$1bn ‘war on drugs’ has fuelled human rights abuses over past decade, says report

Aid tied to drug prevention programmes given to 92 lower-income countries, including Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover

Almost $1bn (800m) of aid has been spent on a global war on drugs" over the past decade that has fuelled human rights abuses, according to a new report.

Analysing data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the NGO Harm Reduction International (HRI) found that, between 2012 and 2021, the US and the EU spent $550m and $282m of their aid budgets respectively on programmes that supported drug control policies. The UK has spent $22m since 2012 - more than $10m of that in 2012 - which has been used to support surveillance capabilities in Colombia, Mozambique and the Dominican Republic, and undercover policing in Peru.