society leaders and experts, including Kassandra Frederique (Drug Policy Alliance), Audrey Mena (ILEX Acción Jurídica), Niamh Eastwood (Release), and Anthony Ukam Unor, (Ph.D. Candidate, Chulalongkorn University; former Fellow, UN Fellowship Programme for People of African Descent). Discussions were moderated by Tracie L. Keesee, Member of the Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement.

In his keynote, Commissioner Motlanthe situated contemporary drug policy within a broader human rights and racial justice framework. Drawing on evidence from UN mechanisms and the Global Commission on Drug Policy, he highlighted how punitive drug law enforcement has disproportionately targeted marginalized communities, including people of African descent, with harms emerging from the earliest points of contact with the criminal justice system and intensifying through arrest, sentencing, and imprisonment. He underscored the resulting impacts on health, education, employment, family life, and community cohesion, noting that a significant proportion of the global prison population remains incarcerated for drug-related offenses, including possession for personal use alone. Commissioner Motlanthe also pointed to reform-oriented approaches grounded in constitutional rights, public health, and harm reduction, including developments in South Africa and Ghana, while stressing the need for improved data on drug use and drug markets in Africa, more effective allocation of public resources toward evidence-based interventions, and measures to address historical injustices, such as record expungement and reparative approaches.

The roundtable included a second thematic session addressing racial discrimination in drug law enforcement and criminal justice, and inequities in access to prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and harm reduction services. Discussions reinforced the need for drug policies aligned with international human rights standards, meaningful participation of civil society and affected communities, and protection against discrimination in the design and implementation of national and international drug policies.